Our Halloween Dance

 Friday night Oct. 28 we had our annual Halloween dance at the Emerald Square Dance Center in Springfield.  What a hoot it was!  We had dancers from Lebanon, Corvallis and Roseburg join us.  While we were very sad that Jim Hattrick was unable to be there that night, we enjoyed dancing to Mark Wheeler's calling.  Mark has called for us in the past and often has accompanied Jim Hatttrick as he was one of Jim's proteges.    The dance was made more interesting with so many coming in costume.  We gave out free dance passes and prizes to quite a  few: Brenda and Pete from Roseburg, our own Melba, Vonda, Alan and Chris.  

There were two squares on the floor all night with three one time when our cuer Jackie agreed to fill in.  Someone (we believe it was our president Larry Reetz) brought a delicious chocolate cake and had it all cut up for those lucky enough to get to the break bar quickly enough.  Yum!  Thanks to all who brought goodies for the club and our guests.  And thank you to Mark for coming as Elvis and adding to the fun.  Jackie and Bill also helped make the dance fun, but  we were sorry to see Bill laid up with a broken toe.  Get healed up soon, Bill, so we can dance with you again.

 

We're looking forward to our next dance on the 4th Friday in November, the day after Thanksgiving.  We are not sure at this time if Jim will be able to join us.

Here are some photos from the dance:

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reportr

New dance year

 Our next dance will be Sept. 23, 2022 with Scott Zinser calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  Jim Hattrick, who is our club caller, fell and broke his hip in August and is recuperating at this point.  Jim's health is precarious so we know it will take him some time to get back on his feet despite his indomitable will power.  We sure hope he'll be able to call our Halloween dance in October, but mostly we just want him to be well.  Meanwhile we know Scott will do a super fine job of calling for us later this month.

In August we had K.C. Curtis call the last dance of the 2021-22 season.  He did a fine job and we always appreciate his fine baritone voice and good humor. We had two squares dancing most of the night which seems to be the norm these days.  Where have all the dancers gone?  Sad to see so few out having fun like we used to have all the time.

We are hopeful that there will be a good mainstream class this fall and that all the clubs will benefit by having new dancers join the clubs and dance at our dances.  We have some diligent people out there recruiting for the class which will begin on Oct. 4 from 7 to 8:30 for mainstream and 8:0 to 10:00  for plus with Roger Putzler calling and teaching.  We know Roger will make it lots of fun.  If you know of someone wanting to take square dance lessons, send them out Oct. 4 to 2095 Yolanda in Springfield.  They are guaranteed a good time.

 On Friday through Sunday, July 15-17,  the Oregon Summer Festival was held in Salem, OR at Blanchet School.  There were only 3 Single Trees in attendance: Connie, Seamans, Gaynor Hintz and Sharon Hahn.  I don't remember seeing anybody else from our area.  Total registered attendance was only between 140-150, but they always have drop ins on Friday or Saturday as well as people like Vickie who heard  we were short of advanced dancers and came on Saturday to help out.    The featured caller was Pat Carnathan from southern California, and he was a super good caller as well as a nice person, very sociable and gregarious as most national callers are and need to be.  It was  a fun event and I only hope that next year it will  be better attended.

It was a relief to see Randy Dibble doing his usual great calling as he had had a minor stroke just 10 days before.  He told us he would be off all medications within a month according to his doctor.  Besides Randy and the featured caller I danced to Scott Zinser and Ian Craig's calling in the advanced hall. Ian did a super good job keeping us on our toes.  Way to go, Ian!  His wife is now an advanced dancer and doing well.  

Our next dance will not be until August 24, the last Friday of the month with K.C. Curtis calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  Wear your Hawaiian outfits to join in on the fun.

On June 24 we had our Reigning Cats and Dogs Dance which was fairly well attended with up to three squares on the floor and a few left over.  What made it difficult to get three squares was that so few of our male members showed up to dance.  Some of us gals had to do the guys part to avoid having far too many sit out.

We had visitors from up and down the I-5 corridor--Lebanon, Woodburn, and Roseburg.   We also had one new gal who has just moved here from Belleview WA and a former Single Tree lady who mostly lives in Arizona now .  Both came to dance and joined in on all the fun of Jim Hattrick's calling and cueing.  Jackie Gale, our cuer, was out sick (we hope she gets better soon).  A fun time was had by all, and we hope more can come join us in August when K.C. Curtis will call for us.

Starting in September, Jim Hattrick will call all our fourth Friday dances except, of course, for those nights when we are dark such as Christmas week, Mid-Winter weekend in January, Memorial Day weekend in May and Diamond Lake Festival in July.

Happy dancing, everyone!

Gaynor Hintz

Vice President, Single Trees

We're looking forward to a fun dance on June 24 with Jim Hattrick and Jackie Gale.  They make a great team keeping both round dancers and square dancers happy.  Don't forget it is our Reigning Cats and Dogs dance, a benefit for the Greenhill l Humane society.  Please consider bringing a  donation of cash or pet supplies with you to the dance.  Our door charge is $6.00 per person but the club would appreciate any small donation you might care to make as the number of dancers these days is limited due to the pandemic keeping people away still. 

 We will not be dancing on the 4th Friday in July because that is the weekend of the Diamond Lake Festival which we hope many will be attending.  On the second Sunday  in July we will hold our annual club picnic out at Suzanne's Peterson's country house, set amongst the tall shade trees and beautiful gardens on the five acre property.  It should run from noon to 3:30 or so.  All members, friends of members and family are welcome to come to the potluck barbecue.

All for now.  Happy dancing.

Gaynor

We had a fun dance in April with Scott Zinser calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  Two squares of happy dancers were on the floor at the Emerald Square Dance Center.  It's always fun dancing to Scott who doesn't get to guest call for us very often.  We also love dancing to Jackie's cueing and her choice of records and her choreography too.  We are lucky to have her as our cuer.

On May 14 we joined forces with our sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways, to hold our annual Mexican Fiesta dance.  The taco bar was held just before our dance, but there were some leftovers for those who came in later.  As always, there were many tasty desserts as well as the tacos themselves to fill everybody up.  It was so fun to see some faces we haven't seen in a while especially those of Whirl-A-Ways who have just started dancing again after the pandemic.   Everyone ate and talked and danced and generally had a great time.  While this was a small dance with possibly about 30 dancers in attendance, compared to many Fiesta Dances we've jointly hosted in the past, I don't think there was any lack in enthusiasm and pleasure.  We hope to continue the tradition in the future.  Mike Kious calling and Christina Corelli Cueing both did an outstanding job that night.

In June we are looking forward to hosting a theme dance called Reigning Cats and Dogs, a creative way to indicate who the beneficiaries of the dance will be.   Our Treasurer Joy Pitts, came up with the idea.  It is a benefit dance for our local humane society, Greenhill, and we are asking everyone to contribute if they can to a cash fund or to bring donations of pet food, bedding or toys, etc.  Jim Hattrick will be calling and Jackie Gale Cueing.

 

March 25, 2022 dance with Jim Hattrick calling and Jackie Gale cueing

Although we never had more than two squares on the floor, with several couples and singles having to sit out each tip, it was a really nice group of dancers who showed up to dance to Jim and Jackie.    It was nice also for those who felt comfortable to able to dance without masks for the first time since last summer.   

We had a full square of dancers come from out of town.  Several were from the Salem Swingin' Stars including Loyce and Wendell, Bob and Ronda.  Others came from Corvallis and Lebanon.  All were good dancers and happy to join us.  We were delighted to see them.

We also were delighted to see our cuer back as well as her husband Bill who had heart surgery last year so stayed away from dancing in squares but did all the rounds  Jackie always chooses great music as does Hattrick.  

We hope to see more people out at our next dance April 22 which will be called by Scott Zinser and cued by Jackie Gale.  I will be sad to miss that dance but will be enjoying the sights and sounds and cuisine of northern France and Paris.

Here are some photos I took of the squares:

 

Gaynor Hintz

Vice President, Single Trees Square Dance Club

 

 It was a small but enthusiastic group of dancers who gathered Friday, Mar. 11 to dance to K.C. Curtis's calling and Neil Koozer's cueing.  We had two squares of dancers on the floor with a few to spare, but it was a bit slow building up to two.  We were all hoping for more, but there are still quite a few dancers woo do not want to take the chance and also some dancers just don't want to dance with masks on.  Of course now that the mask mandate is over and it is optional to wear them in any setting except of course medical and dental settings, we can expect a few more to show up.  Also we know that two more clubs in our area will start dancing in April and perhaps another.   One of these clubs is now offering lessons on Saturdays starting March 19 at 4:30 at the Emerald Square Dance Center.  So with ann opportuity to brush upwe should see more dancers come out.

We had the opportunity to sing happy birthday to one of our Single Trees members, Judy Melendrez.  Wish we had had a cake for her but at our next dance March 25 with Jim Hattrick and Jackie Gale we can offer snacks and something to drink like tea or coffee.

We did decide to unmask halfway through the dance since the mandate was to be lifted at midnight.  Many of us breathed a sigh of relief but some did remain masks for various reasons.

But we did have a great night of dancing to K.C.'s wonderful baritone voice and good choice of music.  Neil as always did a wonderful job o fcueing, keeping oru round dancers happy.

Here are some photos of some of our squares.

Hi fellow dancers.  We made it through the month of February having hosted two dances this month on the 11th and the 25th.  Both dances went very well with good squares and rounds.  The second dance was our 58th Birthday dance with three squares for mainstream and 2 for plus and at times we had 8 couples in the round dance circle.  Jim Hattrick, our club caller most of the time, did a great job with both his calls and his cues.  His choreography for rounds is outstanding.  We did have a number of people who either haven't danced at all during the pandemic or have not danced very much so at times Jim had to repeat himself and go over more difficult calls, but it seemed by the end of the evening most everyone was up to speed.

 

Because of the pandemic we did have to wear masks or face shields, and it was suggested everyone make good use of the hand sanitizer available around the hall or else wash their hands a lot.  We offered cupcakes instead of cake to avoid someone having to stand and cut the cake, place pieces on plates etc.  The cupcakes were enjoyed by those who like sweets.  Everyone will be happy when we can offer a variety of things.   Also we know that on March 19 the Governor will lift the masking mandate and those who feel safe enough will not have to wear masks or shields.  We will look forward to that.

 

We will have K.C. Curtis calling March 11 with Neil Koozer cueing and at the end of the month on the 24th Jim Hattrick will be back calling.  We do not know at this time if our cuer Jackie Gale will be back to cue for us.  We hope so. Please mark your calendar and come join us. 

 

On February 24th a number of Single  Trees attended the memorial service for our fellow Lifetime member Gloria Gardner.  Her husband Art spoke at  length.  We will miss seeing her smiling face although she actually hadn't danced in quite some time due to health reasons as well as the pandemic. 

 

 

Hello.  It has been awhile since I posted on here.  We have had our once a month dances since last May with good success at attracting our members and visitors from out of town.  Jim Hattrick always does a great job calling but we also ave had Georger Hermann, Darrel Kalmbach, Craig Abercrombie, Scott Zinser and most recently Bruce Lowther call for us.  While we rere able to dance without masks our numbers were a bit higher and for two dances in a row in September and October we had visitations from Salem Swingin' Stars and friends join us to add to the fun. 

As of this month (February) our club has decided to offer two dances per month.  On Feb. 11 we had Bruce Lowther and his wife Judy call and cue for us.  We all felt rather rusty that night and hope that for our 58th birthday dance with Jim Hattrick calling and cueing for us on Feb. 25 we will be remembering the calls a lot better!  Even though the squares broke down regularly, we still had a really fun night and it is always good to get to dance with one another and perhaps get a chance to chat and catch up with what is happening.  If Whirl-A-Ways or the Bucaneers start dancing in April, we will back off and hold only one dance on the 4th Fridays but if not we will continue to hold dances on the 2nd and 4th Fridays.

In March we will have K.C. Curtis calling and Neil Koozer cueing.  On the 25th Jim Hattrick will do the honors.  Please come join us  Masks or face shields are still mandatory until the mandate is lifted which may happen as early as April 1.