Square Dance Lessons are happening on Tuesdays at 7 PM. They are followed by Plus Lessons at 9 PM if enough people show up. Those dancers who are available on Tuesday evenings are welcome to angel the new dancers during lessons, led by Roger Puzzler.

  We usually dance second and fourth Fridays from 7:30 to 10PM at the Emerald Square Dance Center at 2095 Yolanda Ave., Springfield, OR, in Hall A which has wooden flooring and air conditioning.  

Next up! Life's A Dance Square Dance Festival at the ESDC August 22-24 with national caller Hunter Keller and cure Rikki Lobato. For more information on this festival see below.

  

Mexican Fiesta with Taco Bar Dance

 Our Mexican Fiesta  Dance held Friday, May 9 at the Emerald Square Dance Center was a terrific success.   A great deal of that was due to the wonderful taco bar set up before the dance.  We gathered at 6:30, bringing all the items and condiments necessary to make delicious tacos: hamburger meat, shredded chicken, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream taco sauce, etc.  So good!  

 

We danced as usual from 7:30 to nearly 10 to the fine calling of Mark Wheeler who definitely was calling to the floor.  We have newer dancers in our club and in attendance who needed to review and workshop some calls.  Mark always does a nice job for us of calling and Sandy Harris did the same with her cueing.  Both enjoyed the taco bar as well.

 

We had visitors from further north like Lebanon and Corvallis as well as from our sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways.  It was so good to see so many people.  We counted 34 there for the taco bar with more arriving for the dancing and those unable to dance leaving.  At one time we had four squares on the floor which hasn't happened for a while, but mostly we had 2 to 3 squares dancing. 

 

 

As you can see from the photos above, we had a very colorful crowd of happy dancers.

 

We do not have another dance planned for May as the 4th Friday falls on Memorial Day weekend and many people will be out of town, enjoying the holiday weekend or have visitors here for the holiday .

 

In June we will hold our usual 2nd and 4th Friday dances with  Shaun McKamey and Sandy Harris on June 13  and on June 27 we'll have K.C. Curtis and Dave Cooper calling and cueing.  The latter two make quite a dynamic duo in my estimation.  Please come join us.

This coming Friday April 25

The dance this Friday April 25 will feature Bruce Lowther and his wife Judy Russell from Albany.  They make a good combo, this pair.  We enjoy their calling and cueing very much.  Please come out and join us from 7:30 to 10PM at the Emerald Square Dance Center in Springfield, 2095 Yolanda.

 

On May 9 we will hold our annual Mexican Fiesta Dance with taco bar which will start early at 6:30 so we can eat and converse and be ready to dance at 7;30.  We always start our dancing with a plus tip until 7:45 when pre-rounds take over.  At 8 we start mainstream and rounds with every third tip plus.   Some people like to wear Mexican themed outfits if they have them.  This should be a well-attended, fun dance with Mark Wheeler calling and Sandy Harris cueing.

Mar. 14 Irish Dance with Potato Bar

On March 5 the Single Trees board met to install our new officers for 2025-26.  Here is a photo taken after installation.  We look forward to the new year and new leadership from brand new officers and some returning ones.

 Our new board members:  Linda Neuschwander, Larry Reetz, Chris Brown, Connie Seamans, Roger Tendick, Margaret McVey, Chris Vanderlinde, Betty Aukerman

 

 On March 14 Single Trees held our annual Irish themed dance with a sit down potato bar for guests and members.  It was held from 8 to 8:30 and seemed to be enjoyed by many.

 

Darrell Kalmbach with his wife Erin was there to call for us and Sandy Harris cued.   Darrell always calls a great dance and Erin fills in as necessary in the squares.  We always enjoy having them with us.  Sandy cued some good rounds for us as well.

 

Here are some photos taken during the break.

 Our newly installed president Connie Seamans with her husband Paul Gates

 

 Our new vice president at the potato bar

 Some members enjoying the break.

 

Our newly installed treasurer Larry Reetz celebrated his 3rd retirement with us.
 

Our next dance will be our Welcome to Spring Dance on March 28 with K.C. Curtis calling and Christina Corelli cueing.

Feb. 28 Dance

Friday night Feb. 28 we had such a fun dance with Mark Wheeler calling and Christina Corelli cueing.  We had 3 squares on the floor on and off all evening.  There were newer dancers from our area as well as from the clubs to the north of us.  Many new faces were out as well.

 

Mid-way through our president Melba Walker presented some gifts to a number of members who had shown their loyalty to the club in various ways--some have helped in the kitchen dance after dance (Margaret and Roger); some have devoted themselves to committee work and functions, keeping our bulletin board up-to-date as well as our albums, (our Historian, Vonda Clayton); sending out birthday and get well cards as well as sympathy cards (our Sunshine lady, Betty Aukerman); floor cleaning detail (Ross Isobel).  Melba will be due a get well card herself after she has surgery on her shoulder in a few weeks.

 

 We also held our annual election to bring in a new board of officers.   Thank you to all who ran for office and to all those who have helped out over the years and are now stepping down.  Our new president will be Connie Seamans with Linda Neuschwander as Vice President.  They will be installed into their respective offices at our March 5 board meeting this Wednesday.  We also have two people serving on the board for the first time:  Chris Brown will be our secretary and Renee VanDole will be our Hall Delegate. to the ESDC.

 

Here are some photos taken by me of various squares on the floor having a great time.

 

 

Here is a photo of our new President Connie Seamans with her husband Paul Gates chatting with our new Treasurer Larry Reetz and our new Vice President Linda Neuschwander.

 

Our next dance will be March 14 with Darrell Kalmbach calling and Sandy Harris cueing.  The theme will be Irish with a potato bar for everyone to enjoy.  We love Darrell's calling.   Be sure to come join us for a really fun night of dancing.  Wear your green!

 

My thanks to Mike Baker for providing the photo of the gift recipients.

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter/Blogger

 

Jan. 10, 2025 New Dancer Dance

We held our annual New Dancer dance on Jan. 10 this year with at least two couples and several singles refreshing their skills in attendance.  It was such a pleasure to see the two younger couples there enjoying themselves.  I wish more people had come out to support them, but we have had quite a few members out with physical injuries or under the weather for one reason or another.  My thanks to Nancy Gowins and her husband, members of our sister club Whirl-A-Ways, for staying to support the new dancers.  Nancy does a good job of recruitment herself and is tireless in her enthusiasm for our beloved activity.   She like so many wants to see our dances continue for  a long time into the future.

 

Bruce Lowther called and his wife Judy Russell cued the dance.  Bruce watched the floor carefully to make sure the newer dancers were able to keep up.    There were some break downs but people regrouped quickly enough and I could tell they were having a good time by seeing all the smiles on their faces.  If we had had a few more guys there we could have had three squares on the floor but unfortunately we simply did not have enough so some like me stepped in to do the guy's part and that of course can be confusing for new dancers.  Still as I said we had a good time and that is all we can ask for at times.

 

One of the newer dancers who has been refreshing her skills had her 40th birthday so her grandmother provided a beautiful birthday cake for her and all of us.   She was quite pleased.

Here are some photos I took during one tip when I wasn't dancing.

 

 

 

 Next month on February14 we will celebrate our 61st birthday with our "Sweetheart of a 61st Birthday Dance".  Shaun McKamey will be calling that night.  He is a newer, up-and-coming caller who has good timing, a great singing voice with lots of clarity.  You will really like him if you don't already.  On Feb. 28 Mark Wheeler will come down from the Portland area to call for us.  We all like Mark who has a very genial personality and always gets right into the theme of the dances.  This one will be "Your Favorite Cartoon Character".  Perhaps we'll see some Minnie or Mickey Mouses or Donald or Daisy Ducks.  Christina Corelli will be cueing both dances for us.  Christina also likes to get into the theme!  It should be fun.

 

We just learned that our long time cuer Jackie Gale who hasn't been able to join us all that often lately is going to move with her husband Bill to Nevada to be closer t family.  We will miss you so much, Jackie and Bill!  We wish you every success in your new home.  Nevada's gain, our loss, for sure.

 

Hope to see all of you dancers at Mid-Winter.  Our club like others will go dark that weekend.

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter and Web Master