(Elkton, Mo.) -- You may have seen the dance before. Sally Rand made fans famous. ...Or, maybe the other way around.

In 1935, Sally Rand become an international star when she performed her, fan dance at the world fair in Chicago

"At that time, it was really something," says Don Ginnings, the editor of The Index newspaper in Hickory Co., Mo.

From the performance in '35, she got the nickname "The Queen of Burlesque."

That wasn't Rand's first nickname. Though she signed her social security application 'Sally Rand,' her actual name was Harriet Helen Beck. She was born in 1904 in Elkton, Mo.

"Even though we had a Sally Rand Rd, it never really dawned on me that she was somebody of that much national fame," says Ginnings.

Down Sally Rand Rd, the house has changed, but it is the spot Rand was born.

"Probably during the peak of her career, no one around or few people around here tried to make the connection that we are Sally Rand's home town," says Ginnings.

She always remembered her roots. She performed many times at the Ozarks Empire Fair.

"I'm sure that she was a star attraction," says Hermitage, Mo. Coffee Shop owner Elain Payne. She remembers seeing one of those shows, in the early 20th century.

"I just remember, she was in front of the grandstand, and she kind of drawed, you know, drawed attention because nothing like that had ever happened in this area," says Payne.

Rand's last visit to Hickory Co. was 1976.

"She was here for a community celebration," says Ginnings, who interviewed Rand at that event.

"She was real spunky of feisty. She would speak up. She was excited. She wasn't hesitant or bashful at all," says Ginnings.

She didn't dance, but she was still performing at the time.

"She said, that's what she got for not saving her money when she was younger," says Elkton, Mo. resident Bill Nelson. He also met Rand in 1976.

Elkton, Mo. is a town so small, they don't even count the population. So, imagine the traffic tie-ups when more than 60,000 people stopped in to see Sally Rand.

"That's the only time I've ever seen a crowd like that in Elkton," says Nelson, who grew up in the town.

While she may have made locals balk at one time, in 1976, Hickory Co. residents showed they didn't mind.

"Didn't bother me a bit and it still doesn't bother me. You know, everybody does his own thing. That's the way I've always felt," says Payne.

Rand was taken to court numerous times, on accusations that her act was indecent. She said she didn't perform it nude. She wore a full body suit and make-up, and called it all "an illusion."

Contact: dmagditch@kspr.com