ROYAL BANDSTAND was meant to be a takeoff on the American Bandstand of television fame.
Charlie Stump was the host and disc jockey for Royal Bandstand. It started in the Fall of 1961 when Stump was approached by John Leidy Sr. and Dick Aumiller who headed the project for the Friendship Fire Company. They wanted a weekly Saturday night dance for teenagers in the community and they asked Charlie to be the host.
Average attendance at the beginning was between 175 and 200. With the 200 plus range for special occasions. When Stump began as host he was a junior in high school. He exited when he was a senior at Shippensburg University.
After graduating from Shippensburg University in 1964, Stump moved on from the Royal Bandstand dances to become a professional disc jockey for WKVA Radio in Lewistown.
Now retired, he does some volunteer radio work for Christian radio WRXV FM.
But in retirement he didn't fade into the background. In the summer of 2010 he received a request from the Port Royal Bicentennial Committee to return and do a Royal Bandstand Reunion.
The first reunion was held in March of 2011 and was enthusiastically received by almost 250 people. A repeat Royal Bandstand Reunion was held in March of 2012, and once again dancers packed the Port Royal Community Building to hear Stump play his music.
Now, [2015] three years later, the Juniata County Food Pantry and the Juniata County Library are joining forces to bring Stump back and work his magic for another fundraiser.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 2/15/11 - Image Year: 1965
THE ESQUIRES OF PORT ROYAL: (l-r) Dick Sheerer, Jim Stimmel, Ben Milliken, Phil Kilmer and Larry Shearer. This group performed at the Royal Bandstand.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 3/25/11 - Image Year: 2011
The dance floor is crowded with couples dancing to an Elvis Presley song Saturday night (March 21, 2011) at the Royal Bandstand Reunion in Port Royal. Nearly 250 people came to dance the night away while also raising money for Port Royal's Bicentennial celebration in 2012. Charlie Stump, who initiated the reunion, served as the DJ for dances beginning in 1961.
(Sentinel photo by BUFFIE BOYER)
Contributed by rkohler3 on 3/13/15 - Image Year: 2015
Picture of Charlie that accompanied announcement of a benefit for the Food Pantry and Library in the Lewistown Sentinel.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 9/15/18 - Image Year: 2018
Pastor Charlie Stump will serve as emcee for an oldies dance that is slated for 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Juniata Valley YMCA in Burnham. The dance is raising money for Mifflin County Habitat for Humanity.
