All Around Pennsauken

By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian

Half a century ago in April 1964, a young couple was married at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken. The ceremony, performed by Pastor George L. Garver, was not in itself unusual, drawing as it did from the Lutheran prayer book and time-honored tradition. There were the family and friends of the betrothed, the groom in his classic tuxedo, the bridesmaids in blue and the bride in white with a long veil. However, there were also approximately 20 police officers keeping watch on a crowd of about 500 onlookers, and the guests included members of the national press.

The fact that both of the soon-to-be newlyweds had already achieved an unusual degree of celebrity by the age of 22, partly explained the keen public interest in the wedding. Unquestionably, too, it was the fame of the bride and groom that focused particular attention on the aspect of their union that was widely controversial and potentially inflammatory in that time so different and so similar to today.

While the wedding was most important for its participants as the creation of their marriage and a new life, for many, that significance was outweighed because it was the highly visible wedding of a black man to a white woman. In 1964, that was something far from ordinary and for many of that era it was hard to accept.

Of course, this was also no ordinary couple.

Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans in South Carolina, grew up in South Philadelphia. From a young age, he wanted to be an entertainer. One of the people instrumental in his getting started was Dick Clark. Another was his manager, Henry Colt, who happened to live in Pennsauken.

In our time of YouTube and iTunes, with music streaming and downloading, it is difficult to convey the celebrity of Chubby Checker and his most famous hit. The cover of “The Twist” that Checker recorded in 1959 and the dance craze it spawned far outlasted the multitude of summer songs and dance fads that have continued to this day. The twist permanently changed the way people danced, making dancing apart to the beat hip and driving parents to distraction. “The Twist” topped the billboard charts twice in two separate runs of popularity, a feat only equaled in another era and a different chart system by “White Christmas,” sung by Bing Crosby.

“The Twist” generated movies such as “Twist Around the Clock” and “Don’t Knock the Twist.” Follow-up hits by Chubby Checker included “Let’s Twist Again” and “Slow Twistin;’” others created twist-related hits as well, such as “The Peppermint Twist” and “Twist and Shout.” The dance craze for the twist went on and on, with nightclubs and dance parties featuring twist contests, regular twist nights, and professional dancers performing the twist to a variety of bands.

In Pennsauken for example, the Embers restaurant promoted its twist features in advertisements in the Courier Post, as did Uncle Milty’s Club in Delair, and Johnny’s Tavern on Marlton Pike. Impressively, these ads were run two years after “The Twist” first topped the charts!

While his subsequent career included hit songs, tours, and adoring crowds of fans, Chubby Checker never achieved any heights of popularity greater than those of the early 1960s. In 1964, he was one of the most famous and successful entertainers in America.

Catherina Lodders, born in the Netherlands, achieved fame her own way by winning the title of Miss World in 1962. She was, of course, beautiful and talented and also an accomplished model.

“Rina” and Chubby met while both were overseas. In December, 1963, he proposed marriage and she accepted.

It should be remembered that in 1964, the world of race and class in America was far different from today in many highly visible ways. The Civil Rights Movement that began in the 1950s was still struggling to overcome overt segregation and discrimination that broadly characterized and influenced all American society. The Civil Rights Act was not passed until the latter part of 1964. Anti-miscegenation statutes made interracial marriages illegal in about one third of the United States, and many more states had only recently removed such statutes from their books. The Supreme Court would not finally declare all such laws unconstitutional until 1967.

In 1964, the marriage of a celebrated black American and a beautiful, successful white woman was a big deal. Even though New Jersey had never had an anti-miscegenation law and Pennsylvania’s had been repealed in the 19th century, there was widespread opposition to the mixing of races all over. Racial tension and violence constantly simmered below the surface of American society and there were no exemptions for the famous and successful.

It is not surprising, therefore, that many churches would decline to serve as the venue of the wedding of Ernest Evans and Catharina Lodders.

Then Chubby Checker’s manager, Henry Colt, approached Pastor George L. Garver of Temple Lutheran Church, recently moved to its new, modern church building on Crescent Boulevard in Pennsauken. Pastor Garver did not know who Chubby Checker was at first, but he immediately recognized the nature of the dilemma faced by the young couple. As was his duty, the pastor insisted on meeting the couple and confirming their serious commitment; afterwards, he agreed to perform the wedding.

There was opposition, inside the church and much more outside. Even the groom’s mother expressed opposition; for a time, Chubby left the family home to stay in Camden, NJ. For a number of church members, racial prejudice needed have little role in their opposition. Their church was in a new home with construction still to continue. Both financially, and in terms of maintaining and growing a congregation, it could not be secure in taking significant risks.

Pastor Garver reported in media accounts that he secured support from the church council, but still had to persuade opposition in the congregation of his determination, which he did.

Outside the congregation of Temple Lutheran, opposition took an uglier form, including death threats, as the wedding approached.

Newlyweds Chubby Checker and Catherina Lodders. Photo credit: Newport Archives Inc.

But threats and naysayers aside, on Sunday, April 12, 1964, in a new, modern church in Pennsauken, Ernest Evans married “Rina” Lodders before about 200 guests; the newlyweds were also cheered by a curious crowd of about 500, who trampled grass and landscaping as they strained to see. A small contingent, said to consist mainly of teenage boys, briefly erupted in booing and then fell silent. Many more applauded the bride in her European wedding gown.

Then the wedding had been performed and the party moved to the Cherry Hill Inn for the reception, where Chubby was heard to say, “Wasn’t it a lovely wedding? It was just what we wanted.” Then began the music, the dancing, and the twist.

Reverend Garver, who commented that he was never more proud of his community, was not much longer the pastor at Temple Lutheran. The Civil Rights struggle of the day continued, melding into anti-war protests and women’s rights and environmentalism and economic justice movements and today’s resonant movement for another kind of marriage equality.

Through all of this, it should be noted that the marriage begun in 1964 at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken, is still maintained to this day by Chubby and “Rina.”

Sources for this column include contemporary newspaper and periodical accounts, especially: “Chubby Checker Wedding Draws Crowd of 500,” Community News, April 17, 1964; “It Was a Lovely Wedding, but…” by Brenda Mayer, Photoplay, July 1964; and ChubbyChecker.com.