The Way Back Balls were held between 1948 and 1957, and possibly before. SWHPL #14597 shows a ticket to the Way Bak Ball in 1928 - note the different spelling. The twenty-five Sou'Westers held a Way Back (gay nineties) ball in the spring of each year during the 1950's at the VIA (Village Improvement Association) hall in Manset (the Thibodeau home in 2006).
Miles Grindle talks about Wayback Balls in his recount of growing up in Northeast Harbor in the 1930's:
“’Wayback Balls’ were held, when everyone dressed in old fashioned clothes, tux and top hats, long dresses, or overalls with plaid shirts. These dances were by invitation only, restricted to voting age, by a member of chartered ‘Waybackers’. The main snack, provided during intermission, was dry fish. Probably most people reading this journal have not experienced the joy of occasionally eating a piece of dry fish. The local fishermen would catch small codfish, and let the wind dry them on their boats, then strip the fish off the skin, and put them in jars. Alcohol was not allowed on the premises, but those who indulged kept their bottles in their cars.” - “The Local Boy: Growing up in Northeast Harbor, Maine in the 1930’s” by Miles Grindle, p. 29 – n.d. [2006] – Privately published – in the collection of the Southwest Harbor Public Library.
