Our 4th Friday dance on the 22nd was our annual Christmas/Holiday dinner and dance which started off with a potluck including turkey and ham cooked by our vice president Melba Walker and her sister Joy Pitts, our president.  We were happy to see some of our members who no longer dance as well as some former members who no longer dance come out to join us for the feast and the camaraderie.  While many left after the dinner, two squares plus of dancers stayed to dance to K.C. Curtis's fine calling and Christina Corelli's fun cueing.  It was a great night of good cheer.  Here are some photos that Melba got of our caller and his taw Linda, our cuer, and some of our members.

 

 

In January we will hold two dances.  The first will be on the first Saturday.  It will be at new dancer level with Janet Geiger calling and Christina Corelli eueing.  We are hoping many new dancers from Roger's class will come join us for a fun night of dancing.  Roger plans to have them all dancing at mainstream level by the end of February. 

 

Our 3rd Friday dance will follow two weeks later.  Craig Abercrombie will be calling and cueing for us that night.  It's sure to be a fun night so please plan on joining us. 

 

The 4th Friday dance has been cancelled at that is  Mid-Winter Festival where we hope many Single Trees will be dancing and running into old friends from across the state and the Northwest.

 

 

Stuffed Toy Drive Dance Dec. 15

 Single Trees held our first dance of the month last night Dec. 15.  We had a stuffed toy drive to provide the stuffed toys to our local sheriff's department so that children in distress can be given something to cuddle and hold on to.  Dancers were happy to bring these toys and attend the dance with Craig Abercrombie calling and cueing.  He did a great job of mixing it up and keeping us on our toes.  He always chooses great music and of course it all had a holiday theme.  We had two squares on the floor right up until the last tip when we only had enough for one square on the floor.  Most of the dancers were Single Trees members with one couple from the Whirl-A-Ways, the Houtz's.  Thank you for attending.  Roy Houtz is taking over as Hall Vice President in the new year as well as president of the EEAC.  He and Wendy have always been active at the club and area levels and a big help with Mid-Winters.  We were delighted to see them as well as some Single Tree members we hadn't seen for a while due to physical injuries which prevented them from dancing.  The hall was decorated to the hilt first by Melba Walker's committee and then later Melba and her sister Joy, our president, kept adding more and more.  It was a Christmas wonderland by the time they finished.

Our next dance will be Friday, Dec. 22.  We will have a pre-dance dinner/potluck at 6:30 with the club providing ham and turkey, dressing as well as pies.  Please come join us if you are in the area.

 

Some of us will ring in the New Year with Roger Putzler and Christina Corelli at our still bedecked hall.  This dance will have the same hours as Single Trees--7:30 to 10PM.  They intend to toast the New Year at the 9 and 10PM hours on New York and Chicago time.  Party hats and poppers and sparkling cider will be provided.   It should be  a lot of fun. 

 

The first dance of the New Year 2024 will be on Saturday, Jan. 6 (Friday night was not available).  Janet Geiger will be calling at New Dancer level.  We hope we will have a good turnout of new dancers and those refreshing their skills.  Come join us, please! 

 

No photos as the photographer left her iPad at home.

 Pie 'N' Ice Cream Dance

 

On Friday, Nov. 17th Single Trees put on another fun dance the week before Thanksgiving Day.  This was a good idea because we could afford the calories that day.  Melba Walker, our Vice President and her sister Joy Pitts, our President, took great care with the decorations as always and had a sweet little parlor nook for those who wanted photos taken, two of whom were our newly weds, Susan Hess and James Olheiser, and not so newly weds, Margaret McVey and Roger Tendick (see photos below).  Both couples met, by the way, through lessons here at our hall.

 

We had at times three squares on the floor dancing to Craig Abercrombie's fine calling.  We always like his choice of upbeat music, some of which is of the oldie but goodie variety but all of which carries a strong beat.  He also cued for us and kept everyone moving without much down time except when  they were eating pie and ice cream or getting photos taken.  It was a fun night and we hope that next time you get the chance you'll come and join us.

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Craig Abercrombie on stage calling to the two front squares

James Olheiser and Susan Hess

Roger Tendick and Margaret McVey

Vonda Clayton and V.P. Melba Walker

Joy Pitts, Prez, and Melba Walker, V.P.

Halloween Costume Dance Oct. 27

 Best dance of the season!  Our Halloween Costume Dance even topped the Sock Hop in September.  Ian Craig called and Christina Corelli cued, each doing a super great job for us and delighting the crowd of dancers.  At one point we had five squares on the dance floor, starting with two for plus and ending with three for a final tip just after 10PM.  We had guests from Roseburg join us, including the president of the Buckeroos and our own member Glen Nielsen and his fiancee Kathy.    Our club cuer Jackie Gale has had to take a leave of absence as her husband Bill has  a couple of health issues and the drive over from Sweet Home at this time of year can belong, dark, at times dangerous.  We certainly do miss her and wish Bill well again soon.

The Emerald Square Dance Center was decorated to thehilt by our president Joy Pitts and her sister and Vice President Melba Walker with help from their niece Janet Geiger.  Wow!  Every corner was done up and got the crowd of dancers in the mood.   Ian and Christina found some really fun music for us to dance to.  Thanks to all who participated in the costume contest with Janet and John getting best couple costume.  Our president Joy came as a prisoner in black and white stripes complete with chains. There were plenty of other creative costumes to admire especially Kathy's Nefertiti (see photos below).  Quite the eye catcher.  Thank you one and all!

Here are some fun photos from that night.

I

 

Our next dances will be in November, on the third and fourth Friday, Nov. 17 and Nov. 24. The theme for the 17th will be Pie 'N Ice Cream and for the 24 it will be Turkey Dance.  Craig Abercrombie will call and cue for us on th e 17th, and Roger Putzler will call for us on the 24.    Please come join us for these two fun dances.

Our Western Hoe Down and Chili Feed Dance held on Oct. 20 was a lot of fun.  Margaret McVey won the chili making contest (she is really good cook!) and Judy Melendrez won the jelly bean in a jar counting contest.  Way to go, Judy!  Our president Joy Pitts had evryone put on hats and fake mustaches to have photos taken like in an old timey wanted poster.  How fun and creative she is.

Bruce Lowther called and his wife Judy Russell cued for us.  There were two squares on the floor which is considered a good turnout these days.  

We hope our 4th Friday dance with a Halloween theme will see lots of ghosts and goblins out to dance to Ian Craig and Jackie Gale.  See you all there.

 The new dance year got off to a good start at the Single Trees Sept. 15, 2023 Sock Hop Dance with Craig Abercrombie calling and cueing.  Craig always does a fine job of calling and is especially good with this theme.  We were happy to dance to his cueing as well that night.  We had fewer out of town visitors that night, but those that attended enjoyed themselves and also liked the root beer floats that our president and vice president served at a formal sit-down break.  We had lots of over-sized white shirts as well as t-shirts paired with blue jeans just like in the 50's.  There was also a few poodle skirts on hand.  Just the way to kick off a new dance season.

Our next dance will be this coming Friday, Sept. 22 with Mark Wheeler calling and Christina Corelli cueing.  These two should keep the floor happy by calling and cueing their best.

Here is a group shot from Friday, Sept. 15's dance.  My thanks to Melba Walker's camera for the photo.

 

Our president Joy Pitts in yellow is front and center.

See you all in a square soon.,

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

On the fourth  Friday, Aug. 25, Single Trees had another fun dance with Mark Wheeler down from Portland to call for us and Jackie Gale from Sweet Home cueing for us.  Mark always finds good music, and we love his friendly manner of calling.  He learned well from Jim Hattrick whom we still miss and think of frequently.  Thank you, Mark and Jackie, for the fine calling and cueing.

The theme that night was Hawaiian Nights.    We had quite a turnout of dancers wearing their Hawaiian finery--muu-muus, Hawaiian shirts, leis, and flowers in the hair.  It was quite festive.  There was a give-away of pineapples.  Everyone had a great time and I'm sure are looking forward to our next dance in September.  Here are 23 dancers, one caller and one cuer wearing their best, minus Bill Gale who wanted to protect his foot which had just had surgery performed on it recently.  There were some not in the photo who had forgotten to dig out their Hawaiian gear.

Betty from Single Trees dancing with Pete from Roseburg.

                                 Irene from Sweet Home dancing with Dick from Roseburg.

We had 7 dancers come from Lebanon to dance with us and a couple of dancers from Roseburg.  They definitely added to the fun that night.

In September we will dance on the third and fourth Fridays at the Emerald Square Dance Center on Yolanda and 20th in Sprinfield.  Sept. 15 will be our Sock Hop dance with Craig Abercrombie both calling and cueing for us.  This will be a really fun night with root beer floats provided by the club and our president and vice president.  Please let all your square dancing friends know about this fun event.  Mark Wheeler will be back calling for us at our Ducks versus Beavers dance  and Jackie Gale will be cueing.

See you all on the floor.  Let the new dance year begin!

Gaynor Hintz

Club reporter

This past Friday night August 11 we held our first dance of August with Bruce Lowther calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  Bruce brought his wife Judy with him who cued a fun round dance tip for us.  She and Bruce will be teaming up to call and cue for us once more in the near future (October 20).  Bruce called some good tips for us both at the plus and mainstream level.  Jackie did a fine job of cueing as usual and had quite a full floor for a while.  The theme was "Corn Fields and Watermelon Patches: so many wore their best farmer duds and were treated to corn on the cob and watermelon supplied by our President, Joy Pitts, and our Vice President ,Melba Walker.  They also did a fabulous job of decorating the hall.  They are both well known for their decorating prowess.  Joy used to be in charge of Mid-Winter decorations.

 

The dance center just had our floors refinished.   They look wonderful--almost like brand new, but it will take a while to break them in.    Our operations manager Marv Baker has promised to put something down on the floor to make them easier on the feet , ankles and knees.  

 

We have one more dance on August 25 with a Hawaiian theme so if you have some Hawaiian gear to wear or bring, please do so.  We are still casual so shorts with a Hawaiian shirt is great.  Mark Wheeler will be calling and Jackie Gale cueing.

In September our Sock Hop with Root Beer Floats will be called and cued by Craig Abercrombie.  This should be a really fun dance with lots of poodle skirts and jeans and T-shirts on the floor.  This will be held on Sept. 15.  On Sept. 22 will be our Ducks Versus Beavers dance with Mark Wheeler  and Jackie Gale.  Wear the colors of your favorite and come join us for a great night of dancing.

Thank you, Melba Walker and Judy Melendrez, for sharing the photos you took.

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club reporter 

2023 cLUB pICNIC

 Last Saturday July 8 we held our annual club picnic at the country property of Suzanne Peterson.  We always enjoy going there on these hot summer days to sit and talk under the shade of her very mature trees.  No matter how hot it is it is cool under those tall trees.  We are so grateful to Suzanne for allowing us to hold our picnics there.

21 members and guests gathered at noon and with the help of Rich Sousa the barbecue of the hamburgers and hotdogs began.  Members brought all sorts of side dishes and desserts to accompany the hamburgers and hotdogs.  After eating, there was more conversation, games to be played and blueberry picking for those so inclined.  Some of us strolled around the grounds admiring all the plantings.  Others gathered and did a tip with Janet Geiger calling.  As always, one of the main attract5ions was Joy's dog race game which she ended up winning.  Lucky Joy!

It was loads of fun and camaraderie. A good time all in all with perfect summer weather.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Dancing in June and July

Unfortunately, this reporter missed the two dances held in June on the 16th and the 23rd.  The one on the 16th was spur of the moment, but we still had two squares on the floor dancing to Roger Putzler's calling and Jackie |Gale's cuein g.  On the 23rd K.C. Curtis was down from Gresham with his wife to call a mighty fine dance for us with nearly four squares of dancers in attendance.  We love K.C.'s voice and choice of music and he did us proud!  We were happy to see three couples from Roseburg's Buckeroos and one couple down from Woodburn to help fill out the squares. Thank you all for being willing to drive so far.

We are continuing to offer two dances per month as it is summer and so many other clubs go dark.  On July 14th we will have Darrell Kalmbach calling with Christina Corelli cueing.  This should be a super fun dance as we had a nice turnout in April for Darrell.  Darrell's wife Erin often accompanies him and as she likes to dance she is often on the floor.  They make a good duo.  Jackie cued for us and there were many coup0les on the floor.  This time Christina Corelli will do the honors as cuer.  We hope you will all come out and join us for this and for the one on the 28th with Janet Geiger calling and Jackie Gale cueing.

We have three new dancers who have joined our club: Patricia Reinhart, Diana Hodges, and Jim Olheier who recently married one of our long-time members, Susan Hess.   Welcome to them all!  And congratulations to Susan and Jim.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

We had two fun dances lately, the first on the 4th Friday in April with Darrell Kalmbach, guest calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  We all really enjoyed Darrell's fine calling and appreciated his subbing in for Jim Hattrick.  A good time was had by all.  The second dance was hosted in conjunction with our sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways, on their regular 2nd Saturday night dance night May 13.  It was the annual Fiesta Dance with taco bar preceding the dance.  Mike Kious called and Christina Corelli cued.  Mike and Camille announced the coming birth of their son in August.  While we did not have a big turnout of dance members or visitors, we all had a great time visiting with one another, enjoying the taco bar and dancing to Mike's fun calling.  We look forward to doing this again next year.

In early May, we were all saddened when we learned that Jim Hattrick had passed away after his long illness.  He will be sorely missed by all the dancers who enjoyed his calling over the years.  He was not only a fantastic caller but was quite a super good cuer and choreographer as well.  Rest in Peace, Jim. 

 

We will continue having guest callers and also will continue with guest callers in the next dance year starting in September.

 

Our new club president is Joy Pitts who assumed office in April along with her sister Melba Walker who will be vice president and her right hand person.  We wish them a good year at the helm of our club, helping make our dances a fun place to dance.

 

Our next dance will be a Crazy T- Shirt Dance June 23rd.  We do not know who the caller will be at this time, but Jackie Gale will be cueing.  Find your zaniest t-shirt and come join us1

Keep on dancing,

Gaynor Hintz,

Club Reporter

Three of our dancers along with one guest watch the round dancers on the floor: guest, Connie Seamans, Renee Vandole, Suzanne Peterson.  Connie is Mid-Winter Chair for 2024.

 Kevin Heine, Whirl-A-Ways member and ESDC Hall President, chatted with our newly weds, Susan Hess and Jim Hall during the dance.

 

We're really looking forward to our next two dances; the first will occur this coming Friday the 28th of April, our normal 4th Friday dance.  The second will take place on the 13th of May, and it will be our Fiesta Dance which we jointly host on the second Saturday with the Whirl-A-Ways since we no longer have a second Friday dance.

This Friday will be our "Reigning Cats and Dogs" dance which is held annually to benefit our local humane society, Greenhill here in Eugene.   We ask members and visitors to consider donating cash or pet supplies, old towels or blankets.  This dance will be called by Darrell Kalmbach and cued by Jackie Gale since our club caller Jim Hattrick is still in rehab.

The Fiesta Dance on May 13 will feature WAWs' club caller Mike Kious and their cuer Christina Corelli, always a good duo to dance to.  Since it is  a fiesta dance we will start off with a taco bar with all the makings for tacos supplied by both clubs.  The taco bar will start at 6PM, plus starts at 7PM and then mainstream with rounds starts at 7:30.  Some like to don their best fiesta wear--sombreros, colorful Mexican blouses or dresses, etc.  Should be a fun time so please come join us.

There will be no 4th Friday dance in May due to the Memorial Day weekend.  Our next dance will be at the end of June.  Since there are many fun weekend festivals to attend we will still get in lots of dancing; moreover, both B|uccaneers and Whirl0-|A-Ways will hold their regular dances.

Keep on dancing, everyone!

 

 On March 24 we had our fourth Friday dance with Mark Wheeler calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  Jackie Gale's husband Bill was on hand to help man the door for our treasurer Joy Pitts so she could dance and also to squire some of the ladies on the round dance floor.  We had a nice turnout considering our sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways, was at the coast for their spring campout.  We had two squares for plus and three for mainstream.  There were some newly graduated dancers in attendance so Mark did a lot of repetition so that they could do the calls better.  Jackie had a full round dance floor as some of our guys who love to round dance were in attendance.  A good time was had by one and all.

 

We held our annual election of officers last night and have a new president, Joy Pits.  Her sister Melba will be vice president and help her along the way.  Not only will she be president but she  will also continue to be treasurer.  Both are big jobs and demand a lot of time and energy.  Thank you , Joy, for stepping forward to keep our club running.

We're looking forward to our April 22 dance but at this point we do not know who will be calling this dance.  Jim Hattrick remains in rehab and even when released to go home it will take quite a long time to recuperate according to his wife Judy.  We continue to send good thoughts his way.

In May on the second Saturday of the month we will combine with our sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways, to hold our annual Mexican Fiesta dance with Mike Kious calling and Christina Corelli cueing.  This is always a fun dance as we have a sit down break with a taco bar and many wear their most colorful shirts and dresses.  Please come join us!

Last night March 11 a group of Single Trees went north to the Polk County fairgrounds to pay our respects of o one of our fabulous guest callers over the years, George Hermann.  It was also the IWW's 63rd Birthday dance and they were  also saying farewell to their cuer Molly Fairly who will be staying come to care for the baby she is expecting in June.   It was a joyous occasion despite the fact that we will no longer see George calling anywhere.  There were so many IWW members there all in there black and white outfits and also 92 visitors came from all over to fill up the squares.  They opened at 7PM with a plus tip with seven squares on the floor.  Eventually they had 12 squares on the floor for mainstream.  It was bumper to bumper at times.  So much fun.  It was just like the old days.  It was great fun seeing dancers one only gets to see at Mid-Winter or perhaps Summer Festival.  While our visitation group was small compared to the old days we all had a blast.

IWW members grouped before George, Mollie and Chuck Ivy

Part of Single T|rees visitation group

Christina Corelli (back) and Zola Jonesin a square

Sharon Hahn and Paul Cunningham listening to announcements

Renee in a square; Michael Burt to the side

George Hermann calling

Some youngsters were on the floor

Annie from Salem Swingin' Stars

Newlyweds Christine and Jake
 

Annie from the Salem Swing' Stars, former member of Cast A shadows

Lana Smith and Harry Sorenson from our area joined in on the fun
Lana and Harry in a square  Below Christine Beneda, Rich Sousa in a square