By Paula H. Newton

Anne Collins, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. William T. Collins on West High St. left Elkton to become a “star” on the big stage in New York City. Anne was a member of the world-famous Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in New York where she had been a precision dancer since graduating from Elkton High School.  WWII produced some of the most iconic pin-up images of women ever created and Anne was included in that distinction with her movie star good looks. The Navy Seabees stationed in the South Pacific with the First Naval Construction Battalion Detachment connected with the 22nd Marines Regiment, gave her the title of “Queen Bee.” Apparently, she came to their attention through her letters to her boyfriend who was included in their ranks. They served in two engagements in the Marshall Islands and after the second engagement they sent a letter signed by the members of the outfit informing her of her status. In 1944, since most of the unit was from the East Coast, they planned on ending their service in New York and presented her with a plaque made from wood and metal fragments from a downed Japanese plane. Anne’s mother, Edith Braunstein Collins operated a dance studio at 142 W. High Street in Elkton.

Barbara Brittingham was born in Salisbury, MD, on November 25, 1930, she was the daughter of Nellie Loomis McDaniel and Vincent Brittingham. At the age of two, Bobbie Ann and her mother moved to Elkton to a small house on Mackall Street. From a young age, Bobbie Ann loved to sing and dance and took lessons from Edith Collins, Elkton, Joyce Potter and Mildred Bryan, Wilmington and Norman Craig of the Civic Ballet School of Philadelphia. She took modeling lessons and eventually signed with an agent, Mr. Campbell. Bobbie Ann won many beauty contests: Miss North East Yacht Club, Miss Sunset Park, third runner-up in the Miss Philadelphia Pageant, and was a contestant in the Miss Maryland Pageant. As a teenager, she would ride the train to the Philadelphia Civic Ballet Company where she was a dancer. Shortly thereafter, she was hired by Philadelphia television station, WCAU, as the interesting fact and weather girl. At the age of 16, she started teaching dance in her mother’s living room. She eventually opened a studio around the corner on Main Street.  She graduated from Elkton High School in 1947 and married her high school sweetheart, William “Bill” Foster, and together they built a studio in their home. Bobbie Ann’s Dance Studio was opened in September 1947 and her first recital was “Talk of the Town” in 1948. Recitals were also used to raise money. The Kiwanis Club sponsored a concert/recital at Elkton High School entitled “Star Time.” The program involved ninety children and the proceeds went to the underprivileged children fund.

James MacKenzie was a student of Bobbi Anns and recalls taking lessons once a week for two years. He was an only child and he thinks his mother probably wanted a girl and that’s why he was enrolled in dance class. Amazingly, his mother kept and treasured two of his recital outfits. He remembers the recitals being held in the Elkton High School on North St.

Bobbie Ann was very much involved with the studio, not only in the day-to-day operation, but as the creative influence. She touched many lives and taught thousands of children and adults over the course of 66 years. She was the first teacher to accept African-American students in the 1950s and also taught at the Carver School. Her students performed both locally and nationally, appearing on the Chief Halftown Show, at the World’s Fair, and at the World Series Fan Fest, to name a few. In 1980 she purchased The Historic Little Wedding Chapel. She was interviewed about the chapel by national newspapers, radio shows and television stations. The National Geographic did a feature article on the chapel. Bobbie Ann, and her family loved traveling to the southwest, collecting antiques and watching old movies. Her favorites were “Casablanca” and Agatha Christie’s “The Blue Train”. Bobbie Ann was always a daydreamer. She strived to make every child’s dream come true. She touched the lives of everyone she met. Even in her final days, Bobbie Ann still put on her Chanel makeup and made phone calls to Barney’s.  Bobbie Ann will be missed dearly and her spirit will always be dancing through town. Our dancers continue to make the magic of entertainment come to life right before our eyes. They truly capture the essence of what Bobbie Ann believed in. Her daughter, Susie, continues to operate the studio to the present day.

Elaine’s School of Dancing announced it’s opening in North East, Elkton and Cecilton the first week in September, according to an ad in the Cecil Whig. Also mentioned was Jane Howard Jackson from North East who was passing her dance students on to Elaine Shiflett, who had been taking ballet from James Jamison in Wilmington, DE.