2024 Christmas Decorating at teh Emerald Square Dance Center

 

  2024 Christmas Decorating

On Nov. 30 a group of square dancers gathered once again to decorate the hall for the holiday season. There was a mixture of Whirl-A-Ways and Single Trees, and we managed to get quite a bit done in the two and a half hours that I was there. Melba came prepared with extension cords, two sided tape, scissors and extra decorations with hangers for the pegboard.. The tables in the dining area got decorated with the small Christmas trees Joy had brought in quite a few years ago now and many corners and the stage got groups of poinsettias. Lights and garland were added also with Christmas motif objects hung from the pegboard surrounding the used clothing area. It is all set now for the various clubs and other renters that use Hall A throughout the month of December. Thanks should go to Melba, Betty, John and Carolyn Pape, Scott and Gail Sandgathe, Janice Sugar, Ron Gates, Chris Brown, Margaret McVey and Roger Tendick, Chris Brown, and me Gaynor Hintz. Do try to make it to a dance or to the Single Trees potluck dinner Dec. 20 to see how lovely it all looks.

Happy Holidays,

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

 

 

Judy Melendrez' Celebration of Life

          

 

 Today, Nov. 23 many square dancers joined Judy's family and co-workers and customers from Selco Credit Union for a beautiful celebration of her life re in Springfield-Eugene-McKenzie Valley .  The memorial was held at our square dance hall and featured a slide show which incorporated many photos of her life (she had many).  It was a wonderful chance to say good-bye and acknowledge the fact that she will be greatly missed by her home club and other members of her wide-spread community.  One of her granddaughters read a poem she had written for her grandmother.  That was very touching.  

 

It was so good to see many square dancers who no longer dance there to commemorate her passing.  She lead a long and fulfilling life but one still feels she had more life to live and passed too soon at the age of 84.

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

 

Thanksgiving Celebration Dance

 Hi, just a few words to describe our Friday, Nov. 22 dance.  While the turnout was not great we had a really fun night dancing to Bruce Lowther and Sandy Harris.  Bruce put some good calls together for us.  We had one square for the plus tips and two for the mainstream tips with three on one occasion.   We had visitors from the Alliance clubs to the north of us, supporting Bruce.   While we do enjoy dancing plus, given the fact that we have quite a few newer mainstream dancers it might be good to consider changing the format of our dances so the newer dancers can be on the floor more.  We would like to see them get as much floor time as possible.  Many of them are now taking round dance classes too.  Good for them!  Our cuers will be happy to see more on the floor during the round dance tips.

This was the last dance for us in November.  We will only have one dance in December--our Christmas Dinner and Dance. on Dec. 20, the third Friday.  We will NOT have a dance on the 2nd and 4th Fridays that month.

In January on the second Friday, Jan. 10,  we will hold a New Dancer dance.  It should be a good one and we hope to welcome new dancers from our area as well as other areas.   Bruce Lowther will be calling and his wife, Judy Russell, will be cueing.  Come on out and join us!

Honoring Our Veterans

 

Honoring Our Veterans Dance

Last night Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 we held our “Honoring Our Veteran’s” dance. While it was a very small turnout, we still had a really great time dancing and honored the three veterans that attended with a speech given by our president, Melba Walker, who had been married to a veteran, her late husband, and a photo taken of all four of them (see below). We thank you for yur service. 

Many wore red, white and blue for the occasion. Thank you to Mark Wheeler who called a fun dance and to Sandy Harris who cued some fun rounds for us. They both tried to find songs in keeping with the theme. Below are some photos of the one square on the floor at that time (we did have two at one time and a six couple “square” too which was really different and fun.

We will have our Thanksgiving Celebration dance next week on Nov. 22. We hope to see quite a few dancers wanting to dance in preparation for all those calories on Thanksgiving Day itself.

In December we will only hold one dance ,our Christmas Dinner and Dance on the third Friday Dec. 20. We always have a potluck dinner with ham and rice prepared by our president this year. We sit down at 6:30 before our Christmas dance which starts at the normal time at 7:30. Hope to see many out to celebrate with us and check out our beautiful hall at Christmas time

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter 

 

 

 

 

 An executive decision was made that we will continue our 3rd dances for November and December drop the proposed 2nd Friday dances in Nov. and Dec.and only have our 3rd Friday dance in December.  We will start having 2nd and 4th Friday dances in the new year.  

 

So in November we will have the Honoring Our Veterans dance on Nov. 15  with Mark Wheeler calling and Sandy Harris cueing.  On Nov. 22 we will have a Thanksgiving Celebration (dance off those calories!) with Bruce Lowther calling and Sandy Harris cueing.  On Dec. 20 we will have our Christmas Dinner and Dance with a potluck dinner at 6:30PM (gather at 6 to put out the dishes and prepare the tables)followed by a dance at 7:30 with Darrell Kalmbach calling and

Christina Corelli cueing.  

 

We always start our dances with a plus tip at 7:30 followed by 15 minutes of pre-rounds until 8.  Mainstream with every third tip plus and rounds in between will be from 8 to 10 at the Emerald Square Dance Center at 2095 Yolanda.  Be sure to put our Christmas dance on your calendar or come to one of he other dances at the hall during the Christmas season as we always decorate to the hilt for the season. It is sure to raise your spirits. 

 

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Halloween Bash

 

Last night’s Single Trees’ Halloween Bash will stand out as one of the highlights of this season. While our turnout was small, the people who came really got into the spirit of Halloween, wearing all manner of costumes, very creative and fun as well as scary.

Roger Putzler called a well-paced dance for us with plus tips and mainstream tips. We had only one square for our plus tips and two for our mainstream tips. Christina Corelli was having voice problems from allergies but did a very nice job of cueing and choosing our favorites to dance to. While there were never many in the circle it was still a lot of fun.

Our president Melba Walker was also having voice problems due to laryngitis. She was however still game to put on a good show and had a remarkable costume on. She and her sister Joy had worked tirelessly to decorate for the dance but had to undecorate the same night as the hall was rented out the next day. What a shame that Spin Cycle Squares who dance on Sundays didn’t get to admire the decorations.

Three dancers won prizes. Christina would have won but as cuer they did not place her name in the running—she was very creative and came as a salt and pepper shaker. How clever. Our president should have won too—great costume.

We were all pleased to see two couples from the Corvallis area as well as one couple from the south of us. We also had visitors from our sister club the Whirl-A-Ways. Thank you all for coming to dance with us and make our dance so fun!

 

hERE ARE  SOEM PHOTOS THAT WERE TAKEN LAST NIGHT, Oct. 25.

 

 

 

It is unknown at this time if we will have two or three dances in November.  We may once again have a 2nd, 3rd and 4th Friday dance in November.  Check out the blog in a couple f weeks to see.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Chini Feed and Western Hoe33down Dance

On Friday, Oct. 18 Single Trees held its 3rd Friday dance with K.C. Curtis calling and Sandy Harris cueing.  K.C. always calls an excellent dance for us.  A small but enthusiastic group of dancers attended this Chili Feed and Western Hoedown themed dance.  This reporter did not attend but thanks to a fellow member Renee VanDole found out about the highlights.

 

There were  two squares in attendance with a few more dancers on the sidelines.  Three pots of chili were set out for tasting along with small bread rolls and lots of cheese, sour cream etc. to top off a bowl.  Apparently not enough votes were cast to make a determination of which pot was the best.  But thanks to those who brought them:  our president, Melba Walker, fellow member Margaret McVey and one other..

 

This coming Friday's dance will be our Halloween Bash.  What will our V.P. and Treasurer Joy Pitts come up with this year?  There will be a photo corner filled with ghosts and goblins so bring your cameras.  Roger Putzler will be calling and Sandy Harris cueing. 

 

Here are some blasts from the past Halloween dances we've had:

Halloween contest winners in 2011.

 

Winners in 2014 (can you recognize Joy?). 

The woman who couldn't6 find her little dog.

Happy dancing, everyone,

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

 

Fun Night of Dancing

Fun! Fun! Fun! Our Oct. 11, 2024 dance was a barrel of fun, led by a fairly new caller Shaun McKamey in his big, black cowboy hat and our cuer Jackie Gale who had a really full round dance floor for the first time in a while. This was our first time returning to dance on the second Friday and what a way to get back to it. Shawn is now the caller for Sweet Home Squarenaders, making a come back, and the caller for Lebanon square Circlers as their long-time caller Charlotte Jaskey retired recently. Shawn while still quite new has a tremendous amount of potential. He has a fine singing voice, good stage presence, a clear voice easily heard by the dancers, and already knows how to put calls together for interest. His calling is also very well-paced. Those who missed this dance and there were many should make a note not to miss dancing to him again or take the time to go to one of the clubs to the north of us to dance. Here are two photos taken by our president Melba Walker. 

 

Shawn McKamey calling

Two squares of happy dancers

There were only two squares on the floor at that time when Melba took the photos, but we did have three squares for mainstream on occasion. Squarenaders, Corvallis squares and Lebanon really came out in force to support their new caller. We also had visitors from south of us—Cottage Grove and Roseburg dancers. We appreciated seeing them all.

Melba and her sister Joy had decorated the hall with Halloween décor, Melba encouraged everyone to return on Oct. 25 for our Halloween Bash because there will be a photo corner with lots of ghosts and goblins for a good photo op as well as good calling by Roger Putzler and cueing by Sandy Harris.

Don’t forget next week on Oct. 18 we will have K.C. Curtis from the Portland area calling and Sandy Harris cueing for a Western Hoedown and Chili Feed Dance.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

 Our fourth Friday dance was a pie and ice cream social with Mark Wheeler calling and Jackie Gale cueing in place of Christina Corelli who was under the weather.  Mark did a good job with his fine singing voice and genial personality and Jackie as always cued some great rounds for us.  We only had two squares on the floor most of the evening although I think at one time we did have three.  We had a few visitors from out of town who are always a delight to see.

Jackie Gale put on a round that our recently departed member Judy Melendrez would have loved to dance and we all stood in a big ring to remember her and say some parting words.  We will all miss her very much.

I am borrowing from our Calling Tree chair to let you all know what our October schedule has in store for us.  Lots of good dancing and callers and cuers for you all to enjoy!

 

Dancing at Emerald Square Dance Center - Sept/Oct 2024.

2095 Yolanda Springfield, OR

 

Hello Single Trees Club Members and Friends,

Here are our dances in October, plus those of other clubs dancing at this location.

 

Single Trees Club Notices:

Yearlong Ongoing Toy Donation - cuddly, stuffed animals for children in stressful situations, provided via the Sheriff.

Sept/Oct - Every Sunday     Spin Cycle Squares	Tim Matteson calling to the floor.	4-6pm SSD, MS, and Plus All Position Dancing.
Oct 11th - 2nd Fri Single Trees	Shaun McKamey  calling; Jackie Gale cueing.	7:30 Plus 7:45 Pre-Rounds 8-10 MS with Rounds;           (every 3rd tip Plus)
Oct 18th - 3rd Fri Single Trees Western Chili Feed Hoedown	KC Curtis calling; Sandy Harris cueing.	7:30 Plus 7:45 Pre-Rounds 8-10 MS with Rounds;           (every 3rd tip Plus)
Oct 19th - 3rd Sat Whirl-A-Ways	Mark Wheeler calling; Christina Corelli cueing.	7:00 Plus  7:30-10:00 MS with Rounds
Oct 25th - 4th Fri Single Trees Halloween Bash	Roger Putzler calling; Christina Corelli cueing.	7:30 Plus 7:45 Pre-Rounds 8-10 MS with Rounds;           (every 3rd tip Plus)

Pam M 

Single Trees Calling Chair

A Sad Loss for our Square Dance Community

 

In Memoriam

Judy Melendrez

March 11, 1940 to Sept. 11, 2024

We were all saddened when we learned that Judy had passed away on Sept. 11 after being diagnosed with incurable lung cancer only a few months before. We square dancers have all grown to love Judy with her happy smile and her tremendous love of dancing. Judy not only square danced, learning mainstream in 2000, plus the following year and advanced at one time, but she also took countless lessons to perfect her round dancing over the years. She supported most of the clubs that danced at the hall. She and Vonda Clayton used to go line dancing together all the time for many years.

Judy was a fairly private person so I don’t know a whole lot about her personal life only tidbits here and there. She was on Facebook so we all knew about her love of her family, her two sons and grandchildren, her late brother and two sisters—lots of family gatherings and while she rarely missed a square dance at the hall or elsewhere on visitations, if she did, it was for family. She also loved to gamble and played split the pot each and every time, waving around her winning ticket quite regularly as she was very lucky. It was my understanding that she often went to the casinos to play and hit the jackpot. Her favorite game at the club picnics was the dog race game which Joy always brought.

Judy grew up in the McKenzie Valley and attended McKenzie schools through high school. She, Betty Aukeerman, and Bill Herington (former member) all attended there but no and had a special bond because of that. After retirement from McKenzie Willamette Hospital and moving into Springfield, she began working for Selco Credit Union on Harlow and Gateway for many, many years as greeter and information guide until her health declined last spring. She only worked part-time for the credit union but enjoyed every minute, meeting and helping new people and seeing occasional square dancers come through too.

She will be missed not only by the square dance community but by all the people who met her over the years and of course her family. Farewell, Judy, our hall will never be quitte the same.

Gaynor Hintz

New Caller Dance and Sock Hop Dance

On Saturday Sept. 17 Single Trees hosted a New Caller dance for Roger Putzler’s and Daryl Clendenin’s newest caller class which was held via Zoom. Four of the seven were able to attend and call to two squares of eager dancers willing to give the new callers “mic” time. It was interesting to see who had decided they might have a vocation as a caller. As you can imagine, they were not well polished but eager to test their new skills. Some may make it given enough time. A good time was had by all as we all knew we were doing a good thing. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Ross, Diana, Chris, Dennis, Patrick, Betty, Joy and Paul H. in a square.

Same Square doing a right and left through-- only Chris and Dennis are facing the camera.

 

 

I did not attend the third Friday dance which had a Sock Hop theme with Janet Geiger calling and Jackie Gale cueing. I was told there weretwo squares on the floor and everyone enjoyed themelves.

We were all saddened to learn that our long time member Judy Melendrez had passed away on Sept. 11 having a short battle with lung cancer diagnosed last spring. The dance hall will not seem the same without her happy smile among us. I will post a separate blog with photos from the past for her.

This coming Friday will feature Mark Wheeler from Portland with Christina Corelli cueing. We all enjoy Mark’s genial nature and good singing voice. He is one of Jim Hattrick’s protegees and coming along nicely. This will be a pie and ice cream social so bring your appetites as well as your dancing shoes.

I understand beginner lessons are underway as of Sept. 8 and no longer accepting new dancers to the class although if one wants to refresh old skills, one could do so by coming on Sundays from 1 to 3PM to join Roger Putzler’s class at 2095 Yolanda in Springfield.

 

August Events

 

Single Trees had a super fun month this August. We started out the month with our annual picnic held out near Mt. Pisgah off Seavey Loop at the country property of one of our members, Suzanne Peterson. This property had been hit hard by the ice storm we had here in January but you wouldn’t know it looking at it now. It was in pristine condition as always! Thank you, Suzanne, for hosting once again.

As usual we had about 25 members and guests on hand with hamburggers and hot dogs grilled to perfection by newer member John Olson from the Medford area. We all brought side dishes and desserts to go with. We ate and talked, talked and ate, and none of us wanted to dance feeling replete and in need of a good sit down. The day was perfect—not too hot as it was overcast. There was no blueberry picking this year as the berries ripened early in July.

We had two fun-filled dances on the 3^rd and 4^th Fridays. We had lots of guests from clubs to the north of us whose clubs do not dance during the summer. We appreciate their support.

In September, we are sponsoring a new caller dance on the 14^th with several new callers or callers getting back into the game having just gone through Daryl Clendenin’s and Roger Putzler’s zoom caller class. We are excited to hear them call and get the opportunity to dance to them. On Friday, Sept. 20 we will hold our regular mainstream dance called by Janet Geiger and cued by Jackie Gale with a Sock Hop/Back To School theme. On Sept. 27, the 4^th Friday,, we will host a Pie and Ice Cream Social Dance with Mark Wheeler calling and Christina Corelli cueing. We expect to have a great time dancing and visiting with our guests. Please come join us.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Annual Club Picnic

 Single Trees hosted our annual picnic on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Suzanne Peterson's beautiful country home off Seavey Loop.  We have been very fortunate to be able to use her property for our cub picnics for well over 15 years.  She and her fellow Single Trees member Renee always have the property looking its best despite the terrible ice storm damage the property sustained in January. Several purn iles later along with a huge chip pile and it was good t go.

We believe there were about 25 Single Trees and their guests at the picnic on what turned out to be a very pleasant Saturday afternoon.  The picnic started around noon with many arriving beforehand to set up the tables, chairs and start the barbecue.  Thanks to our grill master, John Olson, a new member as of last year and Janet Geiger's fiance, the hamburgers and hotdogs were done just right.  There lots of delicious side dishes and desserts to go around.  We all ate until we were stuffed and too full to do any dancing.  Janet had offered to do some calling and  Christina Corelli was on hand to do soem cueeing.  It would have been nice but I think we were all there to eat and chat, chat and eat.  Some did get on the trailer to be taken on a hay ride around the property, soem walked around to view all the flower beds and teh amazing garden Suzanne does every year.  She had lots of zucchini to give away.  And of course we had the dog race game which many dearly love.  We were only sorry that our dear fellow member Judy Melendrez was nto thee to share the fun.  Judy is terribly ill so couldn't be there.  Also our Calling Tree chair Pam Murray hadto back out at the last minute as one of her granddaughter's was exposed to COVID and she didn't want 6to take the chance.

We were delighted so see so many of our new members out to join us along with some guests.  Diana Hodges, Chris Brown and Patricia Reinhart were there along with a friend of Patricia's Tom and newer dancer Janice S.  We hope they weren't disappointed there was no dancing.  They are all very hung ho and we applaud them for that.  Some of our long tern members who normally come were not there and that was sad also as we only have the one picnic a year.  Still those who came had a great time and will have to dance up a storm to rid themselves of all the extra calories.

Here are some photos I managed to get when not stuffing my face or talking.

Our next dances are Aug. 16 and Aug. 23.  For more detailed information please read the previous blog.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

July 19 Dance and a Wedding

 July 19's dance was a blast.  Roger Putzler called and brought out a lot of dancers from outside Lane County.  We sure appreciate seeing dancers from Lebanon, Sweet Home and Corvallis come join us.  While we only had five squares on the floor one time, we held firm at 3-4 all evening long.  That is a total surprise for a summer time dance with some much going on.  The previous weekend was Summer Festival and the next weekend Diamond Lake but people were eager to dance and decided to drive miles to join us.  What fun!

Our theme that night was Watermelon, Tie-dyes and Crazy T-Shirts.  One couple, Eric and Christina definitely got with the theme wearing a sundress (she) and shirt (he) making them look like cool, delicious watermelon.  Needless to say there was plenty of  real watermelon to cool us down thanks to our vice president, Joy Pitts.  We hope our August dances will go as well.  We went dark for Diamond Lake on the 26th; however, due to large fires up there, Diamond Lake Festival had to be cancelled.  What a shame!

The next day several Single Trees joined the turnout for Connie Seamans and Paul Gates's wedding out at their place in Pleasant Hill.  It was a simple ceremony with a great potluck following and plenty of wedding cake on a very hot summer afternoon.  We didn't mind the heat because we were all so happy to see them tie the knot after such a long time and long engagement.

Here's some photos from the dance and the wedding the next day.

I was only able to take a few photos at the dance and completely forgot to take out my iPad at the wedding.  My thanks to Roger Tendick who did have the presence of mind to take a few.

 

Three squares on the floor early on. 

Nancy and Jerry Gowins face the caller with Eric and Christina Mustoe to their right.
 

Connie and Paul exchange vows

 

 

Our next dances in August are the 16th and the 23rd.  The theme on the 16th is Barnyard Jubilee with Darrell Kalmbach calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  The 23rd has Bruce Lowther calling and Christina Corelli cueing with a Ducks versus Beavers theme.  Please come have some dancing fun with us!

See you on the dance floor,

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

Hawaiian Nights Dance

 

Last night’s dance (June 28) Single Trees hosted a Hawaiian Leis Dance at the Emerald Square Dance Center with Bruce Lowther calling and Jackie Gale cueing. We were treated to a tip called by Sweet Home and Lebanon Square Circlers new caller Shawn and also a round dance tip cued by Bruce’s wife Judy. What a great night of calling, cueing and dancing it was.

We were so excited to see the number of guests that came in support of both Bruce and Shawn. Sweet Home Squarenaders are coming back strong and of course Bruce’s club and Lebanon Square Circlers as well as Corvallis Square were all well represented. We saw lots of ne3w faces and younger faces as well. All this bodes well for dancing in the southern Willamette Valley.

Our president Melba Walker and her sister Joy did a nice job of decorating with the Hawaiian theme. Door prizes of pineapples were given out. Vonda Clayton won split the pot for he first time in along time. She was tickled pink.

Bruce Lowther did an amazing job of calling for us. He as called for us in the past and always has done a nice job but last night he really poured it on. I commend him for his choice of music too and his pacing. Good beat, good timing.

We were also pleased to see so many got into the Hawaiian theme. There were lots of muu-muus and Hawaiian shirts on the floor in a wide array of colors.

What was super amazing was that we actually had five squares on the floor at one time when yours truly decided there were enough sitting around who could be dancing and helping out the lone lady from Corvallis who tried to dance all by herself! She looked like she was having fun but definitely had more fun when seven of us joined her. We ended the evening with hour squares which is highly unusual these days but goes to show that everyone was having fun and didn’t want to leave early.

We hope our summer dances will all go this well. Bruce will be back to call in August. Roger Putzler is calling and Jackie Gale is cueing our next dance July 19 with a Watermelon, Tie-dyes, and Crazy T-Shirt Dance. Please make a note to come out and dance with us this summer.

Gaynor Hintz

Club Reporter

 

 

Reigning Cats and Dogs Dance June 21

 On Friday, June 21, we held our "Reigning Cats and Dogs" dance, a benefit dance for Greenhill Humane Society.  Mark Wheeler called (down from Portland) and Dave Cooper cued (up from the south coast).  Both did a great job for us and we appreciate their willingness to travel so far.

We had three squares on the floor for mainstream most of the night.  There were visitors from sweet Home and Roseburg as well as fromour sister club, the Whirl-A-Ways.  We missed some of teh Whirl-A-Ways who dance with us regularly as they were on a campout that weekend.  Still with three squares of dancers we had a happy group of dancers.  Several newer dancers,, some of whom belong to Single Trees  were there and had lots of help from the more experienced dancers.

Our President Melba Walker had just returned from an extensive sea cruise with her sister and nephew.  She had also had cataract surgery so did not dance that night.  She announced to the crowd that Single Trees would start dancing on the second Fridays beginning in September.  We may or may not have to dance on the third Friday as we have contracts our with various callers.

Our next dance will be Friday, June 28 with Bruce Lowtheer calling and Jackie Gale cueing.  It will have a Hawaiian theme so wear your muu-muus or Hawaiian shirts and come join us for a fun time!

Gaynor Hintz

Club reporter