93-Year-Old Bursts With Joy As She Sees Neighbors On Lawn For Birthday Dance

Sep 03, 2021 by apost team

In a heartwarming story out of Prairie Village, Kansas, a thoughtful neighbor, Melanie Mendrys, made her 93-year-old neighbor Phyllis Brinkerhoff’s day. To understand what Mendrys and her daughter did, readers have to know that Brinkerhoff really, really loves the “Hokey Pokey.” In fact, “obsession” might be a more accurate word.

For Brinkerhoff, the popular campfire song that became popular in the 1950s within the U.S. is a “fun, joyous, song,” as she describes it. And even though she’s heard it countless times, she can’t get enough of it. 

Brinkerhoff’s “Hokey Pokey” obsession runs so deep that she even tried to get her neighbor, Mendrys and her daughter, to listen to the song. She would talk about it constantly with Mendrys, going as far as leaving her voicemails about the song. Brinkerhoff also courteously lent Mendrys a CD with the song on it so that she too would fall in love with the track.

Suffice it to say that despite Brinkerhoff’s efforts, Mendrys isn’t exactly a fan. When Steve Hartman of CBS Evening News caught up with Brinkerhoff in August 2021, she showed genuine surprise that many people don’t like the “Hokey Pokey.” With that said, that bit of information didn’t seem to lessen her love for the song one bit.

Given Brinkerhoff’s obsession with the track, it was easy for Mendrys to come up with an excellent idea for her 93rd birthday in August, which she learned was coming up. With the help of her daughter, Mendrys made invitations that she handed out around the neighborhood for a “Hokey Poke” flash mob right on Brinkerhoff’s lawn — and it was the perfect birthday gift.

"The smile on her face was so big," Mendrys told CBS News. "It doesn't take that much to make someone's day. And I think we can all do a little more of it."

According to Mental Floss, the history of the “Hokey Pokey” is a murky one. The reason it’s so complicated is that there seem to be two independent origin stories. On the one hand, there’s the Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy who wrote an instructional dance number in 1942 called “The Hokey Cokey,” which is quite similar to the version of the song we know today. On the other hand, however, Robert Degan and Joe Brier also wrote a song called “The Hokey-Pokey Dance” in 1946 — seemingly unaware of Kennedy’s composition. And then there’s Gerry Hoey’s "The Hoey Oka,” another similar tune, which he wrote in 1940.

However, Mental Floss settles on the most popular theory. In 1949, Charles Mack, Taft Baker, and Larry Laprise wrote the American version of the song to play at a ski resort in Idaho. Given the audience’s enthusiastic response, the songwriters recorded the track — though it failed to gain traction at the time. It wasn’t until four years later that Ray Anthony's orchestra recorded the most popular version of the song, the version Brinkerhoff has worshiped all these years.

Brinkerhoff and Mendrys’ heartwarming story has since spread across the internet, uplifting and inspiring viewers from around the world.

“Love this story of kindness. We need more in this Nation right now!” a viewer on YouTube wrote.

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What do you think about the “Hokey Pokie”? Have you ever met someone who loves the song as much as Brinkerhoff? Let us know — and pass this story along to bring a smile to someone’s face.