Times-Advocate, 1988-03-16, Page 21Hensall
By Mark- Bisset
Louise is a stripper.
She is in Hensall this week -- one
stop in a year-long chain of small
'town after small town. She has no
friends, hasn't seen her family in
nearly two years and hasn't owned
an apartment in months.
There is no glamour here.
In a coffee shop across the street
-from Hotel Hensall, Louise paints a
dismal picture of life as an erotic
dancer. Not particularly pretty, she
has the body of an athlete. She
chain-smokes over several cups of
coffee.
It is eleven o'clock in the morn-
ing -- one hour before her _irst
show of the day.
"Lonely -- you can put it in capi-
tal letters," •she says resignedly.
There is very little emotion in her
Page 5A
just one more stop for erotic
voice. Louise has accepted her situ-
ation and everything is as it should
be.
"You can't have a'best friend be-
cause you're always gone," the
dancer says of tier social life.
"Relationships like a husband are
very hard. Husbands can't help won-
denng."
Though never married, Louise has
had steady boyfriends. But those re-
lationships never worked out for
her.
"Whenever I got home, I was al-
ways sure to be asked: 'Did you
ever sleep with anybody?'"
That subject keeps coming up.
As Louise puts it: "Every week,
every day." She explains, because
of the nature of her act, she is con-
stantly approached by men who are
Strippers the key
at Hotel Hensall
It's not Tasha the 100 pound
cougar which makes Hotel Hen-
sall unique in this area - though
she has become something of a
conversation piece in the vil-
lage.
Hotel Hensall is unique be-
cause, five times a day, several
days a week, owner Jim Bryn
provides his patrons with a par-
ticular brand of entertainment.
Erotic dancers.
When the government began
its campaign against drinking
and driving, Hotel Hensall began
to suffer. With business down,
Bryn brought in country and
western bands to draw the
crowds. When that failed, he
turned to strippers.
"The dancers here are a neces-
sary evil," Bryn says. "If we
could do without them, we
wouldn't have them. I've tried
bands, but it didn't go over
well."
Because' bands play for two
night runs, a group which failed
to draw a crowd the first night
would have just One more chance
to make it up. Strippers arc there
all week, sd-one bad night can
be absorbed by good nights later
and Bryn is less likely to lose
money on the venture.
Bryn started out, booking ex-
pensive features - show girls
with extravagant costumes who
charge as much as $1,200 for a'
shon appearance. But he soon
found- he couldn't draw the
crowds to justify the cost.
Now he books only small in-
dependent dancers who charge
$20 to $30 per. show.
Bryn uses the strippers as a
drawing card for people passing
through Hensall and he claims it
works.
"If we had to live off the peo-
ple coming from Hensall, we'd
never make it," Bryn explains.
"We draw people from all over
Huron County."
' Where other villages and mu-
nicipalities have failed to come
to terms with tavern owners who
want to feature strippers,. the
Hensall community accepts
Bryn's entertainment.
Asked if he had problems with
the village council, Bryn said
they know the shows are neces-
sary.
"They realize that without this
(strippers), the place would be
sitting empty. We couldn't make
a go of it," Bryn says.
The hotel owner maintains
that the strippers bolster busi-
ness outside of the taverir as
well.
Not only do the dancers spend
money when they are in the vil-
lage, but Bryn says they provide
a source of entertainment for
men while their wives are in
town shopping.
"They get a lot of business out
of that, you know," Bryn
claims.
About that cougar
As if the Hensall establish-
ment needed any more character,
Bryn is the owner of Tasha, a
cross between a Florida cougar
and a western cougar.
He bought her seven years ago
when she was "the size of a
house cat", but he has trouble
explaining the purchase.
"I don't know. I thought I
should have it," he says, laugh-
ing. "I looked in the box and
there she was - a cuddly little
thing.
"But she just started growing
and growing and growing."
Tasha is current), away being
bred at the Pinery Zoo in Grand
Bend.
The Florida cougar is on the
verge of extinction, Bryn ex-
plains, noting that there are only
25-30 of the animals running in
the wild in Florida now.
Because her kind is on the en-
dangered species list, Tasha may
stay at the zoo indefinitely.
Bryn, though obviously attached
to the animal, feels she needs
closer care than he can provide.
"If she's adjusting and she's,
happy, I think she should stay
there," he says. "Because I don't
have the time. She needs a lot of
attention."
Tasha the cougar
under the impression she is a pros-
titute.
"Some guys look for girls to do
tricks," she says, making it very
clear that she is not a prostitute:
Though she finds it aggravating
when a man approaches her as a
hooker, she accepts it as part of the
business. Prostitution is common
among her peers.
"I try not to get carried away with
that thought (being offended when
propositioned) because a lot of the
girls do it. I don't take it too harsh-
ly"We expose ourselves," Louise
continues. "We try to give 'the
message' to the customers on stage.
That's what gets them drinking. I
give them the illusion of being able
to sleep with a girl. The better the
girl does it, the better she's Liked."
And consequently, the more she's
propositioned.
"They make you feel that if you
dance, you do tricks. Dancing is en-
tertaining. Just because you dance
doesn't mean you do tricks on the
side."
Queensway U\Lews
Hello! Welcome to Queensway
News. Monday morning several'
residents attended story time in the
sun room. Readers Digest is a fa-
vorite source of material. The Hen-
sall United Church ladies joined us
in the afternoon for bingo. The res-
idents enjoyed the prizes donated
by these ladies and their visit.
Tuesday morning fun and fitness
loosened us up. After everyone felt
well awake from our exercise rou-
tine we played our spelling and ge-
ography games. Pastor Arbogast of
the Exeter Christian Reformed
Church visited us Tuesday after-
noon and led our worship service.
We were pleased to welcome him
and were especially ministered to
by his singing and guitar solos.
Wednesday morning Queensway
ladies auxiliary met. We arc mak-
ing plans to start work on crafts
with the residents in preparation
for the Hensall Yard Sale coming
up in May.
"Chisholm" starring John Wayne
was the featured film for Thursday
evening. A western that many re-
membered seeing many years ago.
Friday afternoon several residents
enjoyed stirring up a batch of rai-
sin scones. These we enjoyed
warm from the oven with a pot of
tea.
We arc looking forward to cele-
brating St. Patrick's Day Thursday,
March 17 a ith Marie Flynn and
the Huron Strings.
We wish to express our sympa-
thy to the family and friends of
Bill McKenzie who passed away
recently. He will be missed by alt
of us.
Money and art
Now in her late 20's, Louise has
been stripping for nine years. The
Montreal native has been on the
road in Ontario for the past year
without a break.
She is paid $20-S30 per show and
she averages, five shows per day.
For many strippers, it is the money
which keeps them in the business.
While Louise admits the money is
a big part of her reasons for strip-
ping, she says there's more to it
than that.
"Me personally, I do it because I
do like to dance. I've liked to dance
since I was a little girl," she ex-
plains. "I express my feelings and
my frustrations when I dance."
For Louise, erotic dancing is
more than just a job.
"I approach it as an art which
very few girls know," she contends.
"A lot of girls approach it as: go-
ing up•there (on the stage), wig-
gling your rear -end and taking your
clothes off -- and then the money at
the end."
Louise travels alone, preferring
freedom to companionship. If she
were to work with other girls, it
would be difficult to move from
town to town with east.
Many of the women in the busi-
ness are more trouble than they are
worth, she maintains. Jim Bryn,
owner of the Hotel Hensall, agrees
with that statement. Louise is one
of the better dancers. She doesn't
cause trouble.
Louise rarely works in a town
more than once, but she is dancing
in Hensall for the second time this
year. She gives Bryn credit for be-
ing a good employer, noting that
owners often try to take advantage
of strippers.
When she first came to Hensall in
December, the Hotel threw her a re-
ception.
"We always sense that wherever
we go, we're being exploited,"
L, vise says. "When we're wel-
comed, when we're well-acquainted,
it helps a lot.
"I've got no complaints about the
Hensall Hotel."
Dancers are fined for being date
for shows -- something that Louise
feels is justified, but she explains
that employers usually try to knock
the price down with other unjusti-
fied fines. The women are expected
10 pay their own living expenses in
most places.
When she is treated well, she rc-
ciprocates.
"I try to make it as easy going as
possible. They (owners) have it
tough too," Louise comments.
"They have a new girl every week
and they don't know how they're
going to be."
Booze and Drugs
Working in. a bar atmosphere
combined with the lonely existence
of a stripper has led to rampant al-
cohol and drug abuse in the busi-
ness.
"You eventually do need some-
thing to escape from the aggrava-
tion you get from the customers,"
she reflects, "Some girls -- they'll
take a couple of shots to get away
from it."
Louise says she gave up -drinking
eight years ago when the booze had
an effect on her show and she began
to gain weight. She has managed to
stay away from hard drugs as well,
citing the fact that they are too dan-
gerous and too expensive.
Louise does however, smoke mar-
ijuana -- two to three joints a day..
And she makes no apology for it.
"It helps you escape mentally,"
she says. "Some people may read
this and say: 'Ahhhh! The girl's a
drug addict!' But that's their opin-
ion. Some ladies might have a shot
of cognac -- alcohol's a drug too."
Going home
In three weeks, Louise will wrap
up her year-long tour and head _back
to Quebec to visit her mother.
Asked how her parents feel about
the line of work shehas chosen,
she shakes her head and smiles.
They don't approve.
"Mom and Dad, they're both wor-
ried. Mom is more worried in case I
get raped or I get involved with the
wrong kind of people," Louise re-
flects. She recalls an incident during
her first year in the business when
she was hitch -hiking near Montreal.
A car stopped to pick her up. The
driver was her father. She says he
yelled at her, complaining that she
had reached the bottom of the bar -
ret, telling her she was low and
sleazy.
There has been acceptance in the
family since_ that time, but not ap-
proval.
A dream
There was a boyfriend who didn't
approve of her profession either. He
convinced Louise to quit stripping
and take a job with Bell Canada in
Montreal. She worked there for a
while, making S5.00 per hour, but
when the relationship went bad she
found herself alone with a lot of
bills. She went back to stripping.
Another boyfriend recently bor-
rowed most of her savings and then
left her to start all over again.
But Louise has a plan now.
When she returns from her holi-
days in Quebec, she expects to
spend four more months on the
road. Then, with the money she has
saved, she plans to enroll in a dog
grooming school in Manhattan. It's
a five week intensive course worth
$2,000, she explains -- one of the
best schools for dog grooming in
North America.
There arc other courses in Canada
that take a year to complete, but
she'd rather do it quickly.
She became interested in dog
grooming through her father who
uscd to breed Pomeranians. Louise
worked with the dogs for a while in
Montreal and liked it.
"When I was in high school, I
never knew what I wanted to do,"
she remembers. "I never thought I'd
go for dog grooming."
When Louise gets her diploma,
she expects to dance for a few more
months until she has saved enough
money to open a shop in Pon Col -
bourne or Valdore -- a mining com-
munity in Quebec.
Valdore, she explains, means
"valle of old".
•
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s .• .y. f a�,.
•
•
` •boss ``'�.' C a►
•
HENSALL ENTERTAINMENT -- Louise, a stripper from Montreal,
agreed to pose for this picture, but did not want to be recognized.
C�nrnuniy planning grant
The Honourable Jack Riddell,
Minister of Agriculture and Food
and MPP for Huron, announced that
a community planning grant of
512,528 has been awarded to ay:-
County
eCounty of Huron for the village of,
Hensall.
Speaking on behalf of the Hon-
ourable John Eakins, Minister of
Municipal Affairs, Riddell- said the
grant will be uscd by the munici-
pality to prepare an Economic De-
velopment Strategy.
Community planning grants from
the Ministry of Municipal Affairs
are designed to encourage munici-
palities to resolve land use planning
issues to reflect municipal and eco-
nomic priorities.
Ttic grants may
special studies to d
nity improvement poll
mine the feasibility o
processing technology i
planning process; and
implementing the Plann
so he used for
'clop comnni-
es; to deter -
using data
the local
) assist in
ng Act.
On location ( tudio
Bart DeVries
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