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June 1916. Sandy Beach near Fall River, Massachusetts. "Two girls in foreground about 15. Mr. Tebbutt says dance hall bad conditions. Penny picture machine attracting crowds." View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Fall River was a fishing and mill city in those days; it wasn't high-toned and sophisticated like New York. I'm not sure what "bad conditions" Mr. Tebbutt was referring to (leaving used chewing gum on the arm rests instead of underneath the benches?) but there would only be so much disapproved social behavior from the teen set that the tight, overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, Fall River culture would tolerate before the whip would come cracking down. Generally, there would be only two or three degrees between the ticket-taker and the kids' parents. That wouldn't leave much wiggle-room for shenanigans.
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