# articlecontent

articleid: 117
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  On Friday, October 28, The Village Squares kicked off a new season of
  their special Friday night dances with a &ldquo;Fright Night&rdquo;
  costume bash. Six squares of dancers, most of them in full costume,
  enjoyed the music of Jerry Carmen and Gil Porter.

  The costume judges had a hard time deciding on a winner, eventually
  settling on runners up Jim and Diane Lucy (Pirate and his wench) and
  winners Marie Gorse and Jerry Barker (Alice and the Mad Hatter).

  Between tips everyone enjoyed an amazing spread of unique snacks by
  Karen Olmsted, Stephen Barkley, Mary Jo and Dave Webster that
  included&mdash;among many other delights&mdash;body
  parts, insects, worms and dirt!  Don&rsquo;t take my word for it, take
  a look at the accompanying photos.


articleid: 118
position: c
type: text
content:
  Roving Reporter Dick Halstead&rsquo;s article in the Photos and
  Features section of this issue recalls John and Daphne Fink,
  co-founders of the Daphne-Norma Award. The Roving Reporter has been
  out of circulation since last spring, but you can catch up on Dick
  and Irma by reading his open letter. Meanwhile others are beginning
  to take up the slack.

  Honors were presented to Shirley Barnum (Silver Squares), who
  received the Circle of Service Award from Russ &amp; Ruth Uhrenholdt,
  and to Sharon Meyer, who received a Lifetime Membership from the
  Cloverleafs.

  RAF area dancers traveled to Canada, braving the autumn chill to help
  the Napanee Pioneers celebrate their 50th year of square dancing.
  Closer to home, the Village Squares&mdash;and many visitors
  from other clubs&mdash;put on their best costumes and laid out
  their scariest snacks for Friday Fright Night. Reaching back to last
  spring, take a look at the wonderful Dyngus Day dance put on by the
  Batavia SIlver Stars in March.

  Too many of these articles are by me. Please help us get photos of
  your club&rsquo;s activities published here by taking pictures and
  sending them with a description of the activity to <a
  href="mailto:promenader@rochester.rr.com">promenader@rochester.rr.com</a>. I
  know there are interesting dance-related things going on that others
  would like to hear about. So, for example, if you are involved in the
  &ldquo;troop-on&rdquo; program or if you square dance while traveling
  in far away places&nbsp;&hellip; please send us a few pictures and
  tell us something about them. If your club hosts a special dance or
  has a special caller, send us a few photos and tell us the story.

  In the Federation section, RAF President Warren Olson encourages new
  dancers to visit other clubs and encourages all dancers to make use
  of the wealth of information on this website. Click <a
  href="../articles/president-2016-12.html">HERE</a> to read his
  message. He also encourages anyone scheduling a dance to look at the
  online calendar and make sure the date is available. One of the
  primary goals of this website is to make schedule information
  accessible for planning by area clubs and callers. Schedule conflicts
  hurt both events and cause unnecessary stress&mdash;financial
  and otherwise.

  In Memoriam: In this issue we remember John Fink (Boots &rsquo;N
  Slippers) and Don Ellinwood (Cayuga Cut-Ups).


articleid: 118
position: e
type: text
content:
  Any club participating in Banner Stealing is now identified as a
  &ldquo;Banner Stealing Club&rdquo; on our &ldquo;CLUBS&rdquo; page,
  and the updated Banner Stealing rules may be accessed by clicking the
  words &ldquo;Banner Stealing Club&rdquo; wherever they appear on that
  page.

  Here is the list of Banner Clubs registered so far:
  </p>
  <ul>
  <li>Batavia Silver Stars
  <li>Cloverleafs
  <li>Copy Cats
  <li>Grand Squares
  <li>Silver Squares
  <li>Village Squares
  </ul><p>
  I hope that more clubs will join this group and that banner stealing
  will return as an active part of the square dancing scene. It&rsquo;s
  a great way to get to know dancers from other clubs and to boost
  attendance at your club&rsquo;s dances.

  We will also begin listing the RAF representative(s) for each club.

  The quarterly newsletter of the United Square Dancers of America
  (USDA) is now the lead-off item in our Ads &amp; Flyers section, so
  readers can browse for news on the national scene.

  Also, don&rsquo;t forget that our RAF Home Page carries &ldquo;useful
  links&rdquo; including the Finger Lakes Area Council (FLAC) for news
  from our Upstate NY neighbors to the southeast.


articleid: 118
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  September&rsquo;s Fall Friendship Ball in Canandaigua was a lot of fun
  and drew 87 dancers, of whom 82 stayed for dinner. This was planned
  all along as an RAF-subsidized &ldquo;dancer retention&rdquo; event,
  keeping the cost low to encourage attendance by experienced dancers
  and to welcome new dancers. The RAF subsidy amounted to about 48% of
  the total cost. Based on feedback from attendees, the RAF is looking
  for a larger hall for next year.


articleid: 118
position: i
type: text
content:
  Judging from the dances I&rsquo;ve attended so far this season, it
  feels like the push to keep last year&rsquo;s graduates dancing and
  welcome them into our clubs has been successful. I don&rsquo;t have
  accurate numbers to go on, but I do see many familiar faces from last
  May&rsquo;s Parade of Graduates.

  The Cloverleafs have taken the step of changing their beginner class
  to the &ldquo;Club 50&rdquo; program, which reduces the number of
  calls taught to 50 and starts a new group of beginners every 12 weeks,
  with the previous session&rsquo;s graduates returning as
  angels&mdash;for practice and to help the new recruits
  along. This way it&rsquo;s possible for new dancers have more than one
  starting data to choose from each year.

  At the other end of the scale, there is discussion going on about how
  to facilitate bringing national callers to our area. One idea is for
  the RAF to subsidize the extra cost, so that clubs don&rsquo;t have
  to take the risk of falling short on attendance and losing
  money. Please let your RAF representative know if this is something
  that your club might take advantage of.


articleid: 119
position: a
type: text
content:
  On March 28, 2016, the Batavia Silver Stars carried on the tradition
  of Dyngus Day. This springtime Polish celebration on the Sunday after
  Easter features numerous traditions, and the Silver Stars included
  many of them. In addition to the festive outfits and lively dancing
  there were lamb cakes, traditional desserts and pussy willow sprigs to
  take home for good luck.

  The Dyngus Day celebration is rooted in eastern Europe and traces back
  at least six centuries. It includes various traditions in different
  countries, but here in America, the largest continuing celebration
  takes place in Buffalo, NY&mdash;not far from
  Batavia&mdash;with parades, music and parties all around town.

  Thanks to Jan Bencic, caller Bill Ryan and all the Silver Stars for
  hosting such a fun evening. It was well worth the drive!


articleid: 120
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Village Squares invited all square dance clubs to join them Friday, January
  27, to chase away the winter doldrums at their annual Anti-FREEze
  Dance. Dancers from the Dalton Gang and Batavia Silver Stars scraped
  the frost from their windshields and drove across the county to join
  Cloverleafs, Silver Squares, Grand Squares and Copy Cats, while Gil
  Porter warmed the hall with his spirited and creative calling. In
  fact, we&rsquo;re still trying to untangle ourselves from &ldquo;men
  face; grand square.&rdquo;


articleid: 121
position: 1
type: text
content:
  While we battled alternating waves of rain and snow, Rochester area
  dancers Bill Lynch, Barb Smith, Jim &amp; Diane Lucey, Barb Green and
  John Wright got together in Titusville, FL, for the Space Coast Winter
  Fiesta. They were accompanied by Bonnie &amp; George Phillips, who
  missed the photo.

  The Fiesta featured national callers Tony Oxendine and Jack Pladys,
  filling two halls with about 35 squares.

  John encourages new dancers to continue developing their dance skills
  so that they can enjoy events like this when they travel to other
  parts of the country&mdash;one more reward for investing in
  learning to square dance.

  We wish our Snowbirds more happy dancing in the comfortable latitudes,
  but we hope they won&rsquo;t forget us and will make their way home in
  time for the spring dancing season in Rochester.


articleid: 122
position: 1
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  Julie was born in September, 1943, and died on January 9, 2017. She was
  an active square and round dancer for many years. In the mid-80s Julie joined the
  Swinging Singles, which later became Lilac Squares. She
  was also an active member of Cloverleaf Squares and served on the
  board in the early 80s and 90s as a refreshment hostess.

  Julie was an active member of Silver Squares and Cloverleaf Squares
  until her death. Her enthusiasm for square dancing was quite
  evident. She thoroughly enjoyed square dance festivals, promoted them,
  and proudly displayed her badges and dangles. We will miss her
  infectious smile and her lovely personality.


articleid: 123
position: 1
type: text
content:
  February 2017

  Hello Square Dancers!

  We are on the downslide of the winter season and hopefully the worst
  will be soon behind us, because have we got plans for the Spring,
  Summer, and Fall.

  To start off we have the ever-popular Tri-Club Dance on April 8,
  2017. This dance will be featuring out-of-town caller Glen Paulhamus,
  with Lisa Treichler cueing the rounds. Lisa will start with a half hour
  of rounds before the square dance begins its Mainstream/Plus program.

  The 59th Dance-O-Rama follows May 6, 2017 at the Perinton Recreation
  Center 1350 Turk Hill Rd., Fairport, NY. This event starts at 2:00 pm
  and runs until 9:45 pm. Featured callers are Gary Bubel, Ron Brown,
  Gil Porter, and Dave Eno. Featured cuers are Lisa Treichler and Alice
  Bubel. Please see the flyer for more details.

  A new dance this year is the <B>Trail thru to June Jamboree</b> on
  Thursday June 8, 2017. This dance features national callers Gary
  Shoemake and Ken Bower, with Mark Thone cueing the rounds. Early rounds will
  start at 7:00 and squares will follow from 7:30 to 9:45. Location is
  Church of the Assumption in Fairport. All recent graduates are welcome
  and invited as the dance will be both Mainstream and Plus. Please see
  the flyer for more details. We will have discount vouchers available
  to members of all RAF clubs.

  Cloverleafs is featuring Ron Reardon calling and Alice Bubel cueing
  on Saturday July 22 at the Henrietta Fire Hall. This dance comes
  after the Betsy and Roy Gotta dances on Sunday August 13 and
  20&mdash;also at the Henrietta Fire Hall. Please see the
  flyers.

  The Bubels are featuring a Rochester favorite as Johnny Preston comes
  on Tuesday, August 15. Early rounds start at 7:00 with Alice Bubel,
  followed by squares and rounds from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. This dance is at
  the Henrietta Fire Hall. Please see the flyer.

  We recently had another new opportunity fall into our laps for Friday,
  August 25, 2017. Hailing from Arizona, Mike Sikorsky will be the featured
  caller with Alice Bubel cueing rounds. Dance location will be the
  Henrietta Fire Hall 3129 East Henrietta Rd., Henrietta, NY. This dance
  will start with early rounds at 7:00 followed by squares and rounds
  until 9:45. Please watch for a flyer for more details.

  And we aren&rsquo;t through yet as we have the 2nd Annual Fall
  Friendship Ball Saturday on Saturday, September 23, 2017. We listened
  and have a new location this year dancing at the American Legion,
  1513 Palmyra St., Shortsville NY. This dance welcomes all recent
  graduates and old pros to get acquainted, dancing starts at 2:00 and
  runs to 5:15. Callers are Mike Callahan, Gil Porter, Jim Gotta. Cuers
  will be Mark Thone and Chuck Meyer. Following the dance we will have
  a buffet dinner at 5:45. Ribbons will be available and reservations
  are required for dinner. We will start selling tickets at
  Dance-O-Rama this year. Please watch for a flyer for details.

  So, I am thinking we have a great dance offering with plenty of
  variety this summer in addition to continued club dancing! As
  I&rsquo;ve said before, all recent graduates are invited and encouraged
  to dance to national callers. There are opportunities for everyone to
  hit the dance floor this year and nobody should be rusty next
  fall. This is what square dancing is meant to be! See you in a square.


articleid: 124
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Village Squares reminded everyone that even though
  Valentine&rsquo;s Day was past, dancing the next day would be a great
  way to continue celebrating. Gil Porter&rsquo;s calling set a lively
  mood and an amazing assortment of Valentine snacks, all made by
  Jackie Rogers, impressed everyone. There were not only had
  heart-shaped shrimp, hot dogs, open-faced tuna sandwiches and a fruit
  plate, but Jackie even made heart-shaped tacos. Best of all,
  everything was delicious. Jackie even brought heart-shaped doggie
  bags so we could take home leftovers. What leftovers? If Martha
  Stewart could see Jackie&rsquo;s spectacular spread, she would throw
  away her spatula and burn her wooden spoons.


articleid: 125
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Seven squares filled the floor on Saturday, February 18, at the Copy
  Cats&rsquo; Valentines Dance in Penfield. Gil Porter provided a
  high-energy program that kept everyone hopping. He&rsquo;s been a busy
  man filling in for snowbird callers this winter.


articleid: 126
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Square dancing community needs leaders but also lots of faithful
  dancers and when one of those faithful dancers is gone we miss
  them. And so we mourn the passing of Andy Shubert who died on December
  9, 2016 at the age of 88. In the past Andy and his previously deceased
  wife Dottie spent many evenings dancing at local clubs, mainly Country
  Twirlers but in more recent times, Grand Squares. Dottie had serious
  health problems which limited her dancing but she always encouraged
  Andy to attend any dance he could, even without her. Before Dottie
  died, Andy faithfully transported her three times a week to Rochester
  General Hospital for her life-sustaining dialysis treatments. After
  she died Andy donated some of her square dance clothes so others could
  use them.

  Andy and Dottie&rsquo;s blended family was composed of several
  children, most of whom survive them. Andy was a World War II Army
  veteran, a member of the VFW and a member and past Master of the
  Masons. His gentle personality and smiling face will surely be missed.


articleid: 126xxx
position: 4
type: text
content:
  Following is the obituary that was published in Rochester Democrat And
  Chronicle on Dec. 11, 2016:

  Rochester: Passed away on December 9, 2016, at the age of
  88. Predeceased by his parents, Harold and Agnes Shubert; his
  daughters, Michelle Shubert, Dona Nastasi and Cindy Kenyon; his
  daughter-in-law, Jan Marie Kenyon; brother-in-law, Zane Young;
  granddaughter, Angel Campbell; and sisters, Jean Young &amp; Bertie
  (Eddie) Lauver. He is survived by his daughter, Darla Dee Shubert;
  sons, Andrew Shubert, James Kenyon, Patrick Kenyon, Neal (Joann)
  Kenyon; 16 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren; his sister,
  Shirley Young; brother, Glenn (Leah) Shubert; sister-in-law, Marie
  Pillion; brother-in-law, Robert (Lynn) Pillion; and several nieces,
  nephews &amp; cousins.

  Andy was a WW II Army veteran serving as an MP at the Nuremberg
  Trials, was a member of the V.F.W., a member and past Master of the
  Masons, Wakan Hubbard Lodge #154 and enjoyed square dancing.

  Interment was at Holy Ghost Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
  contributions in Andy&rsquo;s name may be made to: The Rochester
  Police Locust Club.


articleid: 127
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Holy smokes! Can it really be spring already?

  Welcome to the spring, 2017, edition of the Promenader.


articleid: 127
position: 3
type: text
content:
  In the <a href="news-2017-03.html">Club News</a> section you will
  find specific news and notes about upcoming events from each of the
  square dance and round dance clubs in the Rochester area.

  The <a href="../thumbnails.html">Ads and Flyers</a> section contains
  thumbnail images of all available event flyers in chronological
  order. To see a full size version of any flyer, just click on its
  thumbnail image. Near the front are flyers from clubs that show all
  their special dances on one sheet.

  The usual snowbirds disappeared to the south again this year, to
  avoid our so-called winter. (As I write this in February the forecast
  shows highs for the next four days all above 60!) Many of our
  &ldquo;birds&rdquo; local are having fun dancing down south, as seen
  in the photo from the Space Coast Fiesta in the <a
  href="articles-2017-03.html">Photos and Features</a> section.

  In the <a href="../federation.html">Federation</a> section, RAF
  President Warren Olson introduces two exciting new
  &ldquo;area-wide&rdquo; dances with national callers and highlights
  several other special dances in the coming months. Click <a
  href="president-2017-03.html">HERE</a> to read his message.

  Anyone scheduling a dance should look at the online calendar and make
  sure the date is available. One of the primary goals of this website
  is to make schedule information accessible for planning by area clubs
  and callers. Schedule conflicts hurt both events and cause
  unnecessary stress&mdash;financial and otherwise.

  There have been numerous fun dance events in the past three months,
  but without Roving Reporter Dick Halstead on the beat there is a
  noticeable shortage of photos and commentary.

  Please help us get stories and photos of your club&rsquo;s activities
  published here by taking pictures and sending them with a description
  of the activity and participants to <a
  href="mailto:promenader@rochester.rr.com">promenader@rochester.rr.com</a>.

  I know there are interesting dance-related things going on that
  others would like to hear about. So, please send us a few pictures
  and tell us something about what your group is doing. If your club
  hosts a special dance or has a special caller, send us a few photos
  and tell us the story.

  If you are looking for festive snack ideas, don&rsquo;t miss the
  marvelous creations that Jackie Rogers brought to the Village Squares
  Valentine&rsquo;s Dance. See them in the <a
  href="articles-2017-03.html">Photos and Features</a> section.

  In Memoriam: In this issue we remember Julie Field and Andy Shubert.


articleid: 127
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Clubs needing insurance forms for special events or venues can now
  find links to them in the Federation&rsquo;s Forms section (Click <a
  href="../announcements.html">HERE</a> and then scroll down to the
  &ldquo;RAF/USDA Insurance Forms&rdquo; section.)

  Just below the insurance section is a link to a graphic that explains
  the ECMA &ldquo;Dancer Down&rdquo; formation and guidelines for
  dancers in case of a MEDICAL EMERGENCY during a dance.

  In the winter issue we began including the names of each club&rsquo;s
  Federation Representative in the <a href="../clubs.html">Club
  Presidents and Contacts</a> listings. If your club&rsquo;s
  representative is not listed or has changed, please let us know by
  sending an email to Promenader@Rochester.rr.com.

  Also, don&rsquo;t forget that the <a href="../index.html">RAF Home
  Page</a> carries &ldquo;useful links&rdquo; including the Finger
  Lakes Area Council (FLAC) for news from our Upstate NY neighbors to
  the southeast.

  And, as always, you will find complete Rochester-area&rsquo;s dance
  listings in our Schedules section. Each listing includes a Google
  Maps link and a link to any associated flyer.

  For a quick look at special dances, scan the Calendar of Coming
  Special Events, located in the lower section of the <a
  href="../promenader.html#specialdances">Promenader</a> cover page.


articleid: 127
position: 9
type: text
content:
  In the winter issue, I mentioned there was talk about the Federation
  facilitating the return of national callers to our area. This has
  been difficult in recent years because it takes a substantial number
  of dancers to cover the expense and none of our clubs are rich enough
  to take the risk of losing big money if attendance falls short.

  Thanks to a push from persistent area dancers Barb Green and John
  Wright, and to Warren Olson&rsquo;s leadership at the RAF, an
  arrangement has been worked out to bring national callers Gary
  Shoemake and Ken Bower to an &ldquo;all area&rdquo; dance on June 8.
  You can read more about this dance (and others) in Warren&rsquo;s <a
  href="president-2017-03.html">RAF President&rsquo;s Corner</a>
  article and you can download the <a
  href="../flyers/CC-VS-2017-06-08.pdf">flyer</a>.

  I think this is a great idea, and I especially like the way the RAF
  is promoting attendance by all dancers&mdash;recent grads as
  well as established dancers&mdash;by issuing discount coupons
  to members and grads of each RAF-afiliated club.


articleid: 128
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Most of us have at least heard of a situation in which a dancer fell
  to the floor during a tip. If that happened in your square, would you
  know immediately how to respond?

  Fortunately emergencies are rare in dancing, but when they do happen
  it can be critically important to get proper attention to the victim
  as fast as possible.

  As you might have already guessed, the square dance community has
  developed an effective way to get attention and help
  immediately. It&rsquo;s a formation that dancers in the victim&rsquo;s
  square should use to make their square immediately noticeable to the
  caller and other dancers. It signals instantly that medical attention
  is needed in that square right away.

  The formation is an arched circle called the ECMA, which stands for
  Emergency Call for Medical Aid. When a dancer goes down, this
  formation is used by the other dancers in the victim&rsquo;s square to
  save important minutes that would otherwise be lost in the frenzy of
  waving arms and explanations that cannot be heard or understood across
  a crowded dance floor.

  The ECMA formation cuts through all that wasted time. Here&rsquo;s how
  it works.

  STEP ONE: When a dancer goes down, a second dancer attends directly to
  him/her.

  STEP TWO: Remaining couples join hands and take a step backward. This
  allows the injured person and attendant air and space.

  STEP THREE: Raise joined hands as high as possible in the form of an
  arched circle.

  STEP FOUR: On seeing this signal, the Caller or hall monitor will
  immediately place an Emergency Call For Medical Aid.

  Once appropriate steps have been taken to address the
  situation. whether it&rsquo;s calling 911 or simply helping the victim
  to their feet, callers and dancers should continue as usual while aid
  is administered.

  Callers, cuers and club leaders should take time to explain the arched
  circle ECMA signal to their dancers to familiarize them with the
  procedure and its purpose.

  Click <a href="http://www.psrdf.org/psrdf/ecma.pdf">HERE</a> to
  download a PDF version of the sheet that accompanies this article.


articleid: 129
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Valentines Day this year fell on the Copy Cats class night, so they
  had a party with their Kittens. Thanks to Jet Thomas, there are
  photos!


articleid: 127
position: 7
type: text
content:
  In Federation news, Jim Gotta will be advancing to the RAF presidency
  this year, leaving a vacancy at Vice President. I hope you will
  consider this opportunity to &ldquo;give back&rdquo; to square
  dancing, the activity that gives so much to you. Click <a
  href="../federation.html">HERE</a> to jump to the Federation page for
  further details.


articleid: 130
position: a
type: text
content:
  President&rsquo;s Letter May 7, 2017

  Fifty-nine Dance-O-Ramas are now under our belt, and I am sitting here
  reflecting on the state of square dancing in Rochester, New York. Jim
  Gotta and the Dance-O-Rama committee have done a great job putting together a
  great afternoon of dancing and friendship. This year they added a
  buffet dinner catered by Otto Tomatto&rsquo;s, at which about 80 people
  enjoyed a fine feast and did not even get wet or have to wait in
  line. The committee followed up by serving ice cream&mdash;a nice treat
  even though it wasn&rsquo;t a warm summer night. I have to believe
  that square dancing is alive and well. While I do not yet have
  the results from yesterday&rsquo;s dance, I feel very
  positive. Bolstering our dancing numbers, we have many new graduates
  who have put their time into learning square dancing. As I traveled
  through the hall yesterday I saw a Plus room filled with dancers,
  with more waiting their turn or resting. The Mainstream hall always
  seemed to have a good crowd with die-hards dancing until we had to
  close the doors.

  The square dance community honored a very deserving couple, awarding
  the Norma Daphne award to Bob and Alice Hager, long time presidents of
  Belles &lsquo;N&lsquo; Beaus, for the work they have done promoting square dancing
  along with other community services. Congratulations Bob &amp; Alice&mdash;we
  look forward to seeing you and the Candy Dish next year as you visit
  other clubs.

  As Gary Bubel said at the end of dancing, &ldquo;Some of us are getting older
  than we are supposed to.&rdquo; That holds true for dancers and callers
  alike.


  We have been fortunate to graduate quite a few dancers in the last
  couple of years; however this year we have a couple of callers on the
  injured reserve&mdash;Jerry Carmen and more recently Mike
  Herne. We do currently have two new callers&mdash;Jim Gotta
  and Rachel Bicheler. We should be concerned, as learning to square
  dance takes time and so does learning to call. There is an investment
  in equipment followed by an investment of time and patience. We will
  soon see at Village Squares some promising amateur callers as they
  vie for the FROG. Maybe we will see our next aspiring caller.

  As I am writing and reflecting on my two years as president, we have
  accomplished at lot. We established a new dancers retention and
  recruitment fund, designed to aid clubs in recruiting and retaining
  new members. We established the Fall Friendship Ball in September to
  welcome back seasoned dancers and to welcome new dancers. This dance
  offers both Mainstream and Plus, and includes a great buffet dinner
  after dancing. We are fortunate to be able to set up a dance this
  June with two great national callers, Ken Bower and Gary Shoemake.
  This, too, will be a new-dancer-friendly dance. We as the Federation
  are here not only to offer clubs insurance, but to assist clubs in
  developing dance opportunities.

  As I now pass the gavel (oh yes we actually do have a gavel), I would
  like to welcome the new officers of the Federation. Jim Gotta is our
  incoming President, Henry Capron our Vice President, Carl Webster our
  Secretary and Stu Jones our new Treasurer. I am thankful for all the
  assistance I have received from Terry Pratt our current Past
  President, Jim Gotta current Vice President and Dance-O-Rama Chairman, Doreen
  Olson Secretary, and Mary Ann Lane long-time Treasurer. I would also
  like to thank Sharon Meyer. She is always there and I can count on her
  to answer any questions I might have had. (Trust me there were many
  questions and she certainly knows the answers.) This has been a great
  two years and I look forward to meeting more dancers this coming
  year. See you in a square.


articleid: 131
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Last Fall, members of the Copy Cats enjoyed a great night of dancing
  and banner stealing with the Batavia Silver Stars. The dance was held
  at the Batavia VA Medical Center. Not only were the Batavia Silver
  Stars great hosts but we learned that they are helping our United
  States military personnel through a program called Troopons&reg;.
  Troopons&reg; is a program which enhances the well-being of overseas
  and domestic military families by sending them food, non-food, baby,
  and pet manufacturer coupons to make their hard-earned dollars go
  farther. The Silver Stars have been involved in this program for more
  than five years and have collected approximately $2 million in
  coupons.

  The Copy Cats Square Dance Club began collecting coupons here in
  Monroe County in May of 2016. Each week, our members and guests bring
  their manufacturers coupons from magazines and the Sunday Democrat and
  Chronicle. Volunteers cut, sort, count and package the coupons for
  mailing. To date, we have sent over $120,000 in coupons. Donna LaDonna
  is organizing the mailing of coupons. If you have any questions,
  please contact Donna for more information (dmld67@rochester.rr.com or
  phone 585-223-7219).

  Monetary support for the mailings is also accepted.

  In America, we can do anything! Let&rsquo;s all pitch in to help these
  amazing men, women and families reduce their grocery bills and free up
  some of their pay for other necessities or niceties.


articleid: 132
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On May 6, at Dance-O-Rama 2017, George and Carol Ann Stahl, the 2016
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award recipients, passed on this prestigious
  award to Bob and Alice Hager. Bob and Alice have been presidents of
  Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus since 2003, where their encouragement and
  friendliness keep members and guests coming back to dance with
  them. At Christmas they host a special holiday party for club members
  and later in the year Bob is found industriously grilling hot dogs at
  their winter picnic. It&rsquo;s their dedication that keeps their club
  active.

  Ann Herne was present, among the other past recipients of this
  prestigious honor, to offer congratulations to Bob and Alice on behalf
  of herself and Mike.

  George and Carol Ann have also been outstanding ambassadors for square
  dancing during this past year. In addition to being presidents of
  their own club, The Grand Squares, they have attended 57 other dances
  and have visited every club in the Federation. They typify the
  commitment and dedication of Daphne-Norma winners.

  Following is the text of the introduction that Carol Ann Stahl
  presented at the Dance-O-Rama 2017 award ceremony:

  &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to welcome everyone to the 59th Dance-O-Rama and
  especially recognize this year&rsquo;s graduates. You can be proud of
  the skills you have learned over the past few months. May you have
  many happy hours using them in the future.

  Tonight we also present the Daphne-Norma award which doesn&rsquo;t
  have as long a history as square dancing, but is celebrating its 40th
  Anniversary this year. It was established by Frank Salvaggio and John
  Fink in honor of their wives, Norma and Daphne, to recognize and show
  appreciation for outstanding leadership within the square dance
  community.

  Last May, George and I were given this award. At first George was not
  happy with the responsibilities that came with the presentation. How
  would we be good will ambassadors while he was working full time on
  the night shift. But slowly the idea of taking an extra night&rsquo;s
  vacation once in a while to visit other clubs became something to look
  forward to, especially a Monday or Friday since it made a long
  weekend. So he is proud of the fact that we attended 57 dances over
  the course of the year. I don&rsquo;t think some clubs knew what the
  Daphne-Norma Award was, but they do now. I&rsquo;m a little sad to see
  the year end but I don&rsquo;t miss scouring the Sunday paper to see
  who has candy on sale this week.

  Before we announce this year&rsquo;s recipient we&rsquo;d like to call
  forward all those past winners who have been able to join us
  tonight. We thank them for all they have done in the past and for what
  many are still doing to keep square dancing alive and strong.

  I had the privilege of speaking to several of the past recipients even
  if they could not attend. One stood out and she remains today a good
  will ambassador. Gerry Bolton with her husband were the first
  recipients of this award in 1977. She is currently 91 years old and
  resides at the Fairport Baptist Home. Although she no longer dances
  she says she gets around very well for her age. Her doctor keeps
  telling her that her continued good health is probably due to the many
  years she spent square dancing. So everyone&mdash;keep on
  dancing. I also talked to Nora Slomcenski who won in 1996 and
  currently resides in Tennesee. She can&rsquo;t be here, but sends a
  big &ldquo;Yellow Rock&rdquo; to everyone.

  Now for the moment you have all been waiting for. Thank you to
  everyone who took the time to send us a nomination. If we didn&rsquo;t
  choose your nominee, we keep all we receive for future consideration,
  so they are not lost. The couple chosen has had several nominations in
  the past and received several more this year.

  They have been Presidents of their club since 2003, a big factor in
  the leadership area. Their encouragement, patience and friendliness
  are evident at each of their dances and certainly keep people coming
  back. They dance at the Mainstream level thus providing a chance to
  dance and socialize for a group of dancers who probably would have
  difficulty dancing elsewhere. They have been known to arrange
  transportation for members or even to personally pick them up. They
  have tried to make dance nights special by having themed dances such
  as Elvis night and a winter picnic complete with grilled hot dogs, and
  host a special Christmas party for members. And if someone is ill or
  hospitalized they are right there with a card or visit.

  They have frequently helped organize demos with audience participation
  at schools, churches and nursing homes to spread the idea that square
  dancing is fun.

  They have been active in Scouting and in their Church as well as other
  civic organizations, and help organize a yearly Thanksgiving food
  basket for a needy family.

  We are honored to present this year&rsquo;s award to Bob and Alice
  Hager, from the Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus.

  These special pins&mdash;yours to keep and wear proudly.

  This engraved plaque is yours to keep, and this engraved tray is yours
  to enjoy and show your club and family, but only until it&rsquo;s time
  to pass it on at this time next year.

  This lovely candy dish, which has traveled more miles than an Olympic
  runner, is for the treats you will bring with you to area dances you
  attend in the coming year.

  Congratulations!&rdquo;


articleid: 133
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Square dancer Shirley Dickerson has turned 90 years old! Her current
  club, Shamrock Squares, celebrated with her during their dance on May
  16th. She started square dancing in 1980 and has been a member of
  Boots and Slippers, Country Twirlers, and Cloverleaf Squares. She also
  angels at the advanced workshop held by Sid Marshall in East
  Rochester. She has attended many national conventions and festivals as
  well. Shirley is a Rochester native and has two children, two
  grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Her son calls her every day
  and she remains in contact with her best friend of 90 years (her
  friend reminds her that she is several months older than Shirley).


articleid: 134
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The monthly magazine American Squaredance carries a regular column
  called &ldquo;Callerlab Viewpoints.&rdquo; In the September, 2015, issue (Volume
  70, Number 9, September, 2015) the author presented excellent advice
  on how experienced dancers can help newer dancers by being &ldquo;Good
  Angels.&rdquo; The article was included in the fall, 2015, Promenader, but
  with the summer season of Plus classes getting started, it seems
  appropriate to present it again.

  All experienced dancers should read this article, even if they aren&rsquo;t
  specifically angeling a class. Here it is in its entirety (with minor
  changes to adapt it to our area):


articleid: 134
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The following has been edited from &ldquo;Square Dance Nebraska&mdash;Ideas.&rdquo; A
  special thanks to Mike Bramlett for sharing some great information on
  the subject of how to be a good angel.

  Is your halo on straight? It is important that as many club members as
  possible come to the class as &ldquo;angels.&rdquo; What are &ldquo;angels&rdquo;? They are
  the wonderful people who volunteer their time to ensure that new
  dancers have the best possible learning experience.

  &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; provide new dancers with their first real look at a club. How
  &ldquo;angels&rdquo; behave and treat new dancers, other &ldquo;angels,&rdquo; and visitors
  will affect class members&rsquo; decisions regarding whether or not to join
  your club.

  &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; are also role models. No matter what the instructor and club
  try to communicate to the students regarding etiquette, attitudes, or
  styling, class members inevitably take their cues from what they see
  &ldquo;angels&rdquo; doing. So it is important that &ldquo;angels&rdquo; be extra careful to
  be good role models.

  Smile, be enthusiastic, and enjoy the dancing. Be friendly, courteous
  and gentle. This is sometimes easier to say than do, especially if it
  has been a long day. Let&rsquo;s be honest; some of us have personal agenda,
  perhaps disagreements with club policies, or less than cordial
  relationships with specific club members. These issues are out of
  place at new dancer events and must be put aside.

  Although most of us do the right things instinctively, the majority of
  the time it can&rsquo;t hurt to reiterate certain points. The following
  advice for &ldquo;angels&rdquo; has been extracted from several sources, including
  articles in square dance publications and handouts prepared for other
  clubs.


articleid: 134
position: 5
type: text
content:
  This is perhaps the most common misconception that can cause
  problems. The primary teaching function of an &ldquo;angel&rdquo; is to teach by
  example and be in the right place at the right time. One important
  thing you can do is establish hand holds after every move. Not only
  does this help students maintain their orientation in the square, but
  it&rsquo;s also a very good habit for every dancer to develop.

  It is always tempting to explain something your square is not getting,
  and the new dancers will often ask you to do this&mdash;but you must
  resist. It diverts the student&rsquo;s attention from the teacher and one of
  the most important things for a new dancer to learn is to listen to
  the teacher/caller. Sometimes you can clarify a simple point for
  students between tips; this is fine, but not while the caller is at
  the microphone.

  Another difficult point is just how much help you should give in
  getting dancers into the right place. Dancers, after all, must learn
  to do the moves on their own. To gently guide someone through a
  maneuver, if they have a momentary lapse of memory, might be okay and
  sometimes one can help by indicating nonverbally where a person should
  go. Just remember that we accomplish little by pushing or pulling a
  dancer through an action when he or she doesn&rsquo;t know what was supposed
  to have been done.

  It is better to let a square break down rather than to use force
  getting people into the right place. A broken down square is an
  indication to the instructor that dancers are having problems. Be sure
  the teacher is aware of problems. Raise your hand if necessary and ask
  the teacher to explain something if your square is having trouble.

  But be careful not to embarrass any dancer by the way you ask for
  help. It is much better to say that &ldquo;the square is not getting a
  certain move&rdquo; rather than saying &ldquo;Steve is not getting a certain
  move.&rdquo;

  Encourage students. Let them know that all new dancers make mistakes
  and that things get better with practice. Also, &ldquo;angels&rdquo; make mistakes
  too. It is good to admit to them cheerfully, as it makes the students
  less tense about their own mistakes.


articleid: 134
position: 7
type: text
content:
  Club styling is always a major source of contention. It is important
  new dancers learn the calls with standard CALLERLAB styling; that is,
  without the added flourishes that are done in certain areas. The
  teacher will introduce these regional differences at appropriate times
  after the calls are mastered. &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; must use only the styling which
  has been taught to the class.

  This is not always easy. How many remember to Swing Your Partner
  without a Twirl at the end? It is really very important not to
  introduce more confusion into a new dancer&rsquo;s learning experience. Some
  students are going to want you to teach them how it&rsquo;s done before they
  have mastered the call, but you should resist the temptation.


articleid: 134
position: 9
type: text
content:
  &bull;&nbsp;Square Up With Everyone, not just a few friends. Seek out the new
  dancer who is having difficulty and ask them to dance with you. Make
  sure than new dancers are not sitting out because &ldquo;angels&rdquo; are
  dancing.

  &bull;&nbsp;End Conversations Promptly when the teacher begins a tip. If you are
  not dancing, keep your conversations far away from the dance area.

  &bull;&nbsp;Cheerfully Lend A Hand if you are asked to help set up or clean up,
  help with refreshments, or take attendance.

  &bull;&nbsp;Watch For security problems, accidents and dangerous situations like
  spills or debris on the floor.

  &bull;&nbsp;NotifyThe Instructor if there are problems with the sound.

  &bull;&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t Complain about the hall, the floor, the caller or anyone
  attending the class.

  &bull;&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t Criticize students or other &ldquo;angels.&rdquo;

  Remember:

  &bull;&nbsp;Your name badge.

  &bull;&nbsp;You are an example to the new dancers and an ambassador for your
  club.

  &bull;&nbsp;Have fun! &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; are a key part of whether a new dancer continues
  dancing or joins your club.

  (For American Squaredance subscription information, send email to:
  AmericanSquareDance@gmail.com)


articleid: 135
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Cloverleafs had their last (for now) Prom Night Sunday, May
  22. Members went all out handing out corsages for the women to wear
  and bow ties for the men.

  Our caller, Mike Callahan, wore his Sunday best suit.


articleid: 136
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The 2017 graduates from Cloverleaf Squares, seen with Mike Callahan in
  the accompanying photo, are Rose Newhart, Vickie Pietropaoli, Judi
  Schoonmaker, Al Celecki, Nancy Wright and Jodie Klupacs.


articleid: 137
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Where&rsquo;s The Dance?

  WheresTheDance.com (WTD) is a global online reference site for dance
  clubs to post and share their schedules. Nearly all Rochester Area
  Federation (RAF) clubs are listed; several were charter members of the
  web site. Today only four of our clubs have current dance schedules
  posted on the WTD site&mdash;and a few of those are out-of-date.

  See the accompanying screenshots for a view of the schedule page and a
  look at the search entries that I used to get there. Three RAF club
  dances are listed in the 5/24&ndash;6/2 time window shown.

  One reason that so few of our clubs post their schedules at WTD is
  that their input scheme is so cumbersome. Since most of our dancers
  come from nearby, and all club schedules are posted on the
  RAF/Promenader website, it seems like an unnecessary bother to
  struggle through re-entry of dance information on a different site.

  However, Leon Smith, an A-level dancer and active member of the
  Promenader volunteer staff, has offered to assist our clubs by posting
  and maintaining their dance schedules up to date on WTD.

  He will use the information you already provide for the RAF/Promenader
  calendar pages. Your club would still retain official responsibility
  for your WTD listing, but within a week or so of your quarterly
  Promenader submission Leon would take care of posting your new
  schedule data to the WTD calendar.

  He would also make arrangements with Sidney Marshall (RAF/Promenader
  Webmaster) to sync with any updates that come through between
  quarterly Promenader submission dates.

  This is a GREAT offer by Leon, and clubs should take him up on it!

  Your listings on WTD are seen by dancers all over the world. They can
  lead to interesting visitors from foreign lands who are traveling in
  our area&mdash;when they find themselves with an evening free and are
  looking for a square dance.

  If your club might be interested in listing your dances at
  Where&rsquo;sTheDance, you should contact Leon: LeonSmith@aol.com

  ADDITIONAL NOTE FOR ALL CLUBS: When foreign visitors contact your club
  or show up at one of your dances, please ask how they found you and
  send me a note (promenader@rochester.rr.com). I&rsquo;d like to know how
  effective the WTD site (and our own RAF web site) are at helping
  dancers from far away to find our local dances.


articleid: 138
position: 1
type: text
content:
  A highlight of the Rochester area square dance year is the raffle of
  gift baskets at the annual Dance-O-Rama festival. Proceeds from this
  raffle are the main source of funding for the Rochester Area
  Federation&rsquo;s support of club recruitment efforts to bring in new
  dancers.

  Our clubs out-did themselves yet again, raising over $900 for the
  dancer recruitment fund! Thanks go to all who prepared baskets and, of
  course, all those who bid for them.

  Here are the winners of the 2017 Baskets.
  </p>
  <table>
  <tr><th>Basket<th>Winner<th>Club</tr>
  <tr><td>Batavia Silver Stars<td>George Dormer<td>Village Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Belles &amp; Beaus<td>Don Schlicker<td>Silver Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Cayuga Cut-Ups<td>Kendra Jacobs<td>Copy Cats/Cloverleaf Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Champagne Whirl-A-Ways<td>Diane Camp<td>Champagne Whirl-A-Ways</tr>
  <tr><td>Cloverleaf Squares<td>P. Murphy<td>Friendship Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Copy Cats<td>Gary Agosti<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  <tr><td>Grand Squares<td>Joyce McNutt<td>Batavia Silver Stars</tr>
  <tr><td>Shirts &amp; Skirts<td>Henry Capron<td>Cloverleaf Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Waterwheel Squares<td>Sharon Woodward<td>Cloverleaf Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Dalton Gang<td>Chris Kelly<td>Shirts &amp; Skirts</tr>
  <tr><td>Village Squares<td>Jerry Treuthart<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  </table>
  <p>
  Thanks also to Donna LaDonna, Sharon Meyer, Barb Green, and the others who organized
  this year&rsquo;s raffle.


articleid: 139
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Penfield: Benesch, John Jr. went home to his risen Savior on Easter
  Sunday, April 16, 2017 at the age of 78. Born in Romania on April 26,
  1938, he came to Rochester in 1949 where he lived the rest of his
  life. Predeceased by his parents, John Sr. and Wilhelmina. He is
  survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Claire (Vogel) Benesch; his
  children, David (Hillary) Benesch, Katherine (John Brian) Housand;
  grandchildren, Lydia and Anna Housand, Molly, Samuel and Carolyn
  Benesch; his sister, Mary Benesch. He will also be missed by a
  multitude of friends whom he cultivated during his life on earth. We
  wish to thank those friends who have supported us during this
  difficult time. We also wish to thank the caring staff and volunteers
  at Shepherd Home in Penfield who so lovingly cared for him during his
  final journey.

  John and Claire, were active square dancers and members of the Copy
  Cats club in Penfield, where they danced regularly for many years.
  John always remembered your name and was always ready with a positive
  comment. He contributed to square dancing in other ways as well,
  serving for several years as secretary of the Rochester Area
  Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs. RAF president, Warren
  Olson, noted that at John&rsquo;s memorial gathering he learned that
  John &ldquo;was a family man first and foremost, sometimes to the
  detriment of his job as an engineer at Xerox.&rdquo; As Clair
  explains, &ldquo;to reduce time away from his family, John moved from a
  Xerox assignment that involved extensive time out of the country in
  favor of a less-traveled role in Rochester.&rdquo;

  Friends remember John&rsquo;s many special interests, including
  skiing, trivia and above all baseball. He and David Yates coached
  their sons in the Penfield Little League, on a team called &ldquo;The
  Button Brothers.&rdquo; David has &ldquo;no idea who the Button
  Brothers were. Perhaps the New Era Cap company had an overstock of
  baseball caps with that name and the Penfield Little League bought
  them at a discount.&rdquo; David also believes that John was working
  on a book about baseball. John was an avid bridge player and an
  accomplished tennis player. He was also very active in his church in
  many capacities.

  <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=john-benesch&pid=185142520&fhid=27505">Online Obituary link</a>


articleid: 140
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Survived by her parents Douglass and Helen, sisters; Cheryl and (Ed)
  Ranalletti, Beth and (Jeff) Austin, and Barbara D&rsquo;Anunzio, nine nieces
  and nephews, nine great nieces and nephews, many aunts, uncles and
  cousins. Debbie, was a lifelong Episcopalian and member of the Church
  of the Epiphany where she sang in the youth and adult choirs.

  Debbie had many gifts: one she especially treasured was her gift of
  sign language&mdash;a gift she shared with others and within her church
  community.

  Employed at Global Sutherland in Henrietta, she loved her position as
  a consultant for Intuit, and her skills earned her a Platinum Award
  Plaque last spring.

  An avid reader, her hobbies included crocheting, needlepoint,
  knitting, and writing spontaneous prayers and poems.

  Debbie was a trusted friend of the Deaf community and often placed
  herself in the position of being a bridge between deaf and hearing
  cultures. She believed in the educational and healing power of theater
  to bring Deaf awareness to mainstream society. Dangerous Signs (an ASL
  poetry performance group) will be holding a front row seat for her in
  their hearts, minds and performances.

  In lieu of flowers her family requests donations be made to
  <a href="https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/dangerous-signs-asl-performance-group--2">Dangerous Signs</a>.

  Debbie was a member of the Cloverleaf Squares for a few years, though
  in the last couple of years, she came only to socialize since she wasn&rsquo;t
  able to dance. She enjoyed crafts and usually had yarn with her to
  work on her latest project. She also enjoyed writing, especially
  poetry. She loved her dog Bandit, who was her constant companion.


articleid: 141
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Dalton Gang Square Dance Club has lost three Club Members since
  February of 2017. Gerry Thompson passed away on February 16. Then on
  May 4th, Randy Mueckl passed away suddenly at age 57. Twila Leach was
  the third member to pass on May 6, 2017.

  Gerry Thompson and Twila Leach were among the founding members of The
  Dalton Gang. All will be sadly missed.


articleid: 141
position: 3
type: text
content:
  Dalton: Age 83, died Feb. 16, 2017. Born Jun. 30, 1933, in the Town of
  Portage to the late Byron &amp; Elizabeth Thompson. He is predeceased by
  his daughter, Joyce. Survived by his wife, Alice; daughter, Carol
  (Tom) Cunningham of Silver Springs; 3 grandsons, Peter (Melissa),
  Thomas (Amy) &amp; Michael; 1 granddaughter, Sarah; 4 great-grandchildren,
  Brenden, Nathan, Ivy &amp; Pyper; his brother, Arnold Thompson of Nunda; 2
  sisters, Mary Ransom of Mt. Morris, Donna Haggerty of Bonita Springs,
  FL; his brother-in-law, Robert (Christine) Phelps of Groveland; nieces
  &amp; nephews.

  A Memorial Service was held Sat., Feb. 25th at 2 PM at the Dalton
  United Methodist Church, with Pastor Linda Glance &amp; Pastor Lauren
  Turner officiating. Interment, Hunt Hollow Cemetery, Town of
  Portage. Memorial donations may be made to the Hunt Hollow Cemetery or
  the Dalton United Methodist Church. Arrangements: Mann Funeral Home,
  Nunda, NY.

  <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=gerald-b-thompson&pid=184180013&fhid=22294">Online obituary &amp; condolence link</a>


articleid: 141
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Short Tract: Randall John Mueckl, of 5327 Sonnleitner Road, died
  Thursday (May 4, 2017) in his home.

  He was born on March 17, 1959, in Kenmore, a son of the late Joe
  Mueckl and Sofia Hackett. He married Brenda Beardsley, who predeceased
  him on May 27, 2016.

  Randy was a member of the Short Tract United Methodist Church, a
  volunteer at the Short Tract Fire Department and the owner of Pine
  Crest Farm Construction Company.

  He enjoyed making bio-fuel, maple syrup, water skiing, bowling, square
  dancing, snowmobiling, cutting wood and he loved to tinker.

  Surviving are his children, Joe (Kristy) Wendt, Jacob (Crystal)
  Mueckl, Jordan Mueckl all of Short Tract; four grandchildren; his
  sisters, Yvonne Swimline of Hunt, Dawn (Bob) Bennett of Short Tract;
  and several nieces and nephews.

  A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. on Saturday (May 20, 2017) in
  the Short Tract Fire Hall, with Pastor Gary Wickard officiating,
  followed by a Masonic Service performed by members of the Nunda
  Station Lodge No. 682 F&amp;AM.

  Make out memorials, if desired, to Short Tract United Methodist Church
  or the Short tract Fire Department.

  Funeral arrangements by Kopler-Williams Funeral Home, 21 N. Genesee
  St., Fillmore.

  Online condolences may be made at www.koplerwilliamsfuneralhome.com.

  <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oleantimesherald/obituary.aspx?n=randall-john-mueckl&pid=185308971&fhid=30488">Online obituary link</a>


articleid: 141
position: 7
type: text
content:
  West Sparta: Twila A. Leach, age 86, of 4044 Rock Spring Hill Road,
  died Saturday, May 6, 2017 at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville,
  N.Y.

  She was born the daughter of Ambrose and Twila (Strader) Bettinger on
  March 23, 1931 in North Girard, Pa. She married Leon Leach on June 19,
  1948. She was a member of the West Sparta Methodist Church. She
  enjoyed sewing, photography and square dancing.

  She is survived by her loving husband of 68 years, Leon; four
  children, Twila (Raymond) Eble of Pennsylvania, Steven (Jackie) Leach
  of Attica, Teresa (Paul) Lewandowski of Florida and Darlene (Stephen)
  Kelley of Mt. Morris; 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

  No prior calling. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday,
  June 3 at the West Sparta Methodist Church, 4287 Redmond Road, West
  Sparta. Dawn Merritt.

  Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

  Arrangements by the JOHN W. MARTIN FUNERAL HOME, 37 Chapel Street,
  (Route 408), Mount Morris. Sign the online registry at
  www.johnwmartinfuneralhome.com.

  <a href="http://www.thelcn.com/lcn03/twila-a-leach-20170508">Online obituary link</a>


articleid: 142
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At the May meeting of the Rochester Area Federation of Western Round
  and Square Dance Clubs, the RAF leadership welcomed a new slate of
  officers. Outgoing president Warren Olson opened the meeting, but
  later passed the gavel&mdash;literally&mdash;to
  incoming RAF president, Jim Gotta.

  The other new RAF officers are Henry Capron (Cloverleaf Squares),
  succeeding Jim Gotta as vice president, Stu Jones (Belles
  &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus) succeeding Mary Ann Lane (Village Squares) who
  is retiring after 20 years as treasurer, and Carl Webster (Shamrock Squares) who takes over from acting Secretary Doreen Olson (Copy
  Cats), who in turn succeeded John Benesch (also Copy Cats). Also,
  Carol Ann Stahl (Grand Squares), will succeed Sharon Meyer as RAF
  insurance coordinator. Sharon will continue to assist Carol Ann with
  the insurance.

  The new team takes over leadership of a Federation that has a lot of
  positive momentum. Finances are strong and a forward-looking program
  is in place to support recruitment efforts of member clubs and to
  promote inter-club relations.

  Here is a list of active RAF programs:
  <ul>
  <li>Reimbursement For New Dancer Advertising Expenses (up to $60 per club per calendar year).
  <li>Grant program For New Dancer Recruitment And Dancer Retention Efforts (up to $125 per event).
  <li>Promotional &ldquo;Learn To Square Dance&rdquo; yard signs with club/class contact information.
  <li>Free Dance&mdash;Fall Friendship Ball.
  <li>Willingness to consider underwriting potential losses by member clubs hiring (expensive) out-of-town callers.
  <li>Annual Dance-O-Rama in May to welcome new graduates and cap off the dance season with an all-day festival of dancing, and a gift basket raffle to fund some of the above programs.
  <li>Support for the RAF website and Promenader, the official newsletter of the Federation.
  </ul>
  RAF meetings are held each month except June, July, August and
  December. Every club is encouraged to send a representative to these
  meetings, to keep open communications between clubs and the
  Federation leadership. Inter-club communication and cooperation is
  even more essential than ever, given the on-going stresses from a
  declining dancer population and reductions in the pool of callers and
  cuers.

  If your club does not send a representative to these meetings, then
  you should consider doing so. It&rsquo;s the best way to make your concerns
  known to the people who care most about the vitality of square and
  round dance clubs in our area.

  We all owe a debt of gratitude to Warren, Jim, Mary Ann, Doreen and
  Sharon, and to the many others who make things work at the RAF,
  including Sidney Marshall (webmaster), Peter Emmel (Promenader
  editor), Sally Baechle (USDA rep), and the club representatives who
  attend meetings and whose input helps shape RAF programs.


articleid: 143
position: 1
type: text
content:
  One of the many Dance-O-Rama highlights is the annual parade of
  graduates. These are our new dancing friends who have completed the
  past season of Mainstream Square Dancing classes at clubs in our
  Federation.

  Many established dancers already know the new dancers&mdash;from serving
  as class angels or from the season&rsquo;s many &ldquo;class/club&rdquo; dances. But the
  annual parade is their official welcome into the Rochester-area
  dancing community.

  The June Promenader issue is our opportunity to congratulate this
  year&rsquo;s graduates by name.


articleid: 143
position: 3
type: text
content:
  <b>Batavia Silver Stars</b>
  <ul>
  <li>Shirley Dunham
  <li>Karen Sterman
  <li>Ron Struzik
  </ul>

  <b>Cloverleaf Squares</b>
  <ul>
  <li>Al Celecki
  <li>Jodi Klupacs
  <li>Rose Newhart
  <li>Vickie Pietropaoli
  <li>Judi Schoonmaker
  <li>Nancy Wright
  </ul>

  <b>Copy Cats</b>
  <ul>
  <li>Tami Adams-King
  <li>Gary Agosti
  <li>Ellen Agosti
  <li>Jeff Becher
  <li>Melanie Becher
  <li>Joseph Carlino
  <li>Teresa Carter
  <li>Lauren Furino
  <li>Ray Hart
  <li>Wally King
  <li>Andy Mitchell
  <li>Deborah Mitchell
  <li>Troy Shirley
  <li>Mary Claire Wise
  </ul>

  <b>Fulton Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts</b>
  <ul>
  <li>Peg Kramer
  <li>Shirley Lenio
  <li>John Perry
  <li>Rose Reichert
  <li>Alice Ryan
  <li>Tom Scibetta
  <li>Dorothy Scibetta
  <li>Terri Yamrose
  </ul>

  <b>Silver Squares</b>
  <ul>
  <li>John Corman
  <li>Barb Corman
  <li>Barr Ingle
  <li>Tim Kelley
  <li>Ed Orlando
  <li>Susan Orlando
  <li>Richard Waydens
  </ul>


articleid: 144
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Jim Gotta and the rest of the Dance-O-Rama committee and other
  volunteers did it again! They put on an excellent festival for dancers
  from Rochester and the surrounding area. The festivities took place
  throughout the afternoon and evening of May 6, 2017, in three halls at
  the Perinton Recreation Center. This year, about 80 dancers also
  enjoyed an on-site dinner catered by Otto Tomatto.

  Total attendance was 240 dancers, including 38 new graduates from five
  area clubs. The &ldquo;all-local&rdquo; calling staff of Ron Brown,
  Gary Bubel, Dave Eno and Gil Porter, along with cuers Alice Bubel and
  Lisa Treichler, provided a consistently high level of entertainment.

  Gift baskets were contributed by area clubs and raffled off to the
  lucky holders of 11 winning tickets (see companion article for list),
  raising over $900 for the Federation&rsquo;s dancer recruitment fund.

  The annual awards ceremonies recognized outstanding contributions of
  several individuals who have generously given their time and energy
  to the dancing community. Mary Ann Lane was honored for her long-time
  service as treasurer for the Rochester Area Federation, and Belles
  &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus presidents Bob and Alice Hager were presented
  with the 2017 Daphne-Norma Leadership Award. (See accompanying
  articles for further details.) The annual Club Challenge
  participation award went to the Village Squares this year, for the
  highest percentage attendance at Dance-O-Rama.

  The most important thing that happens at Dance-O-Rama is the official
  welcoming of new dancers who have graduated from classes at area
  clubs. The annual graduates&rsquo; parade and the
  &ldquo;welcome&rdquo; tip that follows the parade are highlights of
  the evening program. It was wonderful to see the
  enthusiasm&mdash;not to mention the dancing skills&mdash;on display this year. We hope that all will keep dancing over the
  summer, with the many clubs hosting dances and offering lessons at the
  Plus level.

  We also encourage graduates to re-convene with all area dancers at the
  &ldquo;Fall Friendship Ball&rdquo; on September 23. The dance starts
  at 2pm and is free of charge. A catered dinner follows the
  dance. Dinner reservations are $20 per person. To make your
  reservation, use the coupon you&rsquo;ll find in the flyer (<a href="../flyers/federation-2017-09-23.pdf">Click
  HERE</a>).


articleid: 145
position: 01
type: text
content:
  On May 24, 2017, the Village Squares held their
  &ldquo;occasional&rdquo; Amateur Caller Night&mdash;the first
  since 2014. Over six squares of dancers came to dance and cheer for
  five brave amateurs, all of whom did an outstanding job.

  Amateur Night is a lot of fun for all, and to spice it up a little
  there&lsquo;s a competitive twist. After all the amateurs have
  performed, dancers turn in a ballot showing who they think did the
  best. The amateur with the most votes takes home the prize frog! A
  two-inch dangle with the winner&lsquo;s name on it will be added to
  the frog&lsquo;s necklace, and as MC Peter Emmel explained, the frog
  must be openly displayed in the winner&lsquo;s home until the next VS
  Amateur Caller Night, when it will move to a new recipient.

  This event has a long history. It was the launch pad for several of
  our area callers and cuers, including Ron Brown, Sidney Marshall,
  Chuck Meyer, Eileen Webster and Jim Gotta. The infamous frog entered
  the picture in 1989. Names on the necklace are: Gerry Schwartz
  (Village Squares), Tom Turcotte (Triggers &amp; Boots &rsquo;N&rsquo; Slippers), MJ
  Ebenhack (Tecumseh Squares), Ken Georger (Country Twirlers), Bob
  Atkins (Village Squares), Chuck Meyer (Cloverleaf Squares), Gordon
  White (Copy Cats), Colleen Vogt (Cloverleaf Squares) and Kendra Canada
  (Copy Cats).

  The 2017 amateurs, in order of appearance, were:
  <ul>
  <li>Carl Webster (Shamrock Squares) cueing &ldquo;I will Think of You&rdquo;
  <li>Henry Capron (Cloverleaf Squares) singing call &ldquo;He&lsquo;ll Have To Go&rdquo;
  <li>Debbie Schlenker (Cloverleaf Squares &amp; Village Squares) singing call &ldquo;Because&rdquo;
  <li>Peter Emmel (Village Squares) singing call &ldquo;Sally <b>Is</b> a Good Ol&lsquo; Girl&rdquo;
  <li>David Yates (Copy Cats &amp; Village Squares) singing Call &ldquo;My Song&rdquo;
  </ul>

  Professionals Gil Porter, Sidney Marshall, Eileen Webster and Jim
  Gotta kept the crowd moving between performances. When all the votes
  were counted, it was a close race, with Debbie Schlenker taking home
  the prize frog.

  Thanks to all who participated&mdash;both behind and in front
  of the microphone&mdash;and stay tuned for the return of the
  frog in another two or three years.


articleid: 146
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At Dance-O-Rama, 2017, Mary Ann Lane received a framed certificate
  recognizing her 20 years of service as treasurer for the Rochester
  Area Federation. A long-time member of the Kuntry Kuzzins, in Newark,
  and more recently of the Village Squares, Mary Ann has been a faithful
  friend of the dancing community for many years.


articleid: 147
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Promenader for summer, 2017. This is traditionally one
  of our &ldquo;bigger&rdquo; issues, since it contains articles and photos of
  numerous things that happen in the spring.

  In this issue:

  One highlight of every spring is Rochester&lsquo;s annual dance festival,
  Dance-O-Rama, and we have photos and features to prove it. We cover
  the dancing, the basket raffle, the awards, and most important of all,
  the graduates.

  Other events of interest are also covered in this issue, including two
  milestones at the Cloverleaf Squares: Prom Night and Class
  Graduation. The Shamrock Squares celebrate the 90th birthday of
  Shirley Dickerson. Doing their part to help alleviate the growing
  caller shortage, the Village Squares introduced five new voices at
  their Amateur Caller Night. The Copy Cats mark Troopon Donations of
  nearly $123,000.

  In this issue we also mark the changing of the guard, with new
  officers at the Rochester Area Federation of Western Round and Square
  Dance Clubs (RAF), announce availability of assistance (from Leon
  Smith) in posting club schedules on the international website &ldquo;Where&lsquo;s
  the Dance,&rdquo; and we repeat a valuable column on how to be a Good Angel.

  In the Club News section you will find specific news and announcements
  from each club in the Rochester area.

  Be sure to check you club&lsquo;s listings (click the
  blue &ldquo;OUR CLUBS&rdquo; button on the RAF Home Page) and let us
  know if we&lsquo;ve missed anything! We try to keep up with changes in officers, but
  we don&rsquo;t always receive notification.

  In Memoriam: In this issue we remember John Benesch, Debbie Bennett,
  Gerry Thompson, Randy Muecki and Twila Leach.

  Rochester Area Federation:

  Before handing off to Jim Gotta, Warren Olson&lsquo;s final comments as
  president of the RAF can be found by clicking the &ldquo;<a href="../articles/president-2017-06.html">President&lsquo;s Corner</a>&rdquo;
  button on the Federation page. An article
  introducing the new slate of RAF Officers is found in &ldquo;<a href="../articles/articles-2017-06.html">Photos and
  Features</a>&rdquo;.

  Editorial Comments: Challenges in New Dancer Development

  Last summer and fall we made a big push to welcome graduates into a
  wide range of dances and other dance-related social events, in hopes
  of increasing the chances that they would stay on the path to
  becoming &ldquo;dancers.&rdquo; In three clubs that I know best (Copy
  Cats, Cloverleafs and Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus), the retention
  rate has been at least 25 out of 45&mdash;i.e. almost 56
  percent. And that&lsquo;s a conservative figure because I&lsquo;m
  only counting people I know for sure are still dancing. That&lsquo;s
  a lot better than the estimated 20% that has been considered the
  norm, so kudos to clubs whose extra efforts paid off. (This year, the
  number of graduates is down, so the importance of retention is even
  higher.)

  That&lsquo;s step one, and we need to continue those efforts with 2017 graduates. But
  equally important is step two: helping graduates become dancers. As we
  all know from our own experience, that takes a lot longer than any of
  us envisioned when we started. Remember those first few years, feeling
  like we were dragging down one square after another and we were afraid
  to dance at unfamiliar clubs?

  This is where experienced dancers make a huge difference. Dancing is a
  social activity, and feelings of uncertainty about dancing translate
  all too easily into feelings of rejection. So, it takes an extra
  special amount of encouragement on the part of experienced dancers to
  put new dancers at ease. They need to be able to focus on learning
  without equating it with social pressures that get in the way. (And,
  by the way, this happens at every level. It is not just new
  graduates. We are all learning, and there are always better dancers in
  our square.)

  From what I&lsquo;ve seen over that past year, clubs have done amazingly
  well at welcoming new dancers and fostering a comfort level that
  promotes learning and retention. Part of this has been from personal welcoming attitudes
  of experienced dancers, and part of it has come from
  adjustments to the dance program&mdash;such as by reducing the number of unfamiliar
  or unusual calls.

  But I am coming around to see both of these as mixed
  blessings. Here&lsquo;s why.

  Let&lsquo;s start with the dance program. One way to adjust the program
  toward new dancers at a &ldquo;Plus Club&rdquo; is to take out the more
  challenging calls or position variants and stick with what most Plus
  dancers are familiar with.

  The positive side of that approach is that it reduces breakdowns and
  keeps more people dancing more of the time. But on the negative side,
  it risks leading strong dancers to think about where else they can go
  to find lively dancing at their own level.

  So, to keep experienced dancers engaged we need to be careful how we
  adjust the program. One way to do this is to make a clear division,
  either tip-by-tip or by dividing the evening into segments, to
  separate &ldquo;learning&rdquo; from &ldquo;dancing.&rdquo;

  During a learning tip (or time
  period) experienced dancers will (to the best of their varying
  abilities) pay attention to learners in their square and help to
  minimize breakdowns and/or speed up recoveries.

  But during at least some of the &ldquo;dancing&rdquo; tips it&lsquo;s reasonable for
  experienced dancers to want to square up together to dance at a level
  that requires all their attention to be focused on their own dancing,
  and to be in a square that&lsquo;s not so likely to break down&mdash;or at
  least one that recovers quickly when things get out of whack. (See the article on breakdowns elsewhere in this issue.)

  In the &ldquo;good old days&rdquo; this was accomplished by &ldquo;cliques&rdquo;
  or pre-arranged squares that excluded less experienced
  dancers. This form of segregation caused feelings of social rejection
  and led many potential dancers to drop out or look for a more
  welcoming club&mdash;which gets us to the personal aspects I mentioned
  earlier.

  There&lsquo;s another way to look at the &ldquo;segregation&rdquo; problem. Most new dancers
  recognize that part of their comfort level is the result of
  more experienced dancers paying attention to them&mdash;reaching
  for the correct hand, or gently steering them in the right direction
  by a light touch or sometimes just a word at the right moment.

  It takes effort for experienced dancers to help them through a tip.
  In designated &ldquo;Full Plus&rdquo; tips or time periods, new
  dancers can express their appreciation for this by holding back for a
  tip or two&mdash;or perhaps only a square or two&mdash;in designated &ldquo;Full Plus&rdquo; tips or time periods, to allow
  experienced dancers to square up together.

  A criticism of this approach is that it might deprive learners of the
  chance to dance in more challenging tips that would help them
  progress. How are they supposed to learn if they are excluded from the
  &ldquo;hot hash&rdquo; or the &ldquo;real Plus&rdquo; tips?

  Maybe the answer to that is for learners to square up anyhow, but in
  their own square&mdash;perhaps including willing volunteers with more
  experience. It&rsquo;s always a good feeling to get through a &ldquo;Full Plus&rdquo; tip
  without a serious breakdown! And there are many experienced dancers who
  will gladly square up with dancers of any ability in a Full Plus or a Hot
  Hash tip. It&rsquo;s all dancing, and the more we all dance the more comfortable
  we all get.

  As usual, these are just my thoughts.

  If you have other ideas on how to keep everyone happy as new dancers develop their skills, I hope you will share them with your club leaders.


articleid: 147
position: 4
type: text
content:
  A rancher was minding his own business when an FBI agent came up up to
  him and said, &ldquo;We got a tip that you may be growing illegal drugs on
  the premises. Do you mind if I take a look around?&rdquo;

  The old rancher replied, pointing to one of his fields, &ldquo;That&lsquo;s fine,
  but you shouldn&lsquo;t go over there.&rdquo;

  The FBI agent snapped at him, &ldquo;I&lsquo;m am a federal agent! I can go
  wherever I want!&rdquo; With that he pulled out his badge and shoved it into
  the ranchers face.

  The rancher shrugged this off and continued with his daily
  chores. About 15 minutes later he heard a loud scream from the field
  he had pointed out earlier. The FBI agent was sprinting towards him
  with a large bull on his heels.

  The rancher rushed to the fence and yelled, &ldquo;Your badge! Show your
  badge to the bull!&rdquo;


articleid: 148
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Breakdowns!

  Breakdowns are inevitable, but milling around waiting for a broken
  down square to re-form is not. We should all practice getting our
  square quickly back in action after a breakdown.

  The most efficient way I know is to form up in normal facing lines of
  four, at the sides position, then watch the rest of the floor and
  start up the next time the rest of the floor is in facing lines of
  four&mdash;at either heads or sides position.

  Taking shortcuts to this procedure almost always results in an
  immediate second breakdown.

  Until everyone in your square is consciously in lines and alert for
  the restart, you won&rsquo;t be able to restart in sync and you&rsquo;ll be broken
  down again on the next call. If two couples are lined up one way and
  the others are lined up the other way, there&rsquo;s no way to re-start
  without an immediate crash.

  So, next time your square breaks down, get everyone into lines at the
  sides position and get their attention focused on restarting when the
  rest of the floor is in lines&mdash;not just when you hear a call that can
  be done from lines. If you start up when the rest of the floor is in,
  say, facing couples, then your square won&rsquo;t be able to do the call
  that comes after the &ldquo;false&rdquo; startup.

  You can be ready for a restart even quicker if you aren&rsquo;t fussy about
  getting everyone back with their original partner. Just form up in
  &ldquo;normal&rdquo; recovery lines, with the nearest man on the left and the
  nearest woman on the right. You can resume at the next &ldquo;lines of four&rdquo;
  and keep dancing. The couples can be sorted out after the tip&mdash;while
  you are congratulating everyone on their great recovery!

  Sometimes it&rsquo;s okay to keep dancing and let those who are out of place
  catch up, but that only works if one or maybe two are out of place,
  and if the others can keep dancing without getting confused while the
  &ldquo;stragglers&rdquo; catch up. When things get beyond that, there&rsquo;s no point
  in a few heroically dancing on. It&rsquo;s better to stop and form up in
  recovery lines so everyone can restart in sync.


articleid: 149
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Jerry Carmen, 78, Spencerport, died Tuesday, August 8, 2017. He was
  born December 13, 1938, in Holyoke, MA, the son of Irving and Virginia
  Margaret (Norris) Carmen. He was of the Jewish faith.

  He grew up in Chicopee, MA, graduating from Chicopee High School in
  1957. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a Still
  Photographer. In 1966, he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in
  Mechanical Engineering from Western New England College. He worked at
  Eastman Kodak Company and ITT Corporation, retiring in 2006 after 40
  years of service. Jerry moonlighted as a square dance caller during
  his working years and in 1989 founded the popular square dance calling
  group, the Hip Boot Boys. During his retirement years he continued his
  passion for square dancing, as well as round dance and line dance
  instruction, and choreographed a number of round dances.

  Jerry also enjoyed collecting antiques, stamps, and coins; repairing,
  and refinishing furniture; artwork in the form of watercolors, pen and
  pencil drawings, stenciling, and sign painting; and watch and clock
  repair. He had a facility for foreign languages, being fluent in
  French, German, and Hebrew. He was a member of CallerLab, the
  Caller&rsquo;s Co-operative of Rochester, and the National Association
  of Watch and Clock Collectors.

  He met Elisabeth (Betty) Louise Primmer through the University of
  Massachusetts Heymakers Square Dance Club. They were engaged in 1963,
  wed June 18, 1966, in Williamstown, MA, then moved to Spencerport.

  Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Morris
  Carmen.

  Surviving are his wife, Betty Carmen of the home; four children, Debby
  Henrikson (Don) of Thompsontown, PA, Dan Carmen (Jen) of North Chili,
  Dennis Carmen of Albany, and Diana Papa (Brad) of Greece; two
  grandsons, Zachary and Joshua Carmen of North Chili; a sister, Sadie
  St. John (Leonard) of Holyoke MA; five brothers, Paul Carmen (Lorenda)
  and Larry Carmen (Anne) of Chicopee, MA, Harvey Carmen (Sherry) of
  Tullahoma, TN, David Carmen (Nancy) of Granby, MA, Sam Carmen (Min
  Cha) of Waldorf, MD; a sister-in-law, Rosa Carmen; and many nieces and
  nephews.

  Memorial contributions may be made to the ALS Association Upstate New
  York Chapter, 135 Old Cove Rd, Ste 213, Liverpool, NY 13090; or
  Paralyzed Veterans of America, 801 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20006;
  or St. John&rsquo;s Cemetery, 55 Martha St, Spencerport, NY 14559.


articleid: 150
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Michael B. Herne, of Victor, NY, passed away on June 24, 2017, at age
  75. He is survived by his wife, Ann Kingsley-Herne; children, Kim
  Staffieri, Kelly Hoffmann, Josette Campana, Jenn Jackson, Christopher
  Engert, Nathaniel Herne; 11 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren;
  many siblings, nieces, nephews and friends.

  As an active square dance caller in the greater Rochester area, Mike
  called regularly for clubs such as the Belles &lsquo;N&lsquo; Beaus,
  Dalton Gang and Victor Swing-A-Longs. He had a wonderful singing
  voice and a seemingly endless repertoire of &ldquo;groaner&rdquo;
  jokes.

  He and his wife stepped in to shoulder the task of Subscription
  Editors for the Promenader when the previous holder of this
  responsibility (Dorothy Woodams) died suddenly in a car crash.

  In 2010, Mike and Ann Herne received the Daphne-Norma
  Leadership award for their contributions to square and round dancing
  in the Rochester area.

  Mike&rsquo;s Funeral Service was held on Thursday, June 29, in the Victor
  United Methodist Church. Interment was held privately. Funeral
  arrangements by MillerofVictor.com


articleid: 151
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Marilyn was a former Cloverleafs member who loved square dancing. She
  even convinced her son to start lessons and he did dance for a
  while. She loved dressing up for Halloween and one year no one could
  figure out who it was until the unveiling. She was game for most
  everything and loved to travel. Her family was very important to her.

  She is survived by her son Michael, two daughters, Debra Callaghan and
  Lori VanScotar, 4 grandchildren, two sisters, one brother and many
  nieces and nephews and friends.

  Contributions may be made to Journey Home, 994 Long Pond Rd, Rochester
  14626 or Gilda&lsquo;s Club Rochester, 255 Alexander St., Rochester 14607.


articleid: 152
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Current insurance for Square Dancers expires on December 31, and the forms to insure dancers and dancing sites for 2018 need to be submitted by mid-October. As soon as the current rates and forms are available, I will email them to the president and the person in charge of insurance for each club. For efficient transfer of this information, if there has been a change of contact from last year, please email me with the current name and address. (Forms will also be available on the RAF website.) Thank you in advance for your help in this important matter. 


articleid: 153
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Receiving the DAPHNE-NORMA LEADERSHIP AWARD was a totally wonderful
  surprise! We listened to the award being announced and when some of
  our unique &lsquo;theme&rsquo; nights were mentioned we both looked at
  each other and said &ldquo;that&rsquo;s us!&rdquo; We were in shock
  and so humbled. This leadership award would not have been possible
  without all the hard work and commitment over the years by our very
  dedicated Board of Directors who have supported us and worked so
  diligently and enthusiastically to keep our club going strong and
  growing. We are honored and truly value this award. Be on the lookout
  for us as we visit your dances throughout the year and we will bring
  along the famous candy dish to celebrate.


articleid: 153
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The DAPHNE-NORMA LEADERSHIP AWARD has been presented annually at
  dance-O-Rama since 1977, with the exception of 1997. It recognizes
  dancers from the Rochester area square and round dance community who
  have contributed in an outstanding way to the well-being of square and
  round dancing, and who have demonstrated this leadership for an
  extended period of time. Leadership styles vary greatly as each person
  is different, but going that extra mile for the sake of other dancers,
  and of dancing itself, is something we can all celebrate.


articleid: 153
position: 5
type: text
content:
  As you read this today, please take a moment to nominate someone whom
  you believe is deserving of the DAPHNE-NORMA LEADERSHIP AWARD,
  recognizing their continuing leadership efforts in the square dance
  community.

  Send your nomination for 2018 to the 2017 recipients:
  <br><br>
  Bob &amp; Alice Hager
  <br>
  306 Cherry Creek Lane
  <br>
  Rochester NY 14626
  <br>
  (or email: rhager2@rochester.rr.com)

  (<a href="../awards/awards.html">Link to 2017 nomination information</a>)


articleid: 154
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Many people have suggested finding a new place for larger dances.

  It isn&rsquo;t as easy as it sounds. In the past George Ahn and Mary
  Lou Altman checked out many places that were suggested. They looked
  at size of the room, whether it was air conditioned, if it had a
  kitchen nearby, what nights of the week it could be rented, the cost
  of rental, is adequate parking available and can we bring food in.
  They narrowed it down, mainly due to the cost.

  Until you have done this yourself, you wouldn&rsquo;t believe how
  much places rent for. As an example, several of us went to Artisan
  Works as that was mentioned and there was a demo done there last
  year. A room the size we would need would rent for $5,000. Of course
  that is way over budget.

  When Copy Cats had the Tim Mariner dance a couple years ago, the hall
  at St. John Fisher cost $1,000. The hall at Assumption Church rented
  for $180 which is more typical of what some places charge.

  You also have to be aware of sound. With high ceilings or cement, the
  sound doesn&rsquo;t carry as well to some parts of the room, so you
  can&rsquo;t hear it very well.

  It would be nice to have a committee that could check out places on
  both the east and west sides of the city. We need suggestions from
  everyone. Maybe you went to an event and thought to yourself that
  would be a nice place to have a dance.

  Unless someone is willing to go the extra mile and ask the important
  questions, the rest of us would not know of this place. No place is
  off limits. Ask, Ask, Ask. Please give your suggestions to one of the
  Federation officers or your Federation Rep, and if you&rsquo;re
  willing to investigate locations, please let them know that as well.


articleid: 155
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Promenader for fall, 2017. I hope you&rsquo;ve had a
  great summer and found time between the heat and the showers to enjoy
  our wonderful section of New York State&mdash;or wherever you travelled
  for fun. I also hope you took advantage of the many opportunities to
  dance!

  In this issue:

  I was out of circulation most of the summer, but as I understand it
  there was plenty of dancing to be found. The Cloverleafs and the
  Bubels danced regularly in Henrietta and the Copy Cats held a series
  of summer fun events, as did Penn Yan, Shamrock and Waterwheel
  Squares.

  Two articles in this issue cover different aspects of the
  &ldquo;mechanics&rdquo; of organized dancing in our area. Carol Ann
  Stahl reminds club officers that insurance forms will be available
  soon and rosters will be due soon after that, and Sharon Meyer shares
  her thoughts on the challenge of lining up venues for special dances.

  This issue also includes an article called &ldquo;Square Dance
  Do&rsquo;s and Don&rsquo;ts&rdquo; came from The Central Florida
  Square and Round Dancers Association website. It contains good advice
  for all dancers to keep in mind as we begin the new dancing season.

  In Memoriam:

  Over this summer the dancing community lost Marilyn Andraszek and
  callers Mike Herne and Jerry Carmen, all of whose obituaries appear in
  this issue.

  Rochester Area Federation:

  On September 23, the Federation hosts the second annual Fall
  Friendship Ball. This is a free afternoon dance geared for all area
  dancers. It&rsquo;s a welcome-back kick-off to the 2017&ndash;18
  season of dancing. This year, a location with a larger hall has been
  selected. It&rsquo;s still to the east side of Rochester (Shortsville
  American Legion) to make it easier for our Finger Lakes area friends
  to attend. Following the dance will be a catered dinner at $20 per
  person by the same great caterer as last year. Please send
  reservation coupons to Peter Emmel with your check. Details and the
  reservation coupon are on the flyer (Click <a
  href="../flyers/federation-2017-09-23.pdf">HERE</a>). (Regrettably,
  the 6pm dinner overlaps with Penn Yan&rsquo;s 7pm Open House dance,
  but maybe the 40-minute drive is short enough to attend the 2pm FBB
  dance and still get to the Open house with a stop for a bite to eat
  on the way.)

  Editorial Comments:

  I&rsquo;ve been thinking about where &ldquo;opinion&rdquo; fits in a
  publication like the Promenader, and I&rsquo;ve asked a few others to
  comment on the question. Responses are mixed, but on balance
  it&rsquo;s deemed a good thing to encourage and publish thoughtful
  opinions.

  On the other hand, I&rsquo;m told that most dancers prefer to
  &ldquo;just dance&rdquo; and not do a lot of talking about it.
  There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, one of the
  great pleasures of dancing is that it displaces nearly all extraneous
  and worrying thoughts from our heads and replaces them with a focus
  on the dance movements themselves and the pleasure of a good time
  with our friends.

  Luckily though, there are also folks who think and talk about the
  behind-the-scenes mechanics of dancing, such as club operations,
  teaching/learning programs and the many other aspects that must work
  together to keep this wonderful activity alive and well.

  Square and round dancing are &ldquo;organized&rdquo; activities that
  depend on people to do the organizing. All dancers play at least some
  organizing role by volunteering to serve as officers and helpers at
  their home clubs. Many also pitch in to help with such things as
  setup or cleanup when they are visiting other clubs. A few dancers
  also volunteer to organize special events or contribute to inter-club
  coordination through their area Federation.

  Another aspect of &ldquo;organization&rdquo; is the overall concept
  of dancing - ensuring the continued availability of instruction and
  opportunities for practice at all levels. Not everyone will follow
  the path all the way from novice through club dancing to festival
  dancing and beyond. But many will, and it&rsquo;s worth thinking
  about what it takes to enable that to happen.

  In the last issue, I expressed views about certain aspects of that
  path. My words hurt a few feelings and generated some negative
  feedback. I did not mean to insult anyone&rsquo;s dancing skill or
  contribute to discriminatory feelings among dancers. Obviously, I did
  not do a very good job of expressing what I wanted to communicate. I
  apologize for any hard feelings that my clumsy writing has caused and
  I hope to make it up on the dance floor in the coming season.

  Since then, I have read an excellent article by the well-known caller
  Ed Foote. It appeared this summer in &ldquo;American Square Dance -
  The International magazine of Square Dancing.&rdquo; Ed&rsquo;s
  article does a much better job than I did of articulating the points
  I was trying to make.


  More importantly, he explains why it&rsquo;s vital for clubs to
  maintain a diverse range of skills and for the emphasis to be on
  strengthening every dancer&rsquo;s grasp on the level they are
  dancing at today, rather than pushing too rapidly to higher levels.
  With strong encouragement from Ed himself, we plan to include his
  article in a future issue of the Promenader. In his email to me, Ed
  also weighed in strongly on the side of including opinion in square
  dance publications. The main reason he gave was that it promotes a
  livelier interest in the activity and brings out fresh ideas that
  contribute to its vitality. Those who would rather &ldquo;just
  dance&rdquo; can ignore whatever debates there might be about how the
  activity is structured or managed.

  I would like to hear YOUR opinion on where opinions should fit in the
  Promenader. One obvious possibility is to include &ldquo;Letters To
  The Editor&rdquo; among our articles, but there may be others, such
  as a forum section on the website.

  Please send me an email with your opinion on the subject to
  &ldquo;promenader@rochester.rr.com.&rdquo; Note that the Promenader
  is the newsletter of the Rochester Area Federation, so anything we
  publish must meet our standards of civility and constructiveness for
  square and round dancing.

  If I receive no mail in response to this appeal, then I suppose
  I&rsquo;ll have to conclude that nobody reads this page and I can say
  whatever I please, without necessarily letting anyone else express
  their views :-)


articleid: 155
position: 4
type: text
content:
  In His Wisdom, God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would
  have to search for their glasses, keys and other things, and thus do more
  walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.

  Then God saw there was another need. In His Wisdom, He made seniors
  lose coordination so they would drop things, requiring them to bend,
  reach and stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good.

  Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors would
  have additional calls of nature requiring more trips to the bathroom,
  thus providing more exercise. And God looked down and saw that it was
  good

  So, if you find that as you age you are getting up and down more,
  remember it&lsquo;s God&lsquo;s will. It is all in your best interest
  even though you mutter and cuss under your breath.

  <b>Nine Important Facts to Remember as You Grow Older:</b>

  #9&mdash;Death is the number 1 killer in the world.

  #8&mdash;Life is sexually transmitted.

  #7&mdash;Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at
  which we can die.

  #6&mdash;Men have only two motivations: hunger and hanky panky,
  and they can&lsquo;t tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes,
  make him a sandwich.

  #5&mdash;Give a person a fish and you feed them for a
  day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won&lsquo;t bother
  you for weeks, months, maybe years.

  #4&mdash;Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in
  the hospital, dying of nothing.

  #3&mdash;All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It
  pays no attention to criticism.

  #2&mdash;In the 60&lsquo;s, people took acid to make the world
  weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it
  normal.

  #1&mdash;Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers. What you do
  today may be a burning issue tomorrow.


articleid: 156
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On August 15, 2017, the Boo Bull Square Dance Clubs featured national
  caller Johnny Preston at their air-conditioned hall in Henrietta. An
  A1/A2 dance was held in the afternoon, followed by an evening Plus
  dance. As you can see from the photos, a great time was had by
  all&mdash;incluuding Johnny.

  Born in California, Johnny began calling in 1976 while attending Wayne
  State University in Michigan. He is a full-time caller who travels
  across the United States and is often featured at festivals and
  resorts throughout the world.

  Johnny was also featured as a square dance caller in a national
  television ad for Ameritrade. Johnny is internationally known
  for his enthusiastic style and wonderful singing voice. Calling Basic
  to C-1, Johnny is always a crowd pleaser at dances. Dancers
  don&lsquo;t want to miss a dance when Johnny comes to town!

  Johnny is the founder of Hoedowns for Humanity, a foundation created
  to raise friends and funds for local affiliates of Habitat for
  Humanity at the same time raising awareness of the square dance
  activity throughout the country.


articleid: 157
position: 1
type: text
content:
  President&rsquo;s Letter, August 25, 2017

  As I write this in the middle of August, we&rsquo;ve finally started to dry
  out and experience the dog days of summer. There have been some great
  dances this summer with Ken Bower, Gary Shoemake, Johnny Preston, and
  Betsy Gotta. The Mike Sikorsky dance I&rsquo;m sure also will be / was a
  great dance. I hope you got out and were able to enjoy one or more of
  these dances.

  Unfortunately we&rsquo;ve also had some trials this summer with the rains
  and flooding impacting some of our dancers as well as the loss of two
  of our long time callers Mike Herne and Jerry Carmen. Our thoughts and
  prayers have been with those families impacted. If there is one thing
  I&rsquo;ve learned, square dancers are caring people that help out those
  around them that are hurting or in need.

  September sees us at the start of another square dance season. The
  Fall Friendship Ball is a way to get back into dancing and meet
  dancers you don&rsquo;t normally see. It is a free dance and open to all
  Rochester square dancers so come out and meet folks from other
  clubs. The caterer did a great job last year so hurry up and sign up
  with your payment if you want to stay for a wonderful meal after the
  dance.

  Many clubs are hosting Open Houses this year to get new dancers into
  our activity. We have a yard sign program that clubs are tying out
  this year as well as some continuing to do radio ads, and Facebook or
  other social media listings. However, our best source of dancers has
  always been current dancers. Be sure and talk to your friends, family,
  neighbors, and co-workers about dancing and take them to an Open
  House. I suspect I&rsquo;m not the only person who got dragged kicking and
  screaming to my first Open House, but once there I had a good time. It
  may take a little extra effort to pick someone up and bring them to
  an Open House, but the only way our activity will survive in the years
  to come is with new dancers joining our activity.

  Enjoy the rest of the summer with your friends and family, and with
  your dancing family, and I&rsquo;ll see you in a square.


articleid: 158
position: 2
type: text
content:
  DO be aware at all times that square dancing is a
  &ldquo;courtesy&rdquo; recreation rather than one of competition.

  DO keep smiling even if you are angry with yourself for
  &ldquo;goofing.&rdquo; The other seven people in the square might
  think that you are frowning at them.

  DO recognize your corner and remember who he or she is. Next to your
  partner this dancer is the most important to you of all in your
  square.

  DO be quiet and attentive to the caller during instructions even
  though you know what he is explaining. Perhaps someone else in your
  square needs to be briefed.

  DO leave sharp jewelry at home. It can cut fingers or catch on
  clothes and inflict injury.

  DO wear proper square dance attire - long sleeves for men - ladies
  wear full skirts, petti-pants and low-heeled shoes suitable for
  square dancing.

  DO remember to treat all ladies as you would want other men to treat
  your wife or girlfriend. The ladies always seem to treat other men a
  little gentler than their partners.

  DO wear name badges at all times. It might surprise some of the
  oldsters to learn that they are not as well-known as they thought.
  Many dancers are not aware of the origin of the name badge. When
  western style dancing began to flourish, someone suggested that
  everyone should be identified by means of a name badge so that
  dancers would be on a first name basis to further friendly fellowship
  and recreation. Some clubs decided to add their club name and the
  city or area where it was located. They also created original designs
  for their badges. THE RUDE SQUARE DANCER IS THE ONE WITHOUT A BADGE,
  because this places other dancers in the embarrassing position of not
  being able to address you by name. DON&rsquo;T BE RUDE.

  DO admit it when you &ldquo;goof.&rdquo; Next time it could be
  someone else&rsquo;s turn, so you needn&rsquo;t feel bad about it.
  When you &ldquo;goof,&rdquo; do it gracefully and recover as best you
  can in order to keep your square from breaking down.

  DO remember your position when you square up&mdash;heads,
  sides, what couple number and, in some instances, whether you are in
  a boy or girl position.

  DO end each dance with a flourish, applause and sincere THANKS to all
  in your square.


articleid: 158
position: 4
type: text
content:
  DON&rsquo;T be a &ldquo;competitive&rdquo; dancer. Instead cooperate
  with the other seven people in your set to make a good square.

  DON&rsquo;T be over-exuberant. Your yell might drown out the next
  call for everyone around you. If you want to make noise, do it at the
  right time -- during an extended call like right or left grand or
  promenade, or best of all after the final call.

  DON&rsquo;T be a &ldquo;know-it-all.&rdquo; Let the caller be the
  instructor, unless someone asks you for help at the close of a tip.

  DON&rsquo;T cut in or out of a square unless you know how. And if you
  are cut out, leave gracefully.

  DON&rsquo;T be guilty of &ldquo;horseplay&rdquo; unless you are
  positive your square and the club will not be offended.

  DON&rsquo;T take that extra swing with your partner. It might make
  her late for the left allemande with her waiting corner.

  DON&rsquo;T forget: It is the lady who determines whether or not she
  wishes to twirl. If her hand is held high, she would like to twirl.
  If it is low, she does not wish to twirl.

  DON&rsquo;T forget to trade a dance, especially with the guests. And
  don&rsquo;t overlook the caller&rsquo;s wife. She might like to
  dance. ASK HER.

  DON&rsquo;T sit like a &ldquo;bump on a log&rdquo; when another
  couple is needed to complete a square. If you want to sit out a tip,
  leave the floor&mdash;go to the rest room or where you can not
  be seen. This prevents embarrassment to you and to the three couples
  wishing to square up.

  DON&rsquo;T complain about the caller, the hall, the sound or the
  tacky floor. Seek to find the good things about the dance and express
  them. Your attitude will contribute to your enjoyment as well as to
  the enjoyment of others around you.

  DON&rsquo;T pre-arrange sets of four couples before square up. You
  insult the ability of other dancers and reflect a snobbish image
  contrary to the democratic ideals square dancers wish to exemplify.
  If you wish to dance with friends, you and another couple could stand
  in opposite positions in the set and allow two other couples to join
  you.

  DON&rsquo;T insist on dancing your way when visiting other areas. If
  these people dance palms up on the Alamo, go along with it. If they
  do or do not stir the bucket, DO AS THE ROMANS DO&mdash;EAT
  ROMAN CANDLES&mdash;but keep your opinions to yourself.

  DON&rsquo;T try to help the caller when filling in with a new class
  by explaining or pushing or pulling. Dance as though it is your first
  night also.

  DON&rsquo;T &ldquo;PARTAKE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES BEFORE, OR DURING,
  THE DANCE.&rdquo; Some people object; others may not wish to be close
  to you with alcohol on your breath. Children are often present, and
  many clubs dance in churches or schools. Drinking may even adversely
  affect your dancing ability. This is a cardinal rule of square
  dancing.

  DON&rsquo;T be &ldquo;breath offensive.&rdquo; Ask a friend for gum
  or mints if you forget yours.

  DON&rsquo;T forget to use a deodorant after your pre-dance bath or
  shower. You may become quite warm when you are dancing.

  DON&rsquo;T be a &ldquo;ROUGH HANDLER.&rdquo; Use light, easy
  handholds; that is, don&rsquo;t grab or squeeze tight on
  box-the-gnats, grand right and lefts, circling, etc. Many dancers
  suffer from arthritis that makes a tight grip very painful.
   


articleid: 158
position: 6
type: text
content:
  NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AT DANCES? Alcohol inhibits our ability
  to listen and perform. Alcohol reduces our reaction time making us a
  poorer dancer. In addition, square dancing is a wholesome,
  family-oriented activity.

  BELONG TO A CLUB? Clubs are needed to organize dances and establish a
  means to enjoy the fellowship of square dancing. To survive they need
  an active membership where everyone helps. Volunteer, don&rsquo;t
  wait to be asked.

  STAY NON-COMPETITIVE? In square dancing we want everyone to have fun.
  This works best when there are no winners and losers.

  OVERLOOK MISTAKES BY OTHERS? We all make mistakes&nbsp;&hellip;
  Everyone is trying to do it right. Encourage them.

  WEAR NAME BADGES? Badges enable us to be on a first name basis which
  furthers friendly fellowship.

  WELCOME NEW DANCERS? New dancers are the lifeblood of our activity.
  Only with their enthusiasm and ideas can dancing continue to
  flourish.


articleid: 158
position: 7
type: author
content:
  Adapted from The Central Florida Square and Round Dancers
  Association: <a
  href="http://floridasquaredance.com/central/dos.html">http://floridasquaredance.com/central/dos.htm</a>


articleid: 160
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Honor the memory of Jerry Carmen by participating in the ALS Rochester Walk on Saturday, September 16, at Ontario Beach Park. Registration begins at 9:30 AM; Walk begins at 11:00 AM. Click <a href="../flyers/ALSWalk-2017-09-16.pdf">HERE</a> to consult the flyer for information on joining our team &ldquo;Promenading for Jerry&rdquo; and making a contribution.


articleid: 161
position: 01
type: text
content:
  The Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus were featured entertainment to
  showcase square dancing at a recent Chamber of Commerce event called
  &ldquo;Bluegrass At The Blue Barn Cidery&rdquo; on 9/23/17.

  The event was attended by 300 people&mdash;a sold out event that included
  an antipasto bar, a catered dinner, dessert stations, music by
  Linabelle Bluegrass Band, flowers by Rockcastle, photography by Wayne
  Panipento, and a showcase of square dancing by the Belles
  &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus.

  It was a wonderful afternoon and evening full of music, dining, making
  friends, and dancing.


articleid: 162
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Bennington College was the setting for the annual Tumbling Leaves
  Square Dance Festival. Nine couples from the Copy Cats danced the
  weekend away and enjoyed Vermont&rsquo;s fall foliage. Thanks to Phil
  LaRussa for providing this photograph.


articleid: 163
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Copy Cats had a busy summer of dancing and socializing. One
  unforgettable event was the girls adventure at Painting with a Twist.
  It was a night of fun for the Copy Cats Girls. Lots of talking,
  laughing, eating and painting. We brought our own food and drinks to
  enjoy, and our instructor was very patient with us. Here we are
  holding our paintings. No, I don&rsquo;t want you to say whose is
  best. They are all special. In the back row are Peggy, Mary Jo,
  Cathy, Kim and Diane, and in the front row are Brenda, Karen, Nancy,
  Jane, Amy and Sandy


articleid: 164
position: 1
type: text
content:
  In researching the Barn Dance article, I received the following note
  from Mike Callahan:

  &ldquo;A couple of weeks ago, I did a &ldquo;Barn Dance&rdquo; at the
  City of Canandaigua Fire Department. Six squares of dancers attended,
  which I thought was pretty good. No less than four people came up to
  me, expressing interest in taking more lessons&nbsp;&hellip; but the
  nearest classes are in Rochester, Auburn and Penn Yan.

  &ldquo;You would think that a city/area the size of Canandaigua could
  support a square dance club. There was one there many years ago,
  called Magic Squares with Bob Ellis calling, but alas, there are no
  longer enough callers available. Our problem with growing square
  dancing now is not just getting new dancers but finding callers to
  call for them.

  &ldquo;When Wanda and I go to Arizona in February and March, many
  dancers come there for the winter and dance 4, 5 and even 6 times a
  week. They tell me that when they go back home, there is no dancing
  any longer because there are no callers to call for them.&rdquo;

  Mike is not the only one who has noticed this trend. With the caller
  list shrinking from attrition and from the &lsquo;snowbird&rsquo;
  effect, clubs are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their
  schedules through the winter. We are in danger of burning out the
  declining number of callers and cuers who remain through the winter.

  Dancers and club leaders can help turn this around. The most obvious
  way is by encouraging new and up-coming callers. Just like learning
  to dance, the more calling practice you get the better you become.

  Helping new and less experienced callers gain experience is easy: All
  you have to do is Dance. Dance at their dances; Dance at CCR dances
  (Summer Sizzler and one in March); and Dance in the &lsquo;Open
  Mic&rsquo; session at Dance O Rama in May.

  Club leaders and established callers can also help by inviting new
  callers to share the microphone for a tip at their regular club
  dances. This has been a strong tradition in our area, and few were
  more generous with the microphone than Jerry Carmen. Whenever another
  caller or cuer attended one of his regular club dances, Jerry would
  offer them the microphone for a tip or a duet. Other established
  callers traditionally do the same.

  Another way for clubs and dancers to contribute is by scheduling
  amateur caller events like those held from time to time by the
  Cloverleafs and the Village Squares. These provide a fun and
  &ldquo;safe&rdquo; opportunity for potential callers to try their
  voice&mdash;and let their friends help them get over the
  trembling knees phase in an atmosphere of fun.

  Recruiting and developing new callers is every bit as important as
  recruiting and developing new dancers&mdash;and (almost) all
  you have to do is dance!

  Note: The Flyers section includes one for <a
  href="../flyers/RitucciCallersSchoolFlyer-2018.pdf">Ken Ritucci&rsquo;s
  Caller School</a> in Sturbridge, MA, October 4&ndash;8, 2018.


articleid: 165
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Rochester, Oct. 27, 2017, age 88. Predeceased by her husband Robert,
  daughter Carol and her sister Marge Ellis. She is survived by her
  children, James (Patricia), Patrick (Lynn), and Kenneth (Ellen)
  Meagher; 8 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; several nieces,
  nephews and sisters-in-law. Jeannette was a loving wife (of 63 years),
  mother and grandmother. She enjoyed square dancing and was an avid
  gardener with a green thumb for growing flowers and vegetables.

  Friends may contribute to Lifetime Care Hospice, 3111 S. Winton Rd.,
  Rochester 14623. Jeannette&rsquo;s family would like to express a
  sincere thank you to the staff at St. Ann&rsquo;s Nursing Home and
  Lifetime Care Hospice.

  Published in Rochester Democrat And Chronicle on Oct. 29, 2017

  We met Jeannette when she accompanied Bob at dances he was
  calling. She always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.


articleid: 166
position: 1
type: text
content:
  George Bauerschmidt took his last train ride on Wednesday, November 8,
  2017. He passed peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by
  family. Predeceased by his beloved wife, Rose, he leaves his children
  Diane Campbell, George and Tammy Bauerschmidt; favorite grandchildren,
  Danielle (Brad) James, and Andy (Odette) Campbell; 2
  great-grandchildren, Henry & Kyra; sisters, Lorraine Brown, Carol
  VanAtta and Gail Bauerschmidt; brother, Charles (Carol) Bauerschmidt;
  many nieces, nephews, and friends.

  His Family would like to thank the staff at Highland Hospital,
  especially the 4th floor unit, who provided the best &ldquo;comfort
  care&rdquo; anyone could ever ask for.

  Donations may be directed to the Parkinson&rsquo;s Association.

  George was a long-time member of the Copy Cats square dance club.


articleid: 167
position: 0
type: text
content:
  Maybe, like me, you remember barn dances in your youth. From the early
  1960s, I remember an annual country dance and hayride that was held
  for the U of R &ldquo;Faculteeners&rdquo; at the former Canute Farm in
  Lima. I&rsquo;m sure it was fond memories from these parties that came
  to mind thirty years later, when Harold and Gerry Schwartz introduced
  Sally and me to the Village Squares. I&rsquo;m also sure it&rsquo;s no
  coincidence that our club&rsquo;s annual dance program nearly always
  includes a &ldquo;Barn Dance&rdquo;&nbsp;&hellip; though without the
  barn.

  A long tradition of barn dancing is still alive and well in our area,
  though it is constantly changing. In addition to the barn dance theme
  that various clubs create by decorating their halls, there is also
  plenty of dancing in real barns.


articleid: 167
position: 2
type: text
content:
  For many years, Sybil & Fred Northrup and later Sybil & Ed Briggs
  hosted square dances in their barn in Bloomfield. Mike Callahan calls
  barn dances regularly, mostly for youth groups, that draw 200 to 300
  dancers! I&rsquo;ll get back to that below. The most familiar barn to
  most of our readers&mdash;also in Bloomfield&mdash;is
  150 years old and is owned by Alan and Ellen Fish. As you can see from
  the accompanying photos, every summer a half-dozen squares of area
  dancers enjoy Alan and Ellen&rsquo;s hospitality at their annual barn
  dance, in affiliation with the Grand Squares.

  The Fish&mdash;Grand Squares connection goes back to the
  seventies, when Alan and Ellen joined the Lima Grand Squares, where
  Gary and Alice Bubel were calling and cueing. Alan picks up the story
  from here:

  &ldquo;It was about 1980 that we had our first barn dance for the
  club. Clubs were big enough then that attendance from our club alone
  filled the barn with six sets. A member of the club was good enough to
  take pictures of the event and they&rsquo;re fun to go through these
  35 years later. We held a barn dance each year for a few years until
  personal circumstances got in the way and we had to abandon square
  dancing for about 15 years. After joining the now Grand Squares in
  2012, we again hosted occasional barn dances to benefit the club. This
  time they were open to anyone willing to drive to Bloomfield. There
  have always been enough dancers in attendance to make six sets which
  is what the barn will comfortably accommodate.&rdquo;

  As to the barn itself, here&rsquo;s Alan&rsquo;s description:

  &ldquo;The barn, built in the 1860s, has become a local landmark and
  is a treat for city folk who rarely get inside a gambrel roof
  barn. These barns are disappearing at an alarming rate because of the
  expense associated with upkeep. For instance, we purchased the barn in
  1976 for $4,500 and then put a new roof on for $16,000. The beams in
  the basement are hand hewn, while the posts and beams upstairs are
  sawed. It&rsquo;s a marvel of construction, with huge foundation
  boulders that were moved into place by the muscle of horses and
  men. The sliding doors in the back of the barn open to a twelve-foot
  drop&mdash;which is a puzzle. Why would they put doors on that
  you must be very careful to avoid stepping out of? Come to our next
  barn dance and find out why.&rdquo;

  The photos accompanying this article were taken at the Fish&rsquo;s
  barn dance in the summer of 2017.


articleid: 167
position: 4
type: text
content:
  For the past ten years, Mike Callahan has called youth dances
  regularly each summer at a barn owned by Dave and Joan Beinetti near
  Honeoye Falls. Here is Mike&rsquo;s description:

  &ldquo;These dances have evolved from home school programs which have
  become huge across the country.  Dave and his wife home schooled their
  8 children and became a part of the home school movement.  As a
  result, when he started these dances, most of the youth that came were
  from his family, their friends and a lot of other home-schooled kids.
  Over the years these kids have grown and gone to college (quite a few
  to Christian colleges) gotten married and now bring their own college
  friends and children.  Social media is what makes these dances hugely
  successful.  The dances are advertised on Facebook along with other
  social media and we generally get about 200&ndash;300 dancers, mostly
  high school and college age.  Sometimes, there are so many dancers
  that they have to take turns dancing as the barn won&rsquo;t hold them
  all.  Along with the dance, Dave has light refreshments and usually a
  huge bonfire where kids can get together and socialize.  He charges
  $2.00/person and $10.00/family.  The last dance that I did for him, I
  asked him how much longer was he going to do these dances.  His
  answer: &lsquo;They won&rsquo;t let me quit&rsquo;.&rdquo;

  Mike continues: &ldquo;Each year I do about four or five dances like
  these.  They are mostly parties for people who want a one night type
  of square dance program and are not experienced square dancers.  My
  program tends to involve very basic square dance instruction and
  dancing, line dancing, a circle mixer and a few traditional
  (&lsquo;Eastern&rsquo;) square dances.  For the most part, folks that
  attend these are not interested in joining clubs or taking lessons.
  They want a one night themed entertainment only.&rdquo;


articleid: 167
position: 6
type: text
content:
  Elsewhere in this section is a photo article article about a different
  sort of barn dancing. Rochester&rsquo;s Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus
  square dance club were featured entertainment for &ldquo;Bluegrass at
  the Blue Barn.&rdquo; This Chamber of Commerce event called &ldquo;Greece Regional
  Chamber Celebration of Food, Music and Spirit&rdquo; took place in
  September at a commercial establishment&mdash;The Blue Barn
  Cidery&mdash;and drew a sold-out crowd. Admittedly, the square
  dancing might not have been the main draw, but it was an opportunity
  to showcase our wonderful activity.


articleid: 167
position: 8
type: text
content:
  In the 1940s, radio music personalities Max Raney and his wife Flossie
  established their &ldquo;Bar-M Ranch&rdquo; on Gauss Road as a popular
  venue for national country music entertainers. Crowds&mdash;sometimes over 20,000&mdash;came to see such stars as Bessie
  Smith, Tex Ritter, Hank Williams, Minnie Pearl, Burl Ives, Hank Snow,
  Gene Autry (and his horse, Champion). Outdoor stage shows were
  broadcast on WHAM radio and attracted nationally known musical groups
  such as the Hoosier Hot Shots, and musical comedy acts like Lulu &
  Scottie. Square dancing and movies took place in the barn, with music
  by Max Raney and his famous &ldquo;High-Boys&rdquo; who continued to
  entertain in the Rochester area and on the radio well into the 50s.

  Here is a <a href="http://www.ebhs1838.org/max-raney/" target="_blank">link</a> to
  a wonderful article from a special 2011 edition of the East
  Bloomfield Historical Society&rsquo;s &ldquo;Academy
  Chronicles&rdquo; from 2011 devoted to Max and Flossie and the Bar-M
  Ranch. It&rsquo;s billed as, &ldquo;A Tribute to and Memories of
  Famous Entertainers in East Bloomfield, and it&rsquo;s filled with
  photos.&rdquo;

  Click <a
  href="http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=12944" target="_blank">HERE</a>
  for further notes on the Raneys and a sample poster advertising a
  summer of round and square dancing events at Roseland Park on
  Canandaigua Lake and Long Point Park on Conesus Lake.


articleid: 167
position: 9
type: author
content:
  <i>Quotes, background info and photos for this article were supplied
  by Mike Callahan and Alan Fish.</i>


articleid: 168
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On October 30, the Copy Cats held a Halloween dance that brought out a
  wild array of costumes. Seven squares danced to the infamous Hip Boot
  Boyz, and a full circle of round dancers enjoyed Eileen
  Webster&rsquo;s cueing. The snacks colorful and yummy and Rick&rsquo;s
  joke drew a hearty laugh.

  Many thanks to Jet Thomas for the wonderful photo record of an
  entertaining evening.


articleid: 169
position: 1
type: text
content:
  For many years the Batavia Silver Stars held &ldquo;Barn Dances&rdquo;
  in Leon and Becky Perry&rsquo;s barn on Brown Rd in Corfu. The barn is
  well over 100 years old, since it was built in the 1800s. The Perrys
  started square dance classes in the Fall of 1994 and held the first
  barn dance in the Summer of 1995. The reason? Joy (Fincher) Bookmiller
  was expecting her first child and the group wanted to have a baby
  shower for her.

  The barn dances continued until 2009, a year after Leon and Becky sold
  the farm to their son and moved into a new house across the
  road. Everyone brought a dish to pass and danced to caller, Bob
  Meagher. Nancy Fincher cued rounds and line dances. After the barn
  dance, Leon would take us on a hayride to the pond, stopping at the
  cabin for a campfire and more songs and stories. Sometimes someone
  ended up in the pond for a &ldquo;swim&rdquo;?


articleid: 167
position: 6b
type: text
content:
  Also in this section is a photo article by Jan Bencic on past barn
  dancing by the Batavia Silver Stars, hosted by Leon and Becky Perry
  at their farm in Corfu. These dances usually included food and hay
  rides on the Perry&rsquo;s property.

  The Cloverleafs invite all clubs to join them every summer for a
  picnic at Jane Avery&rsquo;s horse barn near Brockport.
  Sometimes they dance and sometimes they don&rsquo;t, but
  there&rsquo;s always food and friendship.

  The Village Squares hold a barn-free Barn Dance most years, where
  decorations and &ldquo;country clothes&rdquo; provide the barnyard
  atmosphere. You&rsquo;ll find photos from the 2017 version of this
  dance in a separate article in this issue.


articleid: 170
position: 2
type: text
content:
  Another great dance season is underway. Hopefully, everyone is
  getting out and seeing old friends and acquaintances again.
  It&rsquo;s good see that many of our clubs have new dancer classes
  with steady attendance. Obviously, without these new dancers the
  activity we all love will die out. So, I encourage all of you to help
  out the classes in any way possible.

  The Federation welcome back dance, the Fall Friendship Ball, went off
  very well per the returned surveys. Nearly 60 dancers enjoyed the
  three callers and two cuers, and many stayed for dinner. The little
  disappointment for me was that of the nearly 40 new graduate dancers
  from DOR, I only saw one at the Fall Ball. We are planning on having
  another Ball next year at a different location. Dancer surveys
  provided good information from those who came, but nothing for those
  who didn&rsquo;t. I would appreciate anyone who didn&rsquo;t go to
  this year&rsquo;s Ball letting me know why they chose not to go, and
  if there is anything we can do to bring more dancers out particularly
  the newer dancers.

  The winter and holiday season is when we see a lot of clubs holding
  class / club dances. For new dancers, it is a great time to meet new
  people and dance to other great callers. As much as the busy holiday
  season allows, I encourage dancers, both new and experienced, to get
  out and go to the other clubs for some good cheer and great dancing.

  Enjoy the holidays, and I&rsquo;ll see you on the dance floor.


articleid: 171
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Promenader for winter, 2017. With the dance season in
  full swing now, it&rsquo;s good to see new folks on the dance floor and,
  of course, to renew all our dancing friendships.


articleid: 171
position: 3
type: text
content:
  In addition to Club News and listings for Special Events, Class/Club
  Dances and club Dance Schedules, this issue features photo articles
  from Batavia Silver Stars, Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus, Village
  Squares, and Copy Cats. There is also a major theme article on barn
  dancing in our area over the years.

  This issue also includes a reminder to submit nominations for the
  Daphne-Norma Service Award by the end of February. Nomination
  guidelines and forms are available on this website (Click <a href =
  "../awards/awards.html">HERE</a>). The RAF Awards page has three
  &ldquo;clickable&rdquo; thumbnail images: the Nomination form, as
  well as a sheet of guidelines and a listing of past recipients.
  Nominations should be sent to Bob and Alice Hager at the address
  shown on the form.


articleid: 171
position: 5
type: text
content:
  The dancing community has lost two long-time dancers, Jeannette
  Meagher (widow of caller Bob Meagher) and George Bauerschmidt
  (long-time member of the Copy Cats), both of whose obituaries appear
  in this issue.


articleid: 171
position: 7
type: text
content:
  The September 23 Fall Friendship Ball drew 56 dancers, 34 of whom
  stayed for the catered dinner. Dancer questionnaires indicated that
  all who attended had a good time, and nearly all had good things to
  say about all aspects of the event.

  The RAF plans to hold this dance again next year, most likely in a
  different location, and hopefully with a lot higher attendance by
  recent graduates. There was only one 2017 graduate at this year&rsquo;s
  Fall Ball.

  Echoing Jim Gotta&rsquo;s appeal (see <a
  href="../articles/president-2017-12.html">RAF President&rsquo;s Corner</a>), the
  RAF leadership would like to hear from those who did NOT attend this
  dance, to find out what we can do to make it more appealing,
  especially to recent graduates.

  Following is a compilation of the 41 Fall Friendship Ball 2017 Dancer
  Survey forms that were turned in. For each question, it gives the
  number of answers at various points on the rating scale, along with
  any added written comments:

  Question 1&mdash;How was the choice of location? (38 responses)<br>
  10&mdash;Excellent / Great / Super / Wonderful<br>
  2&mdash;Very good / Very Nice<br>
  19&mdash;Ok / Good / Fine / Comfortable<br>
  &bull; Nice facility, little warm, not too central, pretty good size<br>
  &bull; Remote, but nice<br>
  &bull; Nice dance floor<br>
  &bull; Easy to find, not to far from EAST side, nice floor, acoustics good<br>
  &bull; Very nice place to dance, not too far from Rochester<br>
  &bull; A little far away<br>
  &bull; Better dance floor more than offsets extra distance

  Question 2&mdash;Would you attend next year? (38 responses)<br>
  30&mdash;Yes / Sure<br>
  4&mdash;Probably / Perhaps / Yes, depending upon location<br>
  &bull; Good Lord willing<br>
  &bull; Oh yes, love these<br>
  &bull; If able<br>
  &bull; Yes, if still above ground<br>

  Question 3&mdash;What would you have us do differently? (36 responses)<br>
  12&mdash;Nothing / Beats me<br>
  4&mdash;Hand sanitizer<br>
  3&mdash;Get more grads to attend / promote more to new dancers<br>
  3&mdash;Tell everyone to look for the jet / better directions/address<br>
  2&mdash;There are some vegetarians, maybe you should consider them<br>
  &bull; Chicken French<br>
  &bull; Wooden floor<br>
  &bull; Have snacks and desert<br>
  &bull; The air conditioning was great, but could have been lower<br>
  &bull; Have air conditioning that works<br>
  &bull; Bigger water cups<br>
  &bull; Order cool weather, change the room arrangement<br>
  &bull; Something other than plain water to drink<br>
  &bull; Having great time, no need to change<br>
  &bull; The callers were great and so was the format&mdash;Kudos<br>
  &bull; More help manning table<br>
  &bull; Make start time 30 minutes later, 3 hours is a long time

  Question 4&mdash;If you did not attend dinner, why not? (24 responses)<br>
  13&mdash;Attended / Yes / Very good dinner / Excellent meal<br>
  4&mdash;Other commitments / Time constraints / Plans not conducive<br>
  2&mdash;I&rsquo;m vegan, meat for both main dishes<br>
  &bull; We will always attend dinner, great meal with great people<br>
  &bull; Dinner is served at home, I had big lunch<br>
  &bull; Several folks we know had competing square dance events<br>
  &bull; Signed up too late<br>
  &bull; Cost

  Written in comments:<br>
  &mdash;I really enjoyed when all three callers sang the same song<br>
  &mdash;Announced tips good for all

  Regrettably, the 6p.m. dinner overlapped with Penn Yan&rsquo;s 7p.m.
  Open House dance. Maybe this is why we only saw two couples from
  clubs in the Finger Lakes area. The RAF will try to avoid this
  conflict next year by scheduling the FFB for Saturday, September 29.


articleid: 171
position: 9
type: text
content:
  I hesitate to say how many emails I received in answer to my question
  asking for your opinion on whether (and where) you believe
  &ldquo;opinion&rdquo; belongs in the Promenader.

  One message I&rsquo;m getting from talking with dancers in multiple clubs
  is that most folks just want to have fun dancing. They don&rsquo;t want to
  discuss the mechanics or the issues in &ldquo;square dancing&rdquo;&mdash;which
  is seen by most as an abstraction that doesn&rsquo;t have much to do with
  any particular dance or club. They know it&rsquo;s important to have an
  active and energetic dancing community, but they believe&mdash;rightly, I
  think&mdash;that it&rsquo;s enough for most folks to come out regularly to dance
  and to support the activities of their home club and caller.

  So, it seems that those who take it upon themselves to work behind the
  scenes for the greater good of the &ldquo;square dance community&rdquo;
  need to keep doing things that make dancing fun, and keep up promotion
  efforts to recruit new dancers into beginner classes.

  If that requires re-thinking instruction programs and nudging the
  culture of &ldquo;dance level&rdquo; then those club leaders and
  callers who set up and manage dance programs should seek one another
  out and collaborate across clubs. We need to make sure that in our
  efforts to grow the activity we don&rsquo;t lose the fun or fragment
  the existing dance community.


articleid: 171
position: c
type: text
content:
  Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of
  room at each side.

  With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out
  from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a
  full minute, and then relax.

  Each day, you&rsquo;ll find you can hold this position for just a bit
  longer.

  After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. Then try 50-lb
  potato bags and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb
  potato bag in each hand and hold your arms out straight for more than
  a full minute. (I&rsquo;m at this level now.)

  After you feel comfortable at that level, put a potato in each bag.


articleid: 172
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Your assistance is needed in selecting a person or couple for the
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award, which will be presented at Dance-O-Rama
  in May. The Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs,
  Inc. sponsors Dance-O-Rama, but it does not govern, sponsor or present
  the Daphne-Norma Award. That is governed by and presented by the
  award&rsquo;s Selection Committee, based mainly on nominations received
  from dancers like you. The committee relies on you to nominate people
  you feel meet the criteria for the Award.


articleid: 172
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The leadership award was established in 1977 by John Fink and Frank
  Salvaggio, in honor of their wives, Daphne and Norma. The purpose of
  the award is to show appreciation for EXTENSIVE AND SUSTAINED
  LEADERSHIP OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF YEARS in square, round or contra
  dancing. Leadership, service and motivation are considered when
  evaluating candidates for this award. A candidate need not demonstrate
  leadership in all areas, nor is each area given equal
  consideration. Areas of leadership may include (but are not limited
  to) years of dancing, cueing or calling; membership; committee service
  or an officer role in any of the following: Square, Round or Contra
  club; Rochester Area Federation; Promenader; Dance-O-Rama; NYS or
  national dance associations; promoting the activity through calling,
  cueing or teaching, and other leadership roles which benefit the
  community through the dance activity; and finally, the candidate&rsquo;s
  attitude and continuing willingness to take on responsibilities in the
  dancing community. An individual or couple may receive the award only
  once. The award may not be given if the Selection Committee
  unanimously agrees no one has met the criteria. Anyone in the dancing
  community is welcome to nominate people for the Leadership Award.

  Nominations are welcome any time, but must be received by the end of
  February for consideration this year. Late-arriving nominations will
  be filed and considered for the next year.


articleid: 172
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Q: Who is the Selection Committee? The award originators initially
  functioned as permanent Selection Committee members. But because the
  Salvaggios and the Finks are not active in the dance community
  anymore, Frank Salvaggio asked Walt &amp; Sally Baechle, and John &amp; Daphne
  Fink asked Andy &amp; Betty Ludwick, to be permanent members on the
  committee. (Walt passed away on October 3, 2000.) In 2017, Betty &amp;
  Andy Ludwick passed the honor on to Sharon &amp; Chuck Meyer. The most
  recent three recipients form the remainder of the committee.

  Q: How are people nominated? Anyone in the dance community may
  nominate a candidate. This is done by sending information about the
  candidate&rsquo;s qualifications to the most recent recipient(s) or
  to anyone else on the Selection Committee, before the end of
  February. See below for suggested information to include. You may
  submit your nomination by email or by postal mail. If it&rsquo;s
  helpful to you, you may use the nomination form on this website.

  For the Nomination Form, click <a href="../awards/DNBallot2017.pdf">HERE</a>.

  For the list of Previous Recipients, click <a href="../awards/DNRecipients2017.pdf">HERE</a>.

  Q: What happens to nominees who are not selected? Candidates
  previously nominated generally stay in consideration for future
  years. However, there is nothing wrong with &ldquo;refreshing&rdquo; a
  previous nomination with current info, and encouraging others to add
  their nomination. The cumulative impact of support for a particular
  nominee carries weight with the Selection Committee.


articleid: 172
position: 7
type: text
content:
  Please include as much of the following as you are able:

  1) Name and address of recommended person or couple

  2) Years of dancing, calling and/or cueing

  3) Club participation, offices held, etc.

  4) Participation in local organizations (both dance and other)

  5) Participation in state organizations (both dance and other)

  6) Participation in national organizations (both dance and other)

  7) Other leadership roles (not only dancing but community service)

  8) Miscellaneous information (anything else that might be relevant)

  And be sure to include your own name, club, e-mail and/or phone.

  Your INPUT is very important! TELL US ABOUT the person or couple you
  wish to nominate&mdash;the sooner, the better!

  Please send nominations and any questions to the most recent
  recipients of the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award:

  Bob &amp; Alice Hager<br>
  306 Cherry Creek Lane<br>
  Rochester NY 14626<br>
  (or email: rhager2@rochester.rr.com)


articleid: 173
position: 1
type: text
content:
  If you&rsquo;d like to see coverage of more clubs and events in this
  section, please help by taking a few photos wherever you dance and
  sending them to us with a brief description of the event. (email
  photos to: promenader@rochester.rr.com)


articleid: 174
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Almost every year, the Village Squares hold a Barn Dance&mdash;without the barn. It&rsquo;s one of their monthly special themed
  dances, where decorations and/or costumes set the scene. This year,
  even the refreshments counter contributed to the barnyard moo(d). In
  past years the event sometimes included activities like ducking for
  apples and a cow-pie toss &amp; catch contest, but those took a
  little too much cleaning up&mdash;even though the cow pies
  were made with pancake batter.


articleid: 167
position: 9a
type: author
content:
  <i>Special thanks to the East Bloomfield Historical Society for
  posting and sharing their article on Max and Flossie Raney and their
  once famous Bar-M Ranch.</i>


articleid: 175
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Webster&mdash;Passed away December 22, 2017, at the age of
  83. Predeceased by his wife Biruta Eimanis-Ahn and brother Donald
  Robert Ahn; Survived by his Long-Time Love, Companion and Devoted
  Partner, Mary Lou Altman; Sons Juris (Tracy) of Binghamton, NY and
  Andrew (Cynthia) of Villa Granda, CA; granddaughter, Tessa Reeves-Ahn,
  Augusta, ME.

  George worked at Ward&rsquo;s Natural Science Establishment for 35 years as
  a research scientist and manager of the micro-slide department. He
  volunteered as an EMT for Penfield Ambulance for 17 years and was on
  the Emergency Response Team at Ward&rsquo;s.

  George started square dancing at Copy Cats with his late wife in
  1980. He &amp; his late wife were Vice Presidents and Presidents at Copy
  Cats. He joined Cloverleafs in 1996 and learned round dancing in
  1997. He was President in 2001. From 2005&ndash;2006 He was Co-Vice President
  of the Rochester Area Federation, 2006&ndash;2009 Co-President of the
  Federation with Mary Lou Altman. He and Mary Lou were Co-Chairs of the
  DOR Committee from 2007&ndash;2009. In 2011 he and Mary Lou received the
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award.

  His interests besides dancing were golfing, traveling, fishing,
  reading and gardening.

  Thank you for the loving care of the Staff at St Johns Home, Hastings
  3. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations may be
  directed to the Alzheimer&rsquo;s Association, 435 E. Henrietta Rd,
  Rochester, NY 14620 in George&rsquo;s memory.


articleid: 176
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

  We are most of the way through the winter season, and hopefully the
  worst weather is behind us because we have plans for the spring,
  summer, and fall.

  Easter weekend the Callers group will have their Spring Dance.
  It&rsquo;s a great time to meet other dancers, dance to many
  different callers and cuers, and help support the callers.

  Next we have the ever-popular Tri-Club Dance on Saturday April 14,
  2018. This dance will feature caller Dave Eno, with Mark Thone cueing
  the rounds. Mark will start with a half hour of rounds before the
  square dance begins its Mainstream/Plus program.

  The 60th Dance-O-Rama will be May 5, 2018 at the Perinton Recreation
  Center 1350 Turk Hill Rd., Fairport, NY. This event starts at 2:00 pm
  and runs until 9:45 pm. Out of town callers and cuers Keith and
  Jeanne Harter as well as Mary Hinkle join local callers Gary Bubel,
  Mike Callahan, and Dave Eno. Please see the flyer for more details.
  Let&rsquo;s make this diamond jubilee dance one of the best.

  There is still plenty of dancing being planned for the summer
  including out of town callers Ron Reardon, Johnny Preston, and Mike
  Sikorsky. This fall will see several Open Houses as well as our
  welcome back Fall Friendship Ball being planned for September 29,
  2018.

  See you on the dance floor.


articleid: 177
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Promenader for spring, 2018. The temperature has been
  up and down over the winter, but the dancing has been steady, and
  signs point to a fun spring season.


articleid: 177
position: 3
type: text
content:
  In addition to Club News and listings for Special Events, Class/Club
  Dances and Club Dance Schedules, this issue features photo articles
  about the Cloverleafs, the Copy Cats and the Village Squares. Take
  particular note that the Cloverleafs will be hosting their Amateur
  Caller Night on April 22, where they will award the &ldquo;Roarin&rsquo;
  Tiger.&rdquo; (Click <a href="../flyers/Cloverleaf-2018-04-22.pdf">HERE</a> for the flyer)

  In the Photos &amp; Features section, there is also a reminder for dancers
  to consider the contributions to dancing by those around you who make
  things happen or who take special care to make dancing enjoyable for
  all. Take a few moments to nominate those people for the Daphne-Norma
  Leadership Award. (Click <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a> for the Awards page and links)


articleid: 177
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Thank you and goodbye to George Ahn, long-time dancer and leader of
  two clubs (Cloverleafs and Copy Cats) as well as the Rochester Area
  Federation. George and his surviving companion and partner, Mary Lou
  Altman, were recipients of the Daphne-Norma Leadership award in
  2011. He died in December at age 83. (Click <a href="../articles/articles-2018-03.html">HERE</a> for his obituary)


articleid: 177
position: 7
type: text
content:
  Plans are under way for the 2018 Dance-O-Rama, to be held in Perinton
  on May 6. This will be the diamond jubilee edition of the annual dance
  festival for all area round and square dancers. Be sure to read Jim
  Gotta&rsquo;s &ldquo;President&rsquo;s Corner&rdquo; article for other RAF
  activities in the works. (Click <a href="../articles/president-2018-03.html">HERE</a> for Jim&rsquo;s message)


articleid: 177
position: 9
type: text
content:
  A police officer came upon a terrible wreck where the driver and
  passengers had been killed. As he looked upon the wreckage a little
  monkey came out of the brush and hopped around the crashed car. The
  officer looked down at the monkey and said, &ldquo;I wish you could talk.&rdquo;

  The monkey looked up at the officer and nodded his head up and
  down. &ldquo;You can understand what I&rsquo;m saying?&rdquo; asked the officer. Again,
  the monkey nodded his head.

  &ldquo;Well, did you see this?&rdquo;

  &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; motioned the monkey.

  &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo; The monkey pretended to have a can in his hand and
  turned it up by his mouth.

  &ldquo;They were drinking?&rdquo; asked the officer. The monkey again nodded up
  and down.

  &ldquo;What else?&rdquo; The monkey pinched his fingers together and held them to
  his mouth.

  &ldquo;They were smoking marijuana?&rdquo;

  The monkey again nodded, &ldquo;yes,&rdquo; in agreement.

  &ldquo;Now wait, you&rsquo;re saying they were drinking, and smoking marijuana
  before they wrecked?&rdquo; asked the officer.

  &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; nodded the monkey, emphatically.

  &ldquo;What were you doing during all this?&rdquo;

  &ldquo;Driving,&rdquo; motioned the monkey.


articleid: 178
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Answering the call to help promote interest in square dance calling,
  the Cloverleafs are reviving their long tradition of Amateur Caller
  Nights&mdash;with a new twist: Now, there&rsquo;s a prize!

  This will certainly be a fun evening for all, capped off when the new
  &ldquo;Roarin&rsquo; Tiger&rdquo; trophy will be awarded to the most
  entertaining amateur.

  Volunteer amateur callers and cuers should register by sending their
  information to Henry Capron (hankaroo1 at yahoo) before March 25th,
  2018. Please include: Your name, your phone number and the tune(s) you
  will be performing, and the media &amp; format of your music. Don&rsquo;t
  hesitate to enlist an established caller or cuer to help you with
  music!

  Even for those who have no plans to ever become a caller, it&rsquo;s a lot
  of fun to get up and participate in these events&mdash;even as a perennial
  amateur.

  Dancers, let&rsquo;s make a strong showing in support of this dance!
  It&rsquo;s in the best interest of all dancers to bring encouragement to
  anyone who has even a slight inclination to try calling.

  Mark your calendar for April 22, and make it a priority to attend. The
  dance will be held at the Cloverleafs normal hall (First Baptist
  Church, 3182 Chili Avenue), starting at 7pm and running until
  9:15. Print out the flyer from the online dance schedule and put it on
  your fridge.


articleid: 179
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Nominations for the next Daphne-Norma Leadership Award are due right
  now. The 2018 award will be presented in May, at the next Dance O
  Rama. Nominations for this award are technically due on March 1st, but
  selection for this important award is a cumulative
  process. Nominations are held over into future years and can
  accumulate to build a compelling case for &ldquo;your&rdquo; nominee. So,
  please don&rsquo;t hesitate!

  If there is someone whose consistent service to square dancing in your
  club or in the wider dancing community has caught your attention,
  please make a note of it on a copy of the Daphne-Norma Nomination Form
  (Click <a href="../awards/DNBallot2017.pdf">HERE</a>) and get it to Bob and Alice Hager. If that&rsquo;s too much
  trouble, simply send an email to rhager2@rochester.rr.com with the
  following information:

  Nominee&rsquo;s Name(s)

  Your reasons for nominating them

  Your name and club affiliation

  Your email address and phone number

  It&rsquo;s that simple.

  The Daphne-Norma Leadership Award is the way that our dancing
  community recognizes a couple or individual dancer who has
  demonstrated leadership for an extended period of time, furthering the
  cause of square and round dancing in our area. Think about efforts
  that have been made over past years, as well as recently.

  Leadership styles vary greatly as each person is different. But going
  that extra mile for the sake of other dancers, and of dancing itself,
  is something we all appreciate and want to recognize through this
  award.

  If you know someone whom you feel stands out in their continuing
  service to others, please help us to celebrate and take note of them
  and their contribution.

  You don&rsquo;t have to know their life history. Just present what you do
  know and what you have observed. Most likely, others will be able to
  fill in missing information.

  Every single nomination is very important, so please don&rsquo;t think
  that what you have to say doesn&rsquo;t matter! It boils down to this: Who
  do YOU feel should receive the leadership award, and why?

  All nominations are saved and reviewed by the Selection Committee
  every year, so no nomination is ever wasted. The committee is made up
  of the recipients from the past three years, plus two permanent
  members who are also past recipients. If there are no compelling
  nominees, the committee as the option of skipping the award in any
  given year.

  Please open the on-line &ldquo;Awards&rdquo; information page <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a> to learn
  more about the Award, and to put together your nomination of deserving
  dancers!


articleid: 180
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Rochester&rsquo;s winter weather may not be as reliable as we&rsquo;d all
  like, but you can always count on the Copy Cats&rsquo; Snowflake Ball. The
  2018 edition was held on January 20, and as you can see from Jet
  Thomas&rsquo;s photos, a good time was had by all!

  It looks like they even had fun putting up and taking down the
  snowflakes.


articleid: 181
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Village Squares enjoyed an evening with visiting caller Bill Ryan
  at the end of January.

  Bill is the club caller for the Batavia Silver Stars and the
  Waterwheel Squares&mdash;&ldquo;out west&rdquo; as we Rochesterians tend to
  think of geography.

  It was great to have Bill so far east, and it will be no surprise if
  he&rsquo;s invited back! It was a wonderful evening and there were many
  positive comments about his selection of tunes.


articleid: 182
position: 1
type: text
content:
  If you&rsquo;ve been lucky enough to dance with the Village Squares on a
  night when Jackie and Royce Rogers are on snack duty, then you know
  what I mean when I say that square dancers eat well!

  I&rsquo;m not sure how this nearly back-to-back timing worked out for
  Jackie and Royce, but in a bit of scheduling delight for dancers they
  laid out their wonderfully fanciful spreads on January 26 (AntiFREEze
  Dance) and on February 14 (Valentine&rsquo;s Day Dance).

  The photos speak for themselves. Everything&mdash;the cookies, the jello,
  the tomatoes, the sausage and even the shrimp&mdash;was hearts on
  Valentine&rsquo;s Day, and the &ldquo;flower&rdquo; arrangements both nights
  were consumable! Yum!!


articleid: 183
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dancing is moving
  its Fall Friendship Ball to Henrietta this year. Scheduled for
  September 29, 2018, this multi-club event combines an afternoon of
  dancing with a catered dinner. It&rsquo;s an opportunity for dancers
  to renew acquaintances with those from other clubs, and to welcome
  recent graduates to a new dance season.

  This year we&rsquo;re introducing a silent auction, to raise money for
  the Federation&rsquo;s Recruitment and Retention funds that support
  club initiatives in our area.

  Mark your calendar for September 29, then pick up a flyer at your
  club (or click <a href="../flyers/federation-2018-09-29.pdf">HERE</a>
  to print your own). Then clip &amp; send the dinner reservation
  coupon to RAF treasurer Stu Jones at the address on the coupon. The
  dance is free, and thanks to Sharon Meyer&rsquo;s negotiating skills,
  the dinner is $15 per person. The location is the Henrietta Fire
  Hall, at 3129 E. Henrietta Rd., Henrietta, NY.

  2x2 square and round dancing starts at 2pm, with callers Dave Eno,
  Bill Ryan and Richard Rosenfield, and cuers Lisa Treichler and Eileen
  Webster. At 5:15 we&rsquo;ll set up tables for dinner, which will be
  served at 6pm.

  Check the flyer for other details, and for the dinner reservation
  coupon to mail in with your check. Note that the reservation deadline
  is 9/20/18&mdash;but please don&rsquo;t wait that long! Make
  your reservation now, while you&rsquo;re thinking about it.

  This is a perfect event for your club&rsquo;s recent
  graduates&mdash;even if they did not attend Plus classes in
  the summer. Reach out to them and invite them to join you at this
  dance &amp; dinner. Think of it as a &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; to
  start a new season of socializing and dancing.


articleid: 183
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The silent auction is a new twist this year, coordinated by Sharon
  Meyer. Its purpose is to raise funds that will go back to clubs in the
  form of reimbursement for their efforts to recruit and retain more
  dancers. (Click <a href="../formsanddocuments.html">HERE</a> for a description of the RAF reimbursement
  programs that your club is invited to participate in.)

  In preparation for the auction we must collect donated items. A
  sign-up sheet will be provided to each club. Think about what you
  would like to donate, then list it on the sheet, providing a
  description of the item and an estimate of its value. On the back of
  the sign-up sheet we have listed a few ideas, but please use your
  imagination. If you can&rsquo;t get to a club to sign up, please
  contact Sharon Meyer at 585-924-8792 or email her at
  shargmeyer@gmail.com.

  Please take a picture of your item and send it or give it to Sharon
  Meyer by September 7, 2018, so that she can make a list and circulate
  it to all clubs before the dance. Please include an estimate of the
  value of the item.

  Here are a few suggestions to get you started thinking: Homemade pie,
  homemade greeting cards, days or a week at your camp, knit sweater,
  ceramic dish, wooden magazine rack, framed picture, wreath, homemade
  dinner for two, etc!


articleid: 183
position: 5
type: text
content:
  There&rsquo;s no better group to share dinner with than square
  dancers!  This year&rsquo;s menu includes: Roast Beef, Roast Turkey,
  Oven Roasted Potatoes, Ziti with Red Meat Sauce, Hot vegetables and
  Garden Salad. All for $15.00 per person. Please contact RAF Treasurer,
  Stu Jones, with your dinner reservation. Call him at 585-544-4142 or
  email him at: sjones102@rochester.rr.com, and send your check to him
  at the address on the flyer coupon.

  Flyers will be available at your club and on the RAF website (Click
  <a href="../flyers/federation-2018-09-29.pdf">HERE</a>). All the important details are listed on the flyer.


articleid: 183
position: 7
type: text
content:
  Please remember the Fall Friendship Ball is a NEW-GRADUATE-FRIENDLY
  DANCE. What does that mean? All dancers who graduated in the past year
  will be able to dance at this event. So, new dancers&mdash;you
  know who you are&mdash;please make every effort to attend. Not
  only will you dance, but you will meet new people, dance to a variety of
  callers and it will be Fun, Fun, Fun. Established dancers,
  please take the initiative to personally invite the new dancers in
  your club to attend this dance. We look forward to seeing you there.


articleid: 184
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Did you ever wonder what was in the first printed Promenader (dated
  October 1962)? Or in the last Promenader (dated Sep, Oct, Nov 2014)?
  Or when some of your favorite callers started to call? Now you can
  find out. Discerning surfers of the Federation website may already
  have noticed that old paper issues of the Promenader are appearing on
  the Federation website. It will take some time but eventually all of
  the paper issues of the Promenader will make their way to the website.
  You can track the progress of the scanning project by going to the <a
  href="../history/history.html">history</a> tab under the federation
  part of the website.

  Because of the generosity of Dick Halstead I now have an almost
  complete set of the printed Promenader. You can see the stacks of
  Promenaders in the photo. I am currently in the process of scanning
  them in and putting the scanned images up on the Federation website.
  The issues are sorted by year and month and not by volume number and
  issue number. I am currently missing issues Feb 1982, April 1992,
  April 2010, June 2010, and February 2013. Please contact me if you
  have copies of these issues and are willing to let me scan them.

  The hardest part of the project is removing the staples so that an
  issue can be scanned. Does anyone have a use for hundreds of used
  staples?

  The other photo is my computer setup with three screens attached to
  two computers and the scanner/printer on the right. This is also where
  the Promenader is assembled every three months. I keep several mirrors
  of the website in case the website loses information. If anyone wants
  to be a backup webmaster contact me at the sidneym@frontiernet.net
  mail address or webmaster@squaredancingrochester.org.

  Browsing through the old issues you can see the number of clubs get
  greater and watch as some of the old-time callers get started. There
  are also callers who are no longer calling that make their appearance.
  It is also interesting to see the postage go from 3 cents to 4 cents
  to 5 cents before being mailed with a postal permit. So take a trip
  down memory lane and browse through these old Promenaders and see how
  square dancing has changed through the years.

  Please let me know if there are any problems. I can rescan
  particularly bad pages or issues if you point them out to me. I also
  welcome any suggestions for improvements.


articleid: 185
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Spencerport&mdash;Victoria &ldquo;Vicki&rdquo; Crear Alexander, 72, passed away on
  4/13/18 surrounded lovingly by family and friends at Strong Memorial
  Hospital.

  She was born in Cortland, NY on April 14, 1945 to Ralph and Barbara
  Crear.

  Vicki spent her childhood in Fayetteville, NY, spending summers on
  DeRuyter Lake. She was a proud graduate of Russell Sage College. After
  graduation, she taught for 10 years in the Spencerport Central School
  District where she met her husband, James Alexander. On April 3rd
  1971, they were married. Vicki retired from teaching to raise their
  two young children Kathrin and Matthew. She embarked on a second
  career in the insurance industry.

  Vicki was an active member and volunteer of Elmgrove United Methodist
  Church. In her retirement, she pursued volunteer activities including
  Meals on Wheels and Westside Express.

  Predeceased by her parents, Ralph and Barbara Crear. Survived by her
  loving husband of 47 years, James Alexander; devoted children, Katie
  (Ron) Morrison and Matt (Elizabeth) Alexander; grandchildren, Aidan
  &amp; Connor Morrison and Margaret &ldquo;Maisy&rdquo; Alexander; loving sister,
  Donna (Spyros) Dellaportas and brother, Steven (Cathy) Crear;
  sister-in-law and brother-in-law; a host of devoted nieces, nephews,
  cousins and friends.

  A celebration of Vicki&rsquo;s life was held at 1:30 on SATURDAY, April 28,
  2018 at Elmgrove United Methodist Church (1500 Spencerport Rd,
  Rochester, NY 14606). In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation
  to the Palliative Care Program at Strong Memorial Hospital, Elmgrove
  United Methodist Church, or Meals on Wheels of Rochester.

  Vicki and Jim were active square dancers, beginning at the Cloverleafs
  in 2005. More recently, they danced with the Boo Bull Squares and
  Joined the Grand Squares in 2011.


articleid: 186
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Predeceased by her son,
  David. Dona leaves her husband of 63 years, John; son, Douglas
  (Shawn); grandchildren, Victoria, Christopher &amp; Katharine.

  Friends may call 4&ndash;7 PM Tuesday, May 8th at Willard H. Scott Funeral
  Home, 12 South Ave. Webster. Memorial Service was held at 11:00 AM
  Wednesday, May 9th at Edgewood Free Methodist Church, 250 Edgewood
  Ave. Rochester, NY 14618. Private interment was at Webster Union
  Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the church.

  Dona and her husband John were long time square dancers at the Copy
  Cats, where they were club officers and helped arrange trips for
  banner stealing and other club activities.


articleid: 187
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Awesome!!! That&rsquo;s all that can be said about the preparation for and
  participation in this year&rsquo;s
  Dance-O-Rama Basket Raffle, which raised $818 for the RAF Dancer
  Recruitment and Retention fund!

  Basket themes ranged from a Flower Basket to a Mystery Basket. I know
  that most who put their tickets in for the Mystery Basket would love
  to hear about its contents from that winner! Every year we think the
  creativity can&rsquo;t possibly get better and every year it does.

  Thanks to all the clubs who donated baskets and to the dancers who
  bought tickets. To let you know who claimed the basket your clubs so
  generously donated, the winners are listed below.
  </p>
  <table><tr><th>Basket<th>Winner<th>Club</tr>
  <tr><td>Batavia Silver Stars<td>Eileen McGarigle<td>Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus</tr>
  <tr><td>Belles And Beaus<td>Ladd Dromgold<td>Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus</tr>
  <tr><td>Cayuga Cut-Ups<td>Henry Capron<td>Cloverleaf Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Cloverleaf Squares<td>John Corman<td>Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus</tr>
  <tr><td>Copy Cats<td>Russ Green<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  <tr><td>Dalton Gang<td>Don Jermyn<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  <tr><td>Friendship Squares<td>Tom Mokrzon<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  <tr><td>Grand Squares<td>Joyce McNutt<td>Batavia Silver Stars</tr>
  <tr><td>Shirts and Skirts<td>Chuck Meyer<td>Cloverleaf Squares</tr>
  <tr><td>Silver<td>Squares Joy Bookmiller<td>Batavia Silver Stars</tr>
  <tr><td>Village Squares<td>David Webster<td>Copy Cats</tr>
  <tr><td>Waterwheel Squares<td>Melissa Frendak<td>Cayuga Cut-Ups</tr>
  </table>
  <p>
  Thanks to everyone for a successful basket raffle.


articleid: 188
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Amateur Nights are a lot of fun for all, and they provide a safe
  opportunity for anyone with even a small urge to try their voice at
  calling or cueing.

  On April 22, the Cloverleaf Squares held their 2018 Amateur Caller
  Night. Dancers came from multiple clubs to dance and cheer for six
  brave amateurs, all of whom did an outstanding job.

  To spice it up this time, the club added a competitive twist. After
  all the amateurs performed, a panel of judges deliberated over who did
  the best.

  The 2018 amateurs, in order of appearance, were:
  </p>
  <ul>
  <li>Marie Gorse (Cloverleaf Squares)
  <li>Peter Emmel (Village Squares)
  <li>David Yates (Village Squares)
  <li>Henry Capron (Cloverleaf Squares)
  <li>Evan Desmitt (Cloverleaf Squares)
  <li>Judy Schoonmaker (Cloverleaf Squares)
  </ul>
  <p>
  Professionals Mike Callahan and Mark Thone kept the crowd moving
  between performances. The judges decided in favor of Evan Desmitt, who
  took home the ferocious &ldquo;Roarin&rsquo; Tiger&rdquo; prize presented by MC
  Henry Capron.

  Thanks to all who participated&mdash;both behind and in front of the
  microphone&mdash;and stay tuned for the return of the tiger in another
  couple of years.


articleid: 189
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On May 7, the Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus celebrated Stu and Jane
  Jones receipt of the Daphne-Norma award. The celebration included a
  march, music, a reading of the actual presentation, flowers, cake and
  ice cream.


articleid: 190
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At the May meeting of the Rochester Area Federation of Western Round
  and Square Dance Clubs, the RAF leadership welcomed a new slate of
  officers.

  President Jim Gotta (Cloverleaf Squares) has agreed to continue in
  office another year, so he passed the RAF gavel to himself.

  The other RAF officers for the 2018&ndash;19 dance season are Jeff &amp;
  Debbie Blood (Copy Cats), succeeding Henry Capron (Cloverleaf Squares)
  as vice president, Stu Jones (Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus) serving a second term
  as treasurer, and Gary Granath (Copy Cats &amp; Village Squares) who
  takes over from acting Secretary Carl Webster (Cloverleaf
  Squares). Rounding out the team is Eileen Webster (Cloverleaf Squares)
  who has agreed to serve in the newly created post of Communications
  Liaison. Also, Carol Ann Stahl (Grand Squares)and Sharon Meyer, will continue as
  insurance coordinators.

  The new team takes over leadership of a Federation that has a lot of
  positive momentum toward its mission of promoting interest in square
  and round dancing in the Rochester area. Finances are strong and a
  forward-looking program is in place to support recruitment efforts by
  member clubs and to promote inter-club relations.

  The following are all active RAF programs:
  </p>
  <ul>
  <li>Reimbursement For New Dancer Advertising Expenses (up to $60 per club per calendar year).
  <li>Grant program For New Dancer Recruitment And Dancer Retention Efforts (up to $125 per event).
  <li>Promotional &ldquo;Learn To Square Dance&rdquo; yard signs with club/class contact information.
  <li>Free Dance&mdash;Fall Friendship Ball, with catered meal optional at reasonable cost.
  <li>Willingness to underwrite potential losses by member clubs hiring (expensive) out-of-town callers.
  <li>Annual Dance-O-Rama in May to welcome new graduates and cap off the dance season with an all-day festival of dancing, and a gift basket raffle to fund some of the above programs.
  <li>Support for the RAF website and Promenader, the official newsletter of the Federation.
  </ul>
  <p>
  Further information on the above programs, including downloadable
  forms, may be found by clicking <a href="../formsanddocuments.html">HERE</a> for the Federation&rsquo;s online
  &ldquo;Documents and Forms&rdquo; page.

  RAF meetings are held each month except June, July, August and
  December. Every club is encouraged to send a representative to these
  meetings, to promote open communications between clubs and the
  Federation leadership.

  If your club does not send a representative to RAF meetings, then you
  should consider volunteering to become that rep. It&rsquo;s the best way to
  make your ideas and concerns known to the people who care most about
  the vitality of square and round dance clubs in our area.

  We all owe a debt of gratitude to the RAF officers, and to the many
  others who make things work at the RAF, including Sidney Marshall
  (webmaster), Peter Emmel (Promenader editor), Sally Baechle (USDA
  rep), and the club representatives who attend meetings and whose input
  helps shape RAF programs.


articleid: 191
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Our class of four new dancers graduated Monday, April 30, with all the
  graduates being led into the room and passing between two facing lines
  of club members with raised arms to form a bridge.

  This was followed by a candle lighting ceremony for the elements of
  square dancing (Friendliness, Duty, Democracy, Fun).

  Diplomas, flowers and balloons were presented to each of the
  graduates. Following the ceremony, we celebrated with an Ice Cream
  Social and &lsquo;graduate&rsquo; cupcakes.


articleid: 192
position: 1
type: text
content:
  One of the many Dance-O-Rama highlights is the annual parade of
  graduates. These are our new dancing friends who have completed the
  past season of Mainstream Square Dancing classes at clubs in our
  Federation.

  Many established dancers already know our new dancers&mdash;from serving
  as class angels or from the season&rsquo;s many &ldquo;class/club&rdquo;
  dances. But the annual parade at DOR is their official welcome into
  the Rochester-area dancing community.

  The June Promenader issue is our opportunity to congratulate and
  welcome all 31 of this year&rsquo;s graduates by name. We encourage you
  all to continue dancing throughout the summer and return in the fall
  to expand your circle of dancing friends. In particular we look
  forward to seeing you at the Fall Friendship Ball on September 29th in
  Henrietta.
  </p>
  <h3>2018 Square Dance Graduates:</h3>
  <h4>Batavia Silver Stars</h4>
  <p>
  Barb Blemel<br>
  Diane Burroughs<br>
  Ron Burroughs<br>
  Rhonda Huppe<br>
  Marcia Makrigiannis
  </p>
  <h4>Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus</h4>
  <p>
  Cathie Dromgold<br>
  Ladd Dromgold<br>
  Domenica (Dee) Gustke<br>
  Bill Wells
  </p>
  <h4>Cloverleaf Squares</h4>
  <p>
  Evan Desmitt<br>
  Joanne Everts<br>
  Frank Grossman<br>
  Pam Grossman<br>
  Sarah Rossiter<br>
  Bobbie Schere<br>
  Bill Wells<br>
  Mimi Wilson<br>
  Phil Wilson<br>
  Ed France<br>
  Tammy Tackling
  </p>
  <h4>Copy Cats</h4>
  <p>
  Dave Collins<br>
  Laurie Collins<br>
  Evan Desmitt<br>
  Domenica (Dee) Gustke<br>
  Donna Kongerslev<br>
  Jorgen Kongerslev<br>
  Donna Kramer<br>
  Jolanta Mokrzan<br>
  Tom Mokrzan<br>
  Deborah Vincent
  </p>
  <h4>Fulton Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts</h4>
  <p>
  Katie Kelley
  </p>
  <h4>Silver Squares</h4>
  <p>
  Alice Estes<br>
  Iona Horst<br>
  Kuehn Horst


articleid: 193
position: 1
type: text
content:
  When an event you are planning to attend is canceled, and you
  aren&rsquo;t on the mailing or calling list of the sponsor, how can you
  find out about the change?

  If you are the sponsor of an event and need to get the word out about
  a change or cancellation, how can you reach folks who are not on your
  list?

  The most obvious places to post and look are your club&rsquo;s web page
  and the RAF Facebook page &ldquo;Square Dancing Rochester.&rdquo;

  But now there&rsquo;s an additional option on the RAF Home Page, to reach
  folks who are not Facebook users or who would rather make just one
  click to check for announcements before heading out to a special
  event.

  In April, we added a new feature to the RAF home page. It&rsquo;s heading
  is &ldquo;Breaking News,&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s located just below the
  &ldquo;Buttons&rdquo; section and above the &ldquo;Open Houses&rdquo;
  section.

  The purpose of this section is to carry announcements whose timeframe
  is more immediate than the normal quarterly Promenader publication
  cycle. We hope this will serve as a useful additional location for
  clubs to announce event cancellations, changes and reminders&mdash;a
  supplement to postings on club pages and Facebook.

  To get your announcement posted in the new &ldquo;Breaking News&rdquo;
  section, send it in the form of an email to RAF Webmaster, Sidney
  Marshall. His address is sidneym@frontiernet.net

  He&rsquo;ll post the announcement as quickly as he can, and send you an
  acknowledgement when it&rsquo;s up. It will stay posted until the event is
  past.

  It&rsquo;s also wise to post your announcement on the RAF Facebook
  Group page, at &ldquo;Square Dancing Rochester&rdquo; (Click <a
  href="https://www.facebook.com/login/groups/315003042261167/">HERE</a>
  [facebook account required]).


articleid: 194
position: 1
type: text
content:
  As I&rsquo;m writing this, it is a beautiful spring day. We&rsquo;re mostly
  through our dance season and our 60th Dance-O-Rama is in the
  books. The Dance-O-Rama committee put in a lot of effort over the past
  year and certainly during the dance, and I think the results show
  it. Those of you who took the time to fill out a survey seemed to
  agree. There are always concerns with the venue and sound, which we
  will continue to work to improve. There are very few air-conditioned
  venues around with multiple non-carpeted dance halls that we can
  afford. Several alternates have been investigated over the last few
  years and we will continue to try and find alternate dance
  sites. Anyone with suggestions&mdash;and particularly willingness to go
  explore these potential venues&mdash;is welcome to help us.

  Our activity continues only with more new dancers and callers and
  cuers coming into it. We had several new callers and cuers try out
  their talents at Cloverleaf&rsquo;s Amateur night, and again at the
  Dance-O-Rama open mic session. I think everyone had a great time at
  these events and we need to continue to urge these individuals and
  others to keep going. As with everything, it takes practice. We did
  not have as many new dancer graduates this year as in previous years,
  but the biggest challenge as always is to keep the folks we do have
  dancing. Once again, this year we have several regional and national
  callers coming to the area to call dances (Reardon, Preston, Bower,
  Shoemake, Sikorsky). These great events are on top of the full summer
  schedule we have with RAF club and CCR dances. I hope to see everyone,
  but particularly our new graduates out this summer having fun and
  keeping up the dance moves.

  Our next dance season begins in September with many clubs holding Open
  Houses, and our &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; Federation Fall Ball. Find those
  friends and family with the dance moves and get them out on the dance
  floor. Get all your fellow club members and new graduates out to the
  Ball and enjoy the free dance&mdash;and get to know your fellow dancers
  from the other clubs.

  I&rsquo;d like to take this opportunity to recognize several folks. First
  is to add my congratulations to our most recent Daphne-Norma award
  recipients, Stu and Jane Jones. They have both been very supportive of
  Lurine and myself&mdash;as new dancers seven years ago and of my calling
  career. It has been great having Stu on the RAF board with me this
  past year. They certainly are deserving recipients of this
  award. Terry Pratt has been on the Dance-O-Rama committee with me the
  past three years as well as long before that. She will be stepping off
  the committee this year to deal with some stuff that life has thrown
  her and Joe. She has been very welcoming, and hard-working, and I&rsquo;m
  going to miss having her around this year. I also want to thank Henry
  Capron and Carl Webster for their service to the RAF board this past
  year. I want to welcome new board members Gary Granath
  and Jeff &amp; Debbie Blood. Also, I&rsquo;m so glad that Eileen Webster
  will be joining the board as Communications Liaison, a position we
  have been looking to fill for quite some time. The board looks to be
  as strong as ever and I look forward to another great year of dancing.

  See you on the dance floor!


articleid: 195
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On May 5, at Dance-O-Rama 2018, Bob and Alice Hager, the 2017
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award recipients, passed on this prestigious
  award to Stu and Jane Jones, from the Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus. Stu and Jane
  have been quietly and consistently promoting square dancing and
  square dancers for many, many years. They are excellent dancers
  themselves, but they never hesitate to jump into any square, setting
  an example of calm and patience for all to follow.

  During this past year, 2017 recipients, Bob and Alice have also been
  outstanding ambassadors for square dancing. In addition to being
  presidents of their own club, The Belles and Beaus, they have
  attended dances around the area, carrying the familiar Candy Dish to
  encourage dancers to submit nominations for the next year.

  You can download the nomination form and read about this award by
  clicking <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a>. Nominations are
  kept on file and accumulate and build the &lsquo;case&rsquo; for each
  nominee. It&rsquo;s never too early or too late to nominate a worthy
  candidate.

  Following are excerpts from the text of the introduction that Bob and
  Alice presented at the Dance-O-Rama 2018 award ceremony:

  &ldquo;Welcome everyone to the 60th DOR&nbsp;&hellip; especially to
  this year&rsquo;s graduates. Square dancing opens up a whole new
  opportunity to &lsquo;dance in a square and make a new circle of
  friends.&rsquo;

  &ldquo;Tonight we will make a presentation that has a long
  history&mdash;a 41-year tradition. For those who are not
  familiar with the Daphne-Norma Leadership award, it was 1977 when
  John Fink and Frank Salvagio got together for the purpose of creating
  a leadership award for the Rochester area, in honor of their wives,
  Daphne and Norma. The purpose of the award is to show appreciation
  and recognition for extensive and sustained leadership over an
  extended period of time in square dancing, round dancing, line
  dancing or contra dancing. And so, the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award
  was born.

  &ldquo;Thank you to all who submitted the many nominations for the
  2018 award. The Selection Committee read them all, and the decision
  was unanimous.

  &ldquo;This year&rsquo;s DAPHNE-NORMA LEADERSHIP AWARD will go to a
  couple who have been dancing for nearly thirty years and still dance
  several times every week.

  &ldquo;This couple demonstrates leadership strengths and caring social
  qualities that they exude to other dancers. They socialize &amp;
  dance with ALL dancers&mdash;not just those who dance
  &lsquo;well.&rsquo; They are perfect &lsquo;angels&rsquo; offering a
  warm and sincere hand of friendship to all who walk in the door. They
  never have a negative thing to say&nbsp;&hellip; always so
  positive.

  &ldquo;They are the most dedicated two people, are always stepping up
  to assist in every way they can. Somehow, they seem to be tuned in to
  spontaneous needs like driving members to and from dances when they
  are no longer able to drive. They are always first to donate to a
  cause when their club does community service projects, social events
  and demos. Their spirit of helping and supporting just gets stronger
  year after year. Their club participates in demos for nursing homes,
  assisted living facilities, schools, 4H, and wherever they can and
  this couple never misses a beat&mdash;they are the first to
  volunteer and always with exemplary enthusiasm. The enthusiasm they
  demonstrate is a true inspiration to others.

  &ldquo;This couple has held many, many, offices throughout the years:
  Social Directors&mdash;5 years; Treasurer&mdash;1 year;
  Presidents&mdash;2 years; Federation Reps&mdash;14
  years. They are current members of Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus and
  Boo Bull Squares and Treasurers of the Federation.

  &ldquo;They are a quiet, big-hearted, gentle couple with a giant
  passion for square dancing, who represent the grass roots heart of
  dancing. They are most worthy of this award.

  &ldquo;It is with great pride and personal pleasure that we introduce the
  square dancers&rsquo; ambassadors of the year, Stu and Jane
  Jones.&rdquo;


articleid: 196
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Dance-O-Rama, the Rochester area&rsquo;s annual festival of square
  &amp; round dancing, is always a very special event. Not only does it
  bring together dancers from miles around, but it&rsquo;s also an
  opportunity for new Mainstream graduates from each club to meet the
  rest of the dance community.

  At this spring gathering, we also raise money to fund continued
  recruitment by RAF member clubs through the annual basket raffle, and
  we present dancing&rsquo;s highest awards. The 2018 edition of
  Dance-O-Rama continued the tradition, with a marvelous staff of
  callers and cuers, an impressive lineup of club baskets, a parade of
  new dancers and three rooms of dancing. Oh, I almost
  forgot&nbsp;&hellip; dinner and ice cream!

  This year&rsquo;s music, calls and cues were provided by Gary Bubel,
  Mike Callahan, Dave Eno, Keith Harter, Jeanne Carter and Mary
  Hinkle. Sidney Marshall organized the traditional &ldquo;Open
  Mic&rdquo; session. Optional dinner was served by Otto
  Tomotto&rsquo;s, and Ice cream was served by Warren Olson and Jim
  Gotta.

  The parade of 31 graduates came from six clubs and showed off not only
  their new-found dancing skills but also their enthusiasm. Total
  attendance was 241, which virtually matched last year&rsquo;s
  count. The basket raffle raised $818 for the dancer recruitment fund.

  The 2018 club participation award was received by Rick &amp; Donna
  LaDonna on behalf of The Copy Cats. Peter and Sally Emmel (Village
  Squares) were presented with the Circle of Service Award by Sally
  Baechle, and the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award was presented to Stu
  and Jane Jones (Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus), who were welcomed by the traditional
  lineup of previous recipients.

  It was a gorgeous day, possibly the first day of real spring this
  year, and we&rsquo;re already looking forward to next year!


articleid: 197
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Summer, 2018, edition of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 197
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue includes
  several articles on Dance-O-Rama, the RAF&rsquo;s annual spring
  festival, held on the first Saturday of May. In addition to three
  halls of square and round dancing, the festivities include welcoming
  ceremonies for new Mainstream graduates, dancer recognition awards and
  a fundraising raffle of club baskets. In this issue you&rsquo;ll find
  articles on all of these.

  The RAF is always seeking ways to improve its programs and events.
  Planners of next year&rsquo;s Dance-O-Rama would like to hear your
  opinions on how this festival could be made better. Please click <a
  href="../flyers/DOR-Survey-2018.pdf">HERE</a> to download the
  &ldquo;How Can We Improve?&rdquo; questionnaire for Dance-O-Rama.

  Other articles in this issue cover graduations (at clubs who submitted
  photos) and other special events, such as the Amateur Caller Night
  held by the Cloverleaf Squares in April.

  The summer Promenader also includes an article introducing new
  Federation officers who assume their posts in June, and an article
  describing a new &ldquo;Breaking News&rdquo; section that was added to
  the RAF Home Page in April.


articleid: 197
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Some clubs take the summer off&mdash;whether to avoid the heat
  of an un-air-conditioned hall or to make allow for summer travel and
  cottage time. But there is still plenty of dancing to be enjoyed at
  year-around clubs. Also, even clubs that take the summer off often
  sponsor special summer events. When you are in the mood for a dance,
  browse our extensive&mdash;and sortable&mdash;schedule
  pages to find a dance near you.


articleid: 197
position: 7
type: text
content:
  Whether you are a new graduate or a seasoned dancer, you should mark
  your 2018 calendar for the September 29th Fall Friendship Ball, the
  RAF&rsquo;s annual &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; dance and optional
  catered dinner. The dance (2:00&ndash;5:15pm) is free, and the
  optional dinner is $15 per person.

  Read the article in this issue and download the flyer, then clip and
  send your dinner reservation stub and check to Stu Jones at the
  address shown on the stub. Or (to save printer ink!) just send your
  check, with your name and the number attending.)


articleid: 197
position: 9
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say farewell to Vicki Alexander (Cloverleafs, Boo
  Bull Squares and Grand Squares) and Dona Godfrey (Copy Cats)


articleid: 197
position: b
type: text
content:
  Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and
  thinking, surely I can&rsquo;t look that old. Well&nbsp;&hellip;
  You&rsquo;ll love this one submitted by a friend!>

  My name is Alice Smith and I was sitting in the waiting room for my
  first appointment with a new dentist.

  I noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name, and it rang a
  bell.

  I remembered a tall, handsome, dark haired boy with the same name who
  had been in my high school class some 30-odd years ago.

  Could this dentist possibly be the same guy that I had a crush on, way
  back then?

  Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought.

  This balding, gray haired man with the deeply lined face was way too
  old to have been my classmate.

  After he finished examining my teeth, I asked him if by any chance he
  had attended Morgan Park High School.

  &ldquo;Why yes, yes I did. I&rsquo;m a Mustang,&rdquo; he gleamed with
  pride.

  &ldquo;When did you graduate?&rdquo; I asked.

  He answered, &ldquo;in 1975. Why do you ask?&rdquo;

  &ldquo;You were in my class!&rdquo; I exclaimed.

  He looked at me closely.

  Then that bald, old, wrinkled, fat assed, decrepit, SOB
  asked&nbsp;&hellip;

  &ldquo;What did you teach???&rdquo;


articleid: 198
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Conesus&mdash;Peacefully, Kenneth J. Boss, 86. Ken was predeceased by his
  wife, Lillian; son-in-law, Stephen Toland; great-granddaughters, Sasha
  and Simone Crawford; sisters-in-law, Shirley (Robert) Maples and
  Dorothy Gruver. He is survived by his daughters, Kathleen (John)
  Conley, Karen Boss (Scott Yantz), Kimberly Toland, Karol (Bob) Downs,
  Kristine (Richard) Harris, Kory (Donny) Germano, Konstance Boss and
  Karla Marvin; 36 grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great
  grandchildren; brothers-in-law, Morris (Doris) Gruver, Patrick Gruver;
  sisters-in-law, Jane (Richard) Laurer, Sandra Gruver (Tom McNeal);
  numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

  Ken was a member of the Plumbers &amp; Pipe Fitters Union Local 13 and
  the Rochester Area Federation of Western Round and Square Dance Clubs
  of Rochester. He called and danced at several clubs in the Rochester
  Area.

  Memorial contributions may be directed to Livingston County Hospice, 2
  Murray Drive, Mount Morris, NY 14510. To share special memories, visit
  www.NewcomerRochester.com.


articleid: 199
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Hilton&mdash;June Shaver, 89. Predeceased by her husband, Ralph J. Shaver,
  2003, parents, Rose &amp; Clifford Woodams. Survived by her daughter,
  Cheryl (Karl) Fishbaugh; grandson, Kyle (Elizabeth) Fishbaugh;
  cousins, Rosemary (Richard) Strohmeyer, Joan Harrison, Bernice Ryan,
  Lois Seefried, Nancy (William) Allport, Jacqueline (Randy Capen) Bell;
  several nieces and nephews; and many friends. June was a 70-year
  member of Etoleah Chapter O.E.S. #183.

  Memorial contributions in June&rsquo;s memory may be made to Etoleah
  Chapter #183, Hilton Baptist Church or Hildebrand Hospice.

  June danced at the Cloverleaf Squares.


articleid: 200
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Our end of the year picnic is one of our favorite events of the year!

  We sit down at noon to enjoy a variety of scrumptious dishes &amp;
  desserts prepared by our members. And of course we have red &amp;
  white hots off the grill. It is a great time to share happenings in
  our lives. And yes we had 4 kids, ages 4&ndash;10 who added to our
  fun.

  As usual Mike did a great job of calling, mixing in Plus calls with
  Mainstream for our recent graduates. We always have a
  &ldquo;MIXER&rdquo; in the middle of the dance. Each dancer picks a
  ticket with 2 numbers&mdash;one for the square &amp; one for
  the position in the square. It&rsquo;s fun to dance with a different
  partner.

  We are still dancing every Monday afternoon all summer from 1-3 PM at
  Greece United Methodist Church, 1924 Maiden Lane (right off Long Pond
  in Greece) with Mike Callahan calling. Come join us on a Monday
  afternoon&mdash;whether you are a new dancer, long time dancer;
  single or a couple.


articleid: 201
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Hi everyone! I hope you had a great summer and are ready to get back
  to dancing!

  I have been elected by the Federation officers as the
  Communications/promotions Liaison and I am excited about the things we
  can do! My mission is twofold: 1) to increase and improve
  communications and interactions within the Federation and among all
  the member clubs; and 2) to spread the word to the rest of the world
  about what a wonderful activity they are missing out on. Many of you
  have heard me say that square dancing is the best kept secret in
  America, and maybe even the entire world!

  Wouldn&rsquo;t it be great if we could all see our clubs grow, new clubs
  springing up and more and more of our friends and neighbors getting
  the wonderful benefits that we all enjoy from this activity?

  I hope that all of you are working hard to find new recruits to join
  our upcoming classes. Please make sure that you have copies of the
  &ldquo;Open House&rdquo; flyers for your club and other clubs as well. Take them
  wherever you go and share your love of square dancing with anyone who
  will listen! The only way we can get our clubs to grow is by
  personally inviting others to come and join the fun&nbsp;&hellip; we need
  everyone&rsquo;s help to make this happen!

  I need YOUR HELP also in this mission! I can&rsquo;t do this alone. I have a
  few ideas of things we can do to help promote square dancing in
  general and also to get more clubs to visit and interact with the
  other RAF member clubs. Please let me know if you are interested in
  being part of a team, working together to make these goals a reality.

  Please feel free to email me any time at eileenok@gmail.com. I will be
  happy to answer any questions you might have and would love for you to
  share any ideas you have of ways to accomplish these goals.

  Happy dancing!


articleid: 202
position: 1
type: text
content:
  It&rsquo;s almost insurance time again! I am awaiting the cost figure and
  current forms from the national headquarters for insuring our
  dancers. Then I will forward instructions and suggestions for their
  completion.

  What I need now from each club is the name and email address of the
  current President and also the person who will be in charge of the
  insurance. This will make the timely distribution of information
  possible.

  It would help if each dancer would indicate to their club registration
  person if they belong to more than one club, so everyone will be
  covered without duplication.

  I would like the paperwork submitted to me by October 20. Please bring
  any questions or concerns to me: 585-533-9241 or
  stahlsinrush@rochester.rr.com.

  I will be away from September 26 until October 6, so if you have an
  immediate concern during that time, please contact Sharon Meyer:
  shargmeyer@gmail.com

  Thank you.


articleid: 203
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Brian Adams passed away July 9, 2018, at the age of 80, after an
  eight-month battle with lung cancer. Brian was a round dance leader
  for over 40 years. He and I ran two round dance clubs, taught basic
  and intermediate round dance classes and taught dances from phas;e II
  to phase VI.

  Several years ago, he closed both clubs so that we could dance more,
  but he continued to cue and teach locally. He and I ran the June
  Jamboree Square and Round Dance Weekend in Watkins Glen for seven
  years, and worked with fellow cuer Bill Newman for the two years prior
  to that.

  Brian&rsquo;s passing is a very sad loss for me and everyone who loved
  him. I would like to thank all our non-dancer friends as well as our
  many dancer friends for their caring and support during this difficult
  journey. Thank you all for the many tributes and condolences received
  since his passing. God bless you all.


articleid: 204
position: 1
type: text
content:
  As I write this in the beginning of August, we&rsquo;re still in the
  middle of the dog days of summer. The Ken Bower, Gary Shoemake dance
  was great at a nice, picturesque new venue. I&rsquo;m sure the Johnny
  Preston, Mike Sikorsky, and Tom Miller dances will also be great
  times. I hope you got out (will get out) and were able to enjoy one or
  more of these dances.

  September sees us at the start of another square dance season. The
  Fall Friendship Ball is a way to get back into dancing and meet
  dancers you don&rsquo;t normally see. It is a free dance and open to
  all Rochester square dancers so come out and meet folks from other
  clubs.

  Many clubs are hosting Open Houses this year to get new dancers into
  our activity. We&rsquo;ve had many demonstrations this summer to try
  and promote square dancing. Our yard sign program is continuing this
  year as well as radio ads, and Facebook or other social media
  listings. However, our best source of new dancers has always been
  current dancers. Be sure and talk to your friends, family, neighbors,
  and co-workers about dancing, and take them to an Open House. I
  suspect I&rsquo;m not the only person who got dragged kicking and
  screaming to my first Open House, but once there, I had a good
  time. It may take a little extra effort to pick someone up and bring
  them to an Open House, but the only way our activity will survive in
  the years to come is with new dancers joining our activity.

  Enjoy the rest of the summer with your friends and family, and with
  your dancing family, and I&rsquo;ll see you in a square.


articleid: 205
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The monthly magazine American Squaredance carries a regular column
  called &ldquo;Callerlab Viewpoints.&rdquo; The topic in the September,
  2015, issue (Volume 70, Number 9) covers a very timely topic, so we
  present the column below in its entirety (with minor changes to adapt
  it to our area):

  Callerlab Viewpoints, by Mike Seastrom

  The following has been edited from &ldquo;Square Dance Nebraska&mdash;Ideas.&rdquo; A special thanks to Mike Bramlett for sharing some great
  information on the subject of how to be a good angel.

  Is your halo on straight? It is important that as many club members as
  possible come to the class as &ldquo;angels.&rdquo; What are
  &ldquo;angels&rdquo;? They are the wonderful people who volunteer their
  time to ensure that new dancers have the best possible learning
  experience.

  &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; provide new dancers with their first real look at a
  club. How &ldquo;angels&rdquo; behave and treat new dancers, other
  &ldquo;angels,&rdquo; and visitors will affect class members&rsquo; decisions
  regarding whether or not to join your club.

  &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; are also role models. No matter what the instructor
  and club try to communicate to the students regarding etiquette,
  attitudes, or styling, class members inevitably take their cues from
  what they see &ldquo;angels&rdquo; doing. So it is important that
  &ldquo;angels&rdquo; be extra careful to be good role models.

  Smile, be enthusiastic, and enjoy the dancing. Be friendly, courteous
  and gentle. This is sometimes easier to say than do, especially if it
  has been a long day. Let&rsquo;s be honest; some of us have personal
  agenda, perhaps disagreements with club policies, or less than cordial
  relationships with specific club members. These issues are out of
  place at new dancer events and must be put aside.

  Although most of us do the right things instinctively, the majority of
  the time it can&rsquo;t hurt to reiterate certain points. The following
  advice for &ldquo;angels&rdquo; has been extracted from several sources,
  including articles in square dance publications and handouts prepared
  for other clubs.

  &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; Are Not Teachers

  This is perhaps the most common misconception that can cause
  problems. The primary teaching function of an &ldquo;angel&rdquo; is to
  teach by example and be in the right place at the right time. One
  important thing you can do is establish hand holds after every
  move. Not only does this help students maintain their orientation in
  the square, but it&rsquo;s also a very good habit for every dancer to
  develop.

  It is always tempting to explain something your square is not getting,
  and the new dancers will often ask you to do this&mdash;but you must
  resist. It diverts the student&rsquo;s attention from the teacher and one
  of the most important things for a new dancer to learn is to listen to
  the teacher/caller. Sometimes you can clarify a simple point for
  students between tips; this is fine, but not while the caller is at
  the microphone.

  Another difficult point is just how much help you should give in
  getting dancers into the right place. Dancers, after all, must learn
  to do the moves on their own. To gently guide someone through a
  maneuver, if they have a momentary lapse of memory, might be okay and
  sometimes one can help by indicating nonverbally where a person should
  go. Just remember that we accomplish little by pushing or pulling a
  dancer through an action when he or she doesn&rsquo;t know what was
  supposed to have been done.

  It is better to let a square break down rather than to use force
  getting people into the right place. A broken down square is an
  indication to the instructor that dancers are having problems. Be sure
  the teacher is aware of problems. Raise your hand if necessary and ask
  the teacher to explain something if your square is having trouble.

  But be careful not to embarrass any dancer by the way you ask for
  help. It is much better to say that &ldquo;the square is not getting a
  certain move&rdquo; rather than saying &ldquo;Steve is not getting a
  certain move.&rdquo;

  Encourage students. Let them know that all new dancers make mistakes
  and that things get better with practice. Also, &ldquo;angels&rdquo; make
  mistakes too. It is good to admit to them cheerfully, as it makes the
  students less tense about their own mistakes.

  Club Styling

  Club styling is always a major source of contention. It is important
  new dancers learn the calls with standard CALLERLAB styling; that is,
  without the added flourishes that are done in certain areas. The
  teacher will introduce these regional differences at appropriate times
  after the calls are mastered. &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; must use only the
  styling which has been taught to the class.

  This is not always easy. How many remember to Swing Your Partner
  without a Twirl at the end? It is really very important not to
  introduce more confusion into a new dancer&rsquo;s learning
  experience. Some students are going to want you to teach them how
  it&rsquo;s done before they have mastered the call, but you should resist
  the temptation.

  Some Random Additional Advice

  Square Up With Everyone, not just a few friends. Seek out the new
  dancer who is having difficulty and ask them to dance with you. Make
  sure than new dancers are not sitting out because &ldquo;angels&rdquo; are
  dancing.

  End Conversations Promptly when the teacher begins a tip. If you are
  not dancing, keep your conversations far away from the dance area.

  Cheerfully Lend A Hand if you are asked to help set up or clean up,
  help with refreshments, or take attendance.

  Watch For security problems, accidents and dangerous situations like
  spills or debris on the floor.

  NotifyThe Instructor if there are problems with the sound.

  Don&rsquo;t Complain about the hall, the floor, the caller or anyone
  attending the class.

  Don&rsquo;t Criticize students or other &ldquo;angels.&rdquo;

  Remember:

  Your name badge.

  You are an example to the new dancers and an ambassador for your club.

  Have fun! &ldquo;Angels&rdquo; are a key part of whether a new dancer joins
  your club.

  (For American Squaredance subscription information, send email to:
  AmericanSquareDance@gmail.com)


articleid: 206
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Every now and then I come across an article that jumps out and says
  &ldquo;Share me!&rdquo;

  This one was published in March, 2018, by Dan Roy as part of the
  promotional campaign for the 2018 Canadian National Square and Round
  Dance Convention. I won&rsquo;t quote the full text, but if you&rsquo;d like
  to read it just click <a href="http://swosda.ca/why-do-we-dance/">HERE</a>.

  I&rsquo;ll quote a few of the many reasons Dan presents why dancing&mdash;and
  square dancing, in particular&mdash;is such a wonderful activity.

  Hopefully you will share some or all of these thoughts with friends
  and acquaintances, to encourage them to take lessons and join you in a
  square.

  &ldquo;We&nbsp;&hellip; are a very diversified and unique society exposed to many,
  many cultures and dances. We all listen to music and regardless of who
  you are, we all feel some urge to dance at one time or another, or are
  expected to dance on occasion.

  Dancing isn&rsquo;t something that can be explained in words. It has to be
  danced.

  Why? Because dancing is far easier to feel than to explain.

  If you already dance, it may be interesting for you to read, the many
  reasons listed in this article that may pertain to your desire to
  dance, and some of these may surprise you. No, it is not because
  dancing is an inexpensive date, or because you have nothing better to
  do. So, lets be realistic. Dancing makes me happy. It is said that
  there are many short cuts to happiness, and that dancing is one of
  them. I know that dancing makes my wife happy, and anything that puts
  a smile on her face is something I want to be doing.&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;While I dance I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate
  myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I
  dance&rdquo; (Hans Bos)&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;We all have circumstances in our lives that demand our attention
  and leave us with emotional highs and lows that consume our
  thoughts. When we dance, all our thoughts amalgamate to our dancing,
  leaving us free to experience the pleasures of friends, partners,
  music and dance.&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;Eight reasons why dancing will enhance your mood and boost
  productivity while you work.

  1: Dancing makes you smarter

  2: Dancing encourages team building

  3: Dancing improves your energy level and wellness

  4: Dancing improves your health and fitness

  5: Dancing boosts your confidence

  6: Dancing improves your creativity

  7: Through dancing, your perseverance and dedication are noticed and
  valued.

  8: Dancing is fun.&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;We would never have dreamed that dancing would expand our
  friendship circle to the magnitude it has become. How exciting it is
  to know that we can dance anywhere from Yuma, AZ, to Halifax, NS to
  Vancouver Island and many, many other places in between, meeting new
  friends and renewing old friendships.&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;Some will tell you that it is excellent exercise for the body and
  mind. Some dance for mental clarity. Some dance to show the world who
  they really are and project an image, or to overcome fear, improve
  relationships, decrease anxiety or to help them cope with daily
  stressors. Some dance because it makes them feel beautiful and
  powerful.&rdquo;

  . . . .

  &ldquo;Why do we dance?

  Perhaps a better question would be&nbsp;&hellip; &ldquo;Why would we not?&rdquo;

  From an original article by Dan Roy, March 25, 2018.

  Full text available online at: http://swosda.ca/why-do-we-dance/


articleid: 207
position: 1
type: text
content:
  In a Florida square and round dance publication called DANCERgram, I
  recently read an article about lack of cooperation among clubs. It
  tells of clubs competing for class recruits and new members, instead
  of working together to promote square and round dancing as a
  whole. The title of the article was &ldquo;Are You Working for or
  Against Us?&rdquo; and you can click <a
  href="http://www.dancergram.com/Archive2018/DANCERgram_7.23.18.pdf">HERE</a>
  to read it yourself.
  <http://www.dancergram.com/Archive2018/DANCERgram_7.23.18.pdf>

  Club competition might be a problem in some areas, and maybe there are
  occasional signs of it in our area, but I think it is way down on the
  list of things that we need to worry about.

  Instead, we should recognize that we are blessed with a set of highly
  motivated and cooperative club leaders, and with Federation leaders
  who develop and manage multi-club events and who work tirelessly to
  promote and reward inter-club cooperation, especially in class
  recruitment and dancer retention.

  These efforts are being significantly enhanced as a result of the
  election last spring of Eileen Webster to the Federation role of
  &ldquo;Communications/Promotion Liaison.&rdquo;

  The title is a mouthful, but the role is critical. Anyone with
  responsibility in any organization knows that communication
  doesn&rsquo;t &ldquo;just happen.&rdquo; It takes persistent attention
  and follow-up, and Eileen is already on it.

  Be sure to read her article titled &ldquo;Recruiters Needed for Square
  Dancing&rdquo; in this issue of the Promenader&nbsp;&hellip; and
  consider joining her team.

  If you don&rsquo;t feel you have time, you can at least share your
  ideas with Eileen. You can also contribute by finding ways to promote
  square and round dancing among your friends and neighbors, for
  example, by posting one of the &ldquo;Learn-To-Square-Dance&rdquo;
  yard signs&mdash;right now, as classes are forming.

  During the rest of the dance season, you can also help by taking part
  in various inter-club opportunities, such as Banner Stealing, or by
  inviting dancers from other clubs to come to your club dances, or by
  making sure that other clubs&rsquo; flyers are on your club&rsquo;s
  table. And while you&rsquo;re at it, pick up one to go to yourself.

  Your awareness of&mdash;and participation in&mdash;activities at other clubs is a great way to promote and maintain the
  cooperative spirit that square dancing depends on.

  One very positive feature of our area, in my opinion, is the number of
  dancers who belong to more than one club. It promotes a broader social
  fellowship among dancers, which I believe strengthens all clubs.

  We also have a history of new dancers taking lessons at more than one
  club&mdash;to increase the amount of dancing and learning time
  they get. This not only improves dancing proficiency, but it also
  broadens our inter-club connections.

  Our excellent area callers also call at a variety of other clubs,
  which helps break down one of the psychological barriers to dancers
  venturing outside their home club. If you have already danced to
  another club&rsquo;s caller during a guest appearance at your club,
  then you know you&rsquo;ll have a good time when you go to their club
  as a visitor.

  And your visit can snowball: Some of the folks you met there are more
  likely, at a future date, to come and dance at your club&mdash;reciprocating your visit.

  So, please keep up the tradition of cooperation and inter-club
  connections. Talk to Eileen Webster and find ways that you can
  contribute.


articleid: 208
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Predeceased by his parents Jean and Lauretta Yatteau; his
  brother-in-law, Glenn Barney; the mother of his children, Norma
  Yatteau and his dear friend June Meli. Paul is survived by his
  daughter, Paula Yatteau; son and daughter-in-law Paul Jr and Tammy
  Yatteau, their children Courtney, Amber, Andy, Kira, Garrett, Jamie,
  and Carson Yatteau his sisters, Marie Louise (John) Lieser, Anne
  (James) Marr, Jeanne (Daniel) Klee, Margaret (Robert) Enright,
  Catherine (Steve) Schockow, and Ellen Barney; his brothers Joseph
  (Joyce), Michael, and Thomas (Loretta) Yatteau; many cousins, nieces,
  nephews; and his Local 86 IBEW brothers and sisters.

  Paul was a person for others. He continuously lent his heart and his
  hands to serve his community, family, and friends.  Paul was a very
  kind, sweet, simple, and generous soul.

  Donations may be made to Eastern Service Workers Association (228 Bay
  St., Rochester, NY 14605) in his memory.


articleid: 209
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Recently, Sally Baechle showed me one of the original programs from a
  special dance event that she and her husband, Walt, participated in as
  part of Rochester&rsquo;s celebration of our nation&rsquo;s
  bicentennial in 1975.

  The event was The &ldquo;Early American Heritage Ball&rdquo; held on
  September 20, 1975, in the Grand Ballroom at the Rochester Chamber of
  Commerce. The commemorative program was beautifully hand-engraved and
  provides a fascinating glimpse into the past.

  In the September, 1975, issue of the Promenader (scanned and posted in
  the Federation section of our website, thanks to Dick Halstead and
  Sidney Marshall), I also found the invitation to this gala
  event&mdash;in the form of a full-page ad (pictured).


articleid: 209
position: 3
type: text
content:
  As part of the main program, eight couples (pictured) from the
  Rochester Area Federation of Square and Round Dancing (yes, our
  Federation) put on an exhibition of square dancing. I believe that
  Sally and Walt are third from the right.

  The evening&rsquo;s program covered a wide range of dance styles and
  included both demonstration and participation. Musical leadership was
  provided by &ldquo;Dancing Master&rdquo; Richard, L. Castner of the
  Brockport Bicentennial Dance Ensemble. The RAF contingent was led by
  Mr. and Mrs. Charles Prister, who may also have done the square dance
  calling, though I&rsquo;m not sure about that.

  For those who would rather not decipher the impressive calligraphy of
  the original, here is my transcription of the evening&rsquo;s program
  of festivities:

  Reception Line

  Welcome&mdash;by Dr. Francis Wakely, Director of Bicentennial
  Activities

  Grand March and Circle Four

  18th Century Country Dance Set&mdash;Demonstration and
  Participation

  Social Dance Set&mdash;Two-Step (Fox Trot) and Waltz

  Exhibition Dance&mdash;by The Wakefield Dancers

  Country Dance Set&mdash;Demonstration and Participation

  Exhibition Dance&mdash;by The Rochester Scottish Country
  Dancers

  Social Dance Set

  Exhibition Dance&mdash;by Members of the Rochester Area
  Federation of Round and Square Dance Assn.

  Country Dance Set&mdash;Demonstration and Participation

  Exhibition Dance&mdash;by The Brockport Bicentennial Dancers

  Social Dance Set

  Evening conducted by Dancing Master Richard L. Castner

  Music by The Blackthorn Ceilidh Band


articleid: 210
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Fall, 2018, edition of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Roochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 210
position: 3
type: text
content:
  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue
  includes open letters from Carol Ann Stahl (on club insurance) and
  Eileen Webster (on dancer recruitment), as well as a report from the
  Silver Squares summer picnic, recognition of Fran and Nick Haldoupis
  by the Village Squares, and thoughts on inter-club cooperation.

  On an interesting historical note from the archives, we present a copy
  of the impressive program for dance event&mdash;the Early
  American Heritage Ball&mdash;that was held as part of the
  Rochester / Monroe County celebration of our nation&rsquo;s
  bicentennial in 1975.

  Other articles in this issue cover timely topics gleaned from outside
  sources, including a wonderful presentation of the many reasons for
  joining the community of dancers, and a reminder of what it takes to
  be a good angel when you help out in classes and class-club dances.


articleid: 210
position: 5
type: text
content:
  Whether you are a recent graduate or a seasoned dancer, you should
  attend the September 29th Fall Friendship Ball, the RAF&rsquo;s annual
  &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; dance and optional catered dinner. The
  dance (2:00&ndash;5:15pm) is free, and the optional dinner is $15 per
  person.

  Read the reminder in this issue and download the flyer, then clip and
  send your dinner reservation stub and check to Stu Jones at the
  address shown on the stub. Or (to save printer ink!) just send your
  check, with your name and the number attending.)


articleid: 210
position: 7
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say farewell to Brian Adams (long-time cuer and
  round dance teacher), Ralph Kingsley (Victor Swing-A-Longs), and Paul
  Yatteau (Cloverleafs).


articleid: 210
position: 9
type: text
content:
  LUNCH WITH THE GIRLS

  A group of 15-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for
  dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen, next door to
  the Ocean View restaurant because they had only $6.00 among them and
  Brad Johnson, the cute boy in Social Studies, lived on that street.

  10 years later, the group of 25-year-old girlfriends discussed where
  to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the beer was cheap, the restaurant offered free
  snacks, the band was good, there was no cover charge, and there were
  lots of cute guys.

  10 years later the group of 35-year-old girlfriends discussed where to
  meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym
  and, if they went late enough, there wouldn&rsquo;t be too many whiny little
  kids.

  10 years later the group of 45-year-old girlfriends discussed where to
  meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the martinis were big, and the waiters wore tight
  pants and had nice buns.

  10 years later, the group of 55-year-old girlfriends discussed where
  to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the prices were reasonable, the wine list was good,
  the restaurant had windows that opened (in case of hot flashes), and
  they served fish (which is good for your cholesterol).

  10 years later the group of 65-year-old girlfriends discussed where to
  meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the lighting was good, and the restaurant had a
  senior citizen discounts.

  10 years later, the group of 75-year-old girlfriends discussed where
  to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because the food was not too spicy, and the restaurant was
  handicapped-accessible.

  10 years later, the group of 85-year-old girlfriends discussed where
  to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View
  restaurant because they had never been there before.


articleid: 211
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Cayuga Cut-Ups would like to thank our square-dancing community
  for attending our 57th Anniversary Dance on August 11. It was a
  50s/60s Sock Hop and was supported by dancers from The Copy Cats,
  Southern Tier Wheelers and Cloverleafs. We danced to the 50s/60s
  musical legends and the calling of The Hip Boot Boys.

  We enjoyed a Banner Stealing dance from the Copycats, who are now the
  holders of our travel banner, thereby obligating the Cut-Ups to go to
  Rochester to retrieve it.

  During our supper picnic on the church lawn, we were serenaded by club
  members Glynn and Jerry.

  These were fun times dancing with new and current friends. It is a
  blessing to belong to a square dance club.


articleid: 212
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On June 6th, at their Trail&rsquo;s End dance, the Village Squares
  honored Nick and Fran Haldoupis. Nick and Fran have been dancing for
  over 30 years and are known and loved by everyone in the community.

  Here&rsquo;s a typical example of the kind of people Nick and Fran
  are. Before Mike and Barb Keane moved to Rochester, they had been
  enthusiastic square dancers in New Jersey. Exploring the Rochester
  square dance scene at an Emerald Squares dance, they met Nick and
  Fran, who proceeded to accompany them to various Rochester clubs to
  help them decide where they&rsquo;d most enjoy dancing.

  The Haldoupis&rsquo; square dancing history includes their tenure at
  the Web Spinners, where, with their usual competence and good humor,
  they &ldquo;occupied the thrones&rdquo; as presidents.

  In addition to square dancing twice a week, the list of Nick and
  Fran&rsquo;s volunteer activities is mind boggling. As a Military cook
  for 21 years, Nick can literally cook for an Army. So, it wasn&rsquo;t
  much of a stretch for him to regularly make 50 pounds of meatballs and
  three different kinds of spaghetti sauce on the first Friday of every
  month for Spaghetti Dinners at Webster&rsquo;s Masonic Hall to raise
  money for charity.

  As a Shriner, Nick seldom misses a meeting at the Damascus Temple. As
  a veteran, Nick brings cakes to the V.A. hospital every month to
  celebrate that month&rsquo;s birthdays.

  However, spending Christmas, birthdays, holidays and just
  &lsquo;hanging out&rsquo; with their three daughters and two
  grandchildren is always their priority. Family has been so important
  to Fran &amp; Nick that their grandson recently asked Nick to be best
  man at his wedding.

  Nick and Fran have announced their retirement from square dancing, but
  to encourage them to drop by some Wednesday, or hopefully, several
  Wednesdays, the Village Squares presented them with a book of dance
  tickets good any time, for any Village Squares dance.

  We will all miss Fran and Nick as dancers, but we hope to keep them as
  friends. &ldquo;We shall not see their like again.&rdquo;


articleid: 213
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Ralph &amp; Aline started square dancing many years ago with Echo
  Squares. When Bob Ellis mentioned he would be willing to call if they
  got a club started in Victor. That is when Victor Swing-A-Longs was
  established. Ann Englert Herne and Karen Cannioto, two of his
  daughters and their husbands, also became part of the group, then
  their children along with other Victor residents. Ralph &amp; Aline
  were strong supporters of square dancing, made many friends, and kept
  dancing for many years.


articleid: 214
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Mary Lee Schweitzer, 77 of Manor House Drive, Auburn, passed away
  Wednesday, September 12, 2018, with her family by her
  side. Mrs. Schweitzer was born in Preston, NY on July 25, 1941 to the
  late Otto L. and Alice M. Barse Shaw.

  After 34 years of teaching, Mary Lee retired from Auburn School
  District. Whether it was teaching, volunteering with the Scat Van or
  donating more than 20 gallons of blood to the Red Cross, Mary Lee
  loved to help those in need.

  She was a member of the alter guild at Saints Peter and John Church
  and enjoyed square dancing, lawn mowing and canoeing.

  Mary Lee is survived by her loving husband of 30 years, Richard
  Schweitzer.; her children Ronald (Stephanie) Rulis, Stephen Rulis,
  Gerald Rulis and Leigh Ann (Thomas) Richards; her step children,
  Richard (Vikki Le) Schweitzer Jr. Robert (Donna) Schweitzer, Ronald
  (Julie) Schweitzer, Raymon (Sheila) Schweitzer, Charisse (Paul)
  Tarnacki, and Holly (Angelo Rivizzigno); seven grandchildren; Two
  great grandchildren and her brother, Lawrence (Marcia) Shaw.

  A graveside service was held on Friday, September 21 at 1:00 pm in
  Sampson Veteran Memorial Cemetery, Romulus NY.

  In lieu of flowers donations in Mary Lee&rsquo;s memory may be made to
  Saints Peter and John Episcopal Church, 169 Genesee St. Auburn or The
  Scat Van 17 Nelson St. #3 Auburn.

  Arrangements were with White Chapel Funeral Home Inc., 197 South St
  Auburn NY.

  Mary Lee and Dick are familiar to square dancers all across Upstate
  New York, where Dick has been an active caller for decades.


articleid: 215
position: 1
type: text
content:
  If you ever get a chance to visit the Shoeleather Express in
  Gloversville, NY, it is well worth the trip. I attended a callers
  school there with Mike Sikorsky and was impressed with the love that
  Elaine and Dennis poured into the converted church. The alter has been
  replaced with a double-sized couch from a children&rsquo;s television
  show and the floor has been replaced with a beautiful hardwood
  floor. There are still three organs in various rooms (the pipe organ
  was removed) and there are two other rooms for dancing.


articleid: 216
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The October 13, 2018, demo at Greece Ridge Mall&rsquo;s Wellness Fair
  went very well. We ended up with three squares of experienced dancers
  and several class members participating.

  The support we had from the clubs and classes to showcase modern
  square dancing was fantastic. We had dancers from: Copy Cats, Belles
  &amp; Beaus, Silver Squares, Batavia Silver Stars, Cloverleafs and
  Grand Squares.

  The demo scheduled before ours was cancelled so we started dancing
  around 11:30 a.m. Our table was adjacent to the demo area and due to an
  issue with power, we ended up moving Ron&rsquo;s table in front of
  ours. We did not get a lot of traffic at the table but had a constant
  stream of spectators throughout our entire dance time of almost an
  hour and a half.

  Summary of materials distributed:

  Invitation to Dance Brochures&mdash;13 distributed

  Cards&mdash;Modern Square Dance&nbsp;&hellip; Join the
  Party&mdash;14 distributed

  (this listed Cloverleafs voice mail number for anyone interested in
  joining classes now so we could coordinate catch up classes as
  needed.)

  Learn to Dance flyer&mdash;8 distributed

  Plus 55 Square Dance article&mdash;3 distributed

  Article: Dancing may be key to Senior Health&mdash;3
  distributed

  The message was given to anyone interested in joining a class to
  contact the Cloverleaf&rsquo;s voice mail. We were planning to use
  their voice mail as a means to set up a catch-up class for any new
  dancers resulting from the demo.

  One person with special needs approached us with interest but we were
  not sure where to direct her. She is deaf and wondered if NTID or
  Rochester School for the Deaf has anyone teaching or calling square
  dancing. Her club preference was Silver Squares. If you can provide
  help or have any suggestions, please contact us. [Editor&rsquo;s note:
  For several years, Tom Mallory taught square dancing for a group at
  NTID, using sign language. I don&rsquo;t know of anyone who has picked
  up the slack since Tom&rsquo;s death in 2014.]

  Submitted by Jeff &amp; Debbie Blood

  If you have any questions, please contact Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood

  Vice Presidents, Rochester Federation of Round &amp; Square Dance
  Clubs


articleid: 217
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Surrounded by decorations from the crypt of Angela and Tom Frantz, and
  munching treats conjured up by Karen Olmsted and Stephen Barkley, the
  Village Squares celebrated Halloween in Spooktacular style. A
  life-size Headless Horseman (his head waiting patiently on the coat
  rack), a chatty witch and a shy Skeleton, who spoke only when
  questioned, were strategically placed around the hall.

  Hands-down winners of the costume contest were the banjo-player
  skeleton duo accompanying caller Ghoul Porter. The highlight of the
  evening, however, was Angela&rsquo;s dancing broom. Channeling its
  inner Fantasia, the boom spun gracefully around the hall, occasionally
  sweeping off in random directions.


articleid: 218
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Recently, the Copy Cats received a telephone call from Tamara
  Denysenko at Rochester Global Connections. RGC works with
  USAID&rsquo;s Department of Education to effectively help Belarusian
  professionals understand and adopt best practices to strengthen and
  develop their country. This group has been in existence for over 20
  years.

  As a result of the call, on October 16, 2018, the Copy Cats welcomed
  two guests from Belarus&mdash;Natallia Tamasenka and Vadzim
  Kruchkou. Natallia is the Director of Aksioma IT. Her company provides
  learning opportunities for children age six and older in the field of
  basic design and programming using educational LEGO sets in Gomel,
  Belarus. Vadzim is a systems engineer in the 100 Points ED Centre in
  Minks, Belarus. They and other delegates are visiting Rochester under
  the auspices of the USAID, to learn about our local STEM
  programs. STEM incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
  in education, as a way to help children build critical skills for the
  future. They help make these subjects fun while the children are
  learning.

  However, not only were Natalia and Vadzim interested in
  technology&nbsp;&hellip; they expressed an interest in American
  Western Square Dancing. We would like to thank Jolanta and Tom Mokranz
  for being Copy Cats&rsquo; ambassadors to our Belarus visitors for the
  evening. Jolanta and Tom immigrated from Wroclaw, Poland more than 30
  years ago and joined Copy Cats last year. There are a lot of
  similarities between the Belarus and Polish languages.

  On the evening of their visit, Ron Brown taught Tamara, Natallia and
  Vad&mdash;and our whole class&mdash;the basic square
  dance calls. To quote Tamara, they &ldquo;truly enjoyed themselves and
  express their sincere appreciation for everyone&rsquo;s hospitality
  and American friendliness.&rdquo; Vad brought music to teach us a
  Slavic quadrille (a dance that was fashionable in late 18th and 19th
  century Europe). Ron reciprocated with an American quadrille, a mixer
  which Ron performs at our yearly Open House event. Everyone in
  attendance had an enjoyable evening and we hope this is the first of
  many interactions between RGC and the Copy Cats.

  We would like to thank Ron Brown for making the evening fun for our
  visitors, and Jackson (Jet) Thomas for photographing the
  evening&rsquo;s festivities.


articleid: 219
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On a sunny September 3, 2018, Jan Bencic led the Batavia Silver
  Stars in the Oakfield Labor Daze Parade.


articleid: 220
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Irma and I spent the afternoon yesterday, Monday, the 5th of November,
  2018, with our long-time friend, and now, &ldquo;Widower&rdquo;, Richard &ldquo;Dick&rdquo;
  Schweitzer, at his home in a nice Retirement Community of individually
  owned homes near Auburn, NY. He readily agreed.

  Of course, we had called earlier, explaining that we would like to do
  this tribute to Mary Lee&nbsp;&hellip; further explaining that I had already sent a
  copy of her Obituary to Peter Emmel, for inclusion in the Promenader;
  however, that it alone just did not seem sufficient to cover all that
  this warm and wonderful person had meant to many of us, and especially
  to those of us that have had the good fortune of becoming especially
  close friends.

  Especially close friends as in: Afternoon and evenings playing our
  favorite, &ldquo;Bid Euchre&rdquo; games; then those Big Dance Weekends, like
  &ldquo;Autumn Leaves&rdquo; in Bennington, Vermont; Or, wintering together in South
  Texas; and of course those many weekends at &ldquo;Rocky&rsquo;s&rdquo;, near your Family
  Camp in Boonville, NY, where Dick, often with Red Bates, did the
  biggest weekends there, as well as his own busy calling schedule all
  over upstate.

  First, we asked Dick to refresh our memories of dancing together, the
  first of which was when he was calling for the Geneva Friendship
  Squares, and later, when we had progressed to that level, with Bob
  Stern&rsquo;s A Club in Geneva.

  Dick first reminded us that he thought we had met at Dottie Reed&rsquo;s
  Round Dance Club in Newark&nbsp;&hellip; or had it been &ldquo;Doc&rdquo; Newman&rsquo;s Round Dance
  Club in Geneva&nbsp;&hellip; wherever, with Dick often calling, I then
  occasionally had the opportunity to dance with Mary Lee, and being an
  excellent Round as well as Square Dancer, it was always a rare joy,
  and Irma usually took these rare occasions to &ldquo;Kibitz&rdquo;, making new
  friends with others&nbsp;&hellip; an &ldquo;Art Form&rdquo; for her, just being herself, often
  sensitive to people not dancing that needed a friend to chat.

  Then came my question: &ldquo;How did you two meet?&rdquo; (already being aware
  theirs was a second marriage for each of them.)

  Dick recalled: (Paraphrasing here), As you know, I worked for GE in
  Syracuse, and like you, had spent time in the remote Northern Regions
  working on the DEW Line (Defense Early Warning System), protecting the
  United States from hostile, &lsquo;Over the Pole&rsquo;, incursions during that
  very &lsquo;Hot&rsquo; time of the Cold War. Thus we were living in Syracuse, NY;
  however, I was also calling for the Spinning Wheels in Auburn.

  As you know, my wife had died in the mid 80&rdquo;s of cancer, and our
  children were all grown, when in 1986, friends, John and Barb Komariski
  asked if I would go to a dance with them; that they were bringing
  someone along that needed a partner. I agreed, and when I saw her, I
  realized that I had seen her before: One night while calling for the
  Spinning Wheels, this strikingly attractive tall blond lady came in
  one time; danced, and then left.

  But, back to our &ldquo;Dance Date&rdquo;, that was it! No hand holding, just an
  enjoyable evening of dancing. Then, polite amicable good-nights when
  they drove off: That was it!

  Next year, 1987, the Komariski&rsquo;s asked me again, but this time, with
  that level of &ldquo;Knowing&rdquo;, we, after three or four subsequent, &ldquo;dates&rdquo;
  of our own, progressed to Hand-Holding!

  Of course by this time our conversations revealed that she lived on
  Lime Kiln Road, just off Route 20, East of Auburn, and that I had a
  home in Syracuse, that had a Swimming Pool.

  Mary Lee wanted to see my place. We saw it. We went swimming,
  appropriately attired!&nbsp;&hellip; and, about to leave, she asked:

  &ldquo;Do you think we could live together?&rdquo;

  Simple as that! My almost immediate response was:

  &ldquo;Yes, but only if we were Married!&rdquo;

  Dick smiled at Irma and me, and said in conclusion: John Komariski
  stood up for me at our wedding at St. Peter/John&rsquo;s Episcopal Church
  in Auburn.

  They decided after appropriate discussions to both move into &ldquo;Her
  Home&rdquo; on Lime Kiln Road, being close to her teaching duties, and many
  of Dick&rsquo;s calling jobs, which as most of you now reading this know,
  includes almost all clubs in up-state New York over the past forty or
  more years, notably including long term weekly, &ldquo;gigs&rdquo;, at the Pen Yan
  Friendship Squares, the Cayuga Cut-Ups, etc.

  Mary Lee retired from her Remedial Reading teaching job in the Auburn
  School System at the conclusion of the 1996/97 school year; and told
  us shortly before she succumbed to cancer: I Danced; Exercised; Never
  Smoked; was largely a practicing &ldquo;Vegetarian&rdquo;; and hand-mowed our
  lawn&nbsp;&hellip; until shortly before we bought our retirement home, with no
  lawns to mow! How did I get cancer???

  None of us can answer that, Mary Lee, but know that we love you, and
  pray, along with Hubby Richard, who was continuously by your side,
  Holding Your Hand, the last three days of your life, comforting you
  and himself with the thought that, as Children of God, and certain in
  the knowledge that with the Atoning Grace of the very Son of God,
  Jesus Christ, we are Eternal Beings, and this is not the end, rather a
  glorious beginning.

  Love You

  Dick and Irma Halstead, Roving Reporters, and, Your countless Family
  and Friends


articleid: 221
position: a
type: text
content:
  If you&rsquo;d like to see coverage of more clubs and events in this
  section, please help by taking a few photos wherever you dance and
  sending them to us with a brief description of the event. (email
  photos to: promenader@rochester.rr.com)

  We would love to have you join us as a regular contributor! Send us an
  email: promenader@rochester.rr.com.


articleid: 222
position: 01
type: text
content:
  We would not be dancing if it weren&rsquo;t for the extra efforts of
  folks who consistently go out of their way to make things happen, to
  welcome and encourage new dancers and to help keep experienced dancers
  engaged. The Daphne-Norma Leadership Award is one of the ways we
  recognize these special people.

  The award is presented each year in May&mdash;at Dance O
  Rama&mdash;to honor an individual or couple who have made an
  outstanding contribution to dancing in our area. Recipients are
  selected from nominations sent in by dancers like you.

  If there is someone whose consistent service to square dancing in your
  club or in the wider dancing community has caught your attention,
  please make a note of it on a copy of the Daphne-Norma Nomination
  Form, which you&rsquo;ll find in our Awards section. (Click <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a> for
  guidelines, a list of past recipients and a link to the form.)

  Send your completed form to the award&rsquo;s most recent recipients,
  Stu &amp; Jane Jones, at 53 Dake Avenue, Rochester, NY 14617-2835.

  If that&rsquo;s too much trouble, simply send an email to them at
  Sjones102@rochester.rr.com&mdash;with the following
  information:

  Nominee&rsquo;s Name(s)

  Your reasons for nominating them

  Your name and club affiliation

  Your email address and phone number

  It&rsquo;s that simple!

  Selection for this significant honor is a cumulative
  process. Nominations are due by the end of February, but they are also
  held over into future years, and can accumulate to build a compelling
  case for &ldquo;your&rdquo; nominee. So, please don&rsquo;t
  hesitate. Send in your nomination now!


articleid: 223
position: 01
type: text
content:
  On the Saturday before Halloween, the Copy Cats hosted a full floor of
  dancers in an astonishing array of costumes!


articleid: 225
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Robert Otto passed peacefully on Thanksgiving morning, November 22,
  2018. He led a long life of faith, which he taught to his children and
  grandchildren.

  As one of the founding parents of Heritage Christian Services, he was
  a blessing to thousands of men and women with developmental
  disabilities, one of whom was his daughter.

  Robert owned his own company, Trebor Supply, serving hardware stores
  locally and in the Southern Tier for 34 years until his retirement at
  age 84. Customers appreciated his care, expertise and strong work
  ethic.

  His grandchildren will always remember Bob&rsquo;s humorous stories,
  which they will surely share with their children.

  Bob&rsquo;s family expressed appreciation to the Highlands at
  Brighton, citing their excellent care and the way they went
  &ldquo;above and beyond&rdquo; to make his last days comfortable.

  For many years, Bob &amp; Gail were members of Shamrock Squares, where
  Bob was instrumental in obtaining the club&rsquo;s current dance
  location at the Pieters Family Life Center.

  Adapted from Rochester D&amp;C


articleid: 224
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Winter, 2018, edition of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.

  In This Issue

  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue includes
  articles on the unique Shoeleather Express (in Gloversville, NY),
  square dancing at Greece Ridge Mall&rsquo;s Wellness Fair, and the
  Batavia Silver Stars&rsquo; participation in the Oakfield Labor Day
  parade.

  There&rsquo;s also an interesting account of a special Copy Cats
  evening in October, when a couple from Belarus visited their class.
  And no winter edition would be complete without photos of the amazing
  costumes&mdash;and snacks&mdash;that come out at
  Halloween time.

  RAF Website

  Be sure to browse the rest of our website for complete dance
  schedules, information from the Rochester Area Federation&mdash;such as club reimbursement programs and forms, club insurance
  information and forms, and for the RAF meeting schedule and minutes.

  And please click <a href="president-2018-12.html">HERE</a> for the
  quarterly message from the RAF President, Jim Gotta. It includes an
  important announcement about Mainstream dancing at the Belles
  &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus.

  Daphne-Norma award nominations&mdash;due by end of February

  Now is the time to consider nominating worthy folks for the highest
  honor the dance community can bestow. Click <a
  href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a> for guidelines, a listing of
  past recipients and to download the nomination form.

  In Memoriam

  In this issue we say farewell to Bob Otto and Mary Lee Schweitzer
  (wife of long-time area caller Dick Schweitzer). In addition to her
  obituary, please be sure to read Dick Halstead&rsquo;s article
  &ldquo;Remembering Mary Lee Schweitzer.&rdquo;

  Quarterly chuckle

  WHEN GRANDMA GOES TO COURT

  Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they
  aren&rsquo;t prepared for the answer.

  In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his
  first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He
  approached her and asked &ldquo;Mrs. Jones, do you know me?&rdquo;

  She responded, &ldquo;Why yes I&rsquo;ve known you since you were a
  little boy, and frankly you&rsquo;ve been a big disappointment. You
  lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about
  them behind their backs. You think you&rsquo;re a big shot when you
  haven&rsquo;t the brains to realize you&rsquo;ll never amount to
  anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.&rdquo;

  The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across
  the room and asked, &ldquo;Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense
  attorney?&rdquo;

  She replied, &ldquo;Why yes I do. I&rsquo;ve known Mr. Bradley since
  he was a youngster, too. He&rsquo;s lazy, bigoted, and he has a
  drinking problem, He can&rsquo;t build a normal relationship with
  anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire
  state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different
  women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.&rdquo;

  The defense attorney nearly died!

  At this point, the judge asked both counselors to approach the
  bench. In a very quiet voice said: &ldquo;If either of you idiots asks
  her if she knows me, I&rsquo;ll send you both to the electric
  chair.&rdquo;


articleid: 226
position: 01
type: text
content:
  On the night before Halloween, 2018, the Copy Cats class&mdash;the Kittens&mdash;showcased their creativity at Bay Trail
  School in Webster.


articleid: 227
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

  Another great dance season is underway. Hopefully everyone is getting
  out and seeing old friends and acquaintances again. It&rsquo;s good
  see that many of our clubs have new dancer classes with steady
  attendance. Obviously without these new dancers, the activity we all
  love will die out, so I encourage all of you to help out the classes
  in any way possible.

  The Federation welcome back dance, the Fall Friendship Ball, went off
  very well. The little disappointment for me again this year was the
  small number of new graduate dancers in attendance. If anyone has any
  thoughts on this, I would sure like to hear them.

  Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus have decided to become a Mainstream
  club. Congratulations! This is the first in our area, at least during
  my dance time. The way Callerlab intended the dance programs to work
  is that Mainstream would be the main level of dancing&mdash;not
  Plus. That was intended to be a more advanced level. For anyone that
  would like to work on the Mainstream level of calls, and perhaps dance
  them from more than just the &ldquo;vanilla&rdquo; positions, I would
  encourage you to head out to Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus on Monday
  nights.

  The winter and holiday season is when we see a lot of clubs holding
  class / club dances. For new dancers, this is a great time to meet new
  people and dance to other great callers. As much as the busy holiday
  season allows, I encourage dancers new and experienced to get out and
  dance at other clubs for some good cheer and great dancing.

  Enjoy the holidays and I&rsquo;ll see you on the dance floor.


articleid: 228
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On November 7, the Village Squares welcomed six squares of dancers to
  honor the memory of their long-time caller Jerry Carmen. A binder
  filled with anecdotes and messages of appreciation for Jerry was
  presented to his family, and several folks came to the microphone to
  offer their own &ldquo;Jerry stories.&rdquo; The dance was attended by
  Jerry&rsquo;s wife, Betty, and three of their children plus one
  son-in-law.

  Callers included Gil Porter, the Hip Boot Boys and even Jerry himself
  on tape. Will Herzog cued a line dance. A basket of movie-related
  items was raffled off for the benefit of the ALS Association, and
  Betty brought in numerous memorabilia items to exchange for ALS
  donations.

  It was a memorable evening and a fitting tribute to our departed
  caller and friend, who brought music and dancing to folks all across
  Upstate NY for over fifty years.


articleid: 229
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On November 29, Mike Callahan and the Grand Squares in Henrietta drew
  three squares! You can&rsquo;t see the clock in the photo, but
  that&rsquo;s the final tip of the evening. Everyone stayed for the
  whole dance!


articleid: 230
position: 1
type: text
content:
  To the sorrow of the square dance communty and of his many friends,
  George Dormer died unexpectedly on December 8 at the age of
  81. Characteristically, he was returning home from a Syracuse
  University basketball game with his son and grandson. George&rsquo;s
  love of his family and pride in his grandchildren was a
  given. He&rsquo;d been an outstanding high school and college swimmer
  and soccer player himself and he rarely missed his childen&rsquo;s
  track meets, soccer games or volleyball matches. When his grandson was
  recently voted Naples HS Basketball MVP and Ontario County Player of
  the Year, George was Zach Dormer&rsquo;s proudest fan.

  After graduating from RPI with a degree in metallurgical engineering,
  George worked at Pfaudler until his retirement. Recognizing his
  creativity, ingenuity and dependability, in 1971 the local chapter of
  the AME created an award for excellence, which they called &ldquo;Give
  It To George.&rdquo;

  Retirement often is a chance to relax, but George had no intention of
  slowing down. In retirement he acted as a consultant for RG&amp;E and
  Ginna, taught as an adjunct professor at RIT and joined Ginny
  volunteering at Perinton Food Shelf. Over the years, he also served in
  many capacities at his church, St. John of Rochester.

  George and Ginny typify the best of square dancing and square
  dancers. They were first to volunteer for anything that needed to be
  done. Decorate for a Barn Dance or for New Year&rsquo;s Eve? Vacuum
  the carpet or dry mop the floor after the dance? Let George Do It!

  They were always welcoming to new dancers. When Peter and I were
  learnng to square dance, the Dormers&rsquo; encouragement and
  friendship was a major motivation for our joining Village
  Squares. Their ingenuity was exhibited evey Halloween, when we all
  looked forward to seeing the latest creation from George, Ginny and
  their Fairport posse. One year we danced with a herd of cows, next a
  colony of penguins and eventually an entire circus troop.

  The line of George&rsquo;s friends calling at Harloff Funeral Home on
  Friday afternoon wove around the entire building and streamed out onto
  the sidewalk. After telling George&rsquo;s daughter Mary that we were
  square dancers, she replied that they had been counting square dancers
  but gave up about half an hour earlier, at 60.

  George and Ginny were the heart and soul of the Village Squares, and
  Geoge&rsquo;s death leaves a void in our club that will be impossible
  to fill. Trying to find the word that best describes Geoge, I keep
  coming back to &lsquo;nice.&rsquo; &lsquo;thoughtful,&rsquo;
  &lsquo;kind,&rsquo; &lsquo;considerate,&rsquo; &lsquo;smart,&rsquo;
  &lsquo;funny,&rsquo; &lsquo;good sport,&rsquo; would all apply, but
  George Dormer was truly a nice man. He will be greatly missed.


articleid: 231
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Nancy H. Fincher, 87 years old, lived at 2403 Main Rd., East Pembroke,
  NY, and passed away peacefully on January 5, 2019 at Johnson&lsquo;s
  Elderly Care, in Byron, NY, with help from Orleans County Hospice.

  Nancy was born in East Pembroke, a daughter of the late Earl and
  Gladys Beckwith Clute. She was the wife of the late Dean W. Fincher
  and was also predeceased by her sisters, Frances Klawer and Ruth
  Klawer.

  Nancy and her late husband Dean took square dance classes in the
  basement of the YMCA, with the Batavia Twirlers, graduating in
  1963. They returned to the class often, as new people wanted to join
  them. Eventually the club became the Batavia Silver Stars. Nancy
  learned round dancing, and for many years, served as cuer for Batavia
  Silver Stars. She cued for other clubs when asked, and cued often at
  Dance O Rama. She continued cueing up until about 5 years ago. Besides
  round dancing, she also taught line dancing.

  Nancy enjoyed teaching and playing the organ and piano, as well as
  singing and directing the church choir. She loved to sew, making many
  of her own square dance outfits. In her younger days she also sold Bee
  Line and Fashion Wagon clothing, plus Sandak Sandals.

  Nancy is survived by her, children Diane (Larry) Risley of Corfu,
  Connie (Ken) Golding of Byron, John (Jennifer) Fincher of East
  Pembroke, Mark (Dawn) Fincher of Morris, Illinois and Joy (Fred)
  Bookmiller of Corfu, 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren with one
  more on the way and 1 step great-grandchild.

  Memorial gifts may be made to the Cornerstone Church of East Pembroke,
  PO Box 189, East Pembroke, NY 14056, Johnson&lsquo;s Elderly Care, 6815
  Rte. 237, Byron, NY 14422, or Hospice in Orleans County, 14080 Rte 31
  West, PO Box 489, Albion, NY 14411.


articleid: 232
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

  For those that don&rsquo;t know, we&rsquo;ve actually had two new
  clubs join our federation. Please help me in welcoming the The Fun
  Bunch (Auburn), as well as Phoenix Pairs N&rsquo; Squares to the
  family. That brings us up to 19 clubs in the Federation. Yes, square
  dancing is still alive in this area.

  March 23rd the Callers group will have their Spring Dance. It&rsquo;s
  a great time to meet other dancers, dance to many different callers
  and cuers, and help support the callers.

  We then have the ever-popular Tri-Club Dance on Saturday April 6,
  2019. This dance will be featuring caller Howard Williamson with his
  wife Donna cueing the rounds. Donna will start with a half hour of
  rounds before the square dance begins its Mainstream/Plus program.

  The 61st Dance-O-Rama will be May 4, 2019 at the Perinton Recreation
  Center, 1350 Turk Hill Rd., Fairport, NY. This is a Federation wide
  event. While it marks graduation for our newer dancers, it is also an
  opportunity for those from around the area that don&rsquo;t often get
  to see each other to come together and dance. The event starts at 2:00
  pm and runs until 9:45 pm. Out of town caller Brad Deibert will be
  there as well as Ron Brown, Mike Callahan, and myself. Cuers will be
  Lisa Treichler and Mark Thone. Please see the flier for the details.

  There is still plenty of dancing being planned for the summer
  including out of town callers Betsy Gotta, Johnny Preston, and Mike
  Sikorsky. This fall will see several open houses as well as our
  welcome back Fall Friendship Ball being planned for September 28,
  2019.

  See you on the dance floor.


articleid: 233
position: 1
type: text
content:
  In October, a contingent of Copy Cats and other Rochester dancers
  attended the 2018 version of the annual Tumbling Leaves Festival in
  Bennington Vermont. As expected, it was a wonderful weekend for
  dancing and socializing. Festivals like this are always great
  opportunities to get to know your fellow Square Dancers, and at this
  one the scenery is absolutely beautiful! Consider joining us in 2019.

  The couples in the photo, roughly from top to bottom, are: Phil &amp;
  Mary, Gary &amp; Lorraine, Liz &amp; Tom, Mary Jo &amp; David, Karen
  &amp; Steve, Nancy &amp; Rick, Pam &amp; Carlos, Rick &amp; Donna,
  Kris &amp; Amy, Alice &amp; Gary and Lurine.


articleid: 234
position: 1
type: text
content:
  We would not be dancing if it weren&rsquo;t for the extra efforts of
  folks who consistently go out of their way to make things happen, to
  welcome and encourage new dancers and to help keep experienced dancers
  engaged. The Daphne-Norma Leadership Award is one of the ways we
  recognize these special people.

  The award is presented each year in May&mdash;at Dance O
  Rama&mdash;to honor an individual or co couple who have made an
  outstanding contribution to dancing in our area. Recipients are
  selected from nominations sent in by dancers like you.

  If there is someone whose consistent service to square dancing in your
  club or in the wider dancing community has caught your attention,
  please make a note of it on a copy of the Daphne-Norma Nomination
  Form, which you&rsquo;ll find in our Awards section. (Click <a
  href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a> for guidelines, a list of past
  recipients and a link to the form.)

  Send your completed form to the award&rsquo;s most recent recipients,
  Stu &amp; Jane Jones, at 53 Dake Avenue, Rochester, NY 14617-2835.

  If that&rsquo;s too much trouble, then simply send an email to them at
  Sjones102@rochester.rr.com&mdash;with the following
  information:

  Nominee&rsquo;s Name(s)

  Your reasons for nominating them

  Your name and club affiliation

  Your email address and phone number

  It&rsquo;s that simple!

  Selection for this significant honor is a cumulative
  process. Nominations are due by the end of February, but they are also
  held over into future years, and can accumulate to build a compelling
  case for &ldquo;your&rdquo; nominee. So, please don&rsquo;t
  hesitate. Send in your nomination any time. Like right now!


articleid: 235
position: 1
type: text
content:
  In the continuing effort to expand square dancing in our community, a
  group of enthusiastic dancers is in the process of reviving a dormant
  RAF Promotions Committee.

  RAF Vice Presidents, Jeff and Debbie Blood, have recruited volunteers
  with the goal of developing a sustainable and coordinated promotional
  effort aimed at bringing new dancers into classes at our various clubs
  along with helping to retain dancers at all levels&mdash;recent
  graduates through experienced dancers.

  The members of the recently formed RAF Promotions Committee are:

  Amy &amp; Kris Aeckerle<br>
  Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood<br>
  Laurie &amp; Dave Collins<br>
  Tracey &amp; Jim Lasch<br>
  Karen Olmsted &amp; Steve Barkley<br>
  Eileen Webster

  The committee held its first meeting in February and will be meeting
  again in March.

  It was decided a separate committee will be formed to focus on the
  challenge of accommodating solo dancers in classes and clubs. Debbie
  &amp; Jeff are currently recruiting members for this committee and
  hoping to hold their first meeting in March. Anyone interested in
  serving on this committee, please contact Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood at
  585-225-8751 or dfbjvbhome@aol.com

  Stay tuned for news about the activities of these committees and how
  you and your club can participate and benefit.


articleid: 236
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On December 15th, the Copy Cats&mdash;and many of their
  friends&mdash;gathered in Penfield for a holiday feast and
  dance. After the food was served and enjoyed, the punch began to flow,
  as did Mike Callahan&rsquo;s music&nbsp;&hellip; and the dancing. It
  was a class-club event, so many of us got a chance to meet and dance
  with this year&rsquo;s Copy Kittens. As you can see from the
  accompanying photos, all had a wonderful time.


articleid: 237
position: 1
type: text
content:
  We are very pleased to welcome two new clubs to the RAF family in the
  past two months. The Fun Bunch, dances on Tuesday evenings in Auburn,
  with Ron Schweitzer calling, and the Phoenix Pairs N Squares dance in
  Phoenix, NY.

  Look for news and dance schedules from both clubs as we get them
  integrated into the RAF website and the Promenader news
  cycle. Meanwhile, you can contact Joe Manning (315-246-9956) for
  information on the Fun Bunch, and Kathleen Harter (315-481-0570) for
  information on the Phoenix Pairs N Squares.


articleid: 238
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Spring, 2019, edition of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federattion of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 238
position: 03
type: text
content:
  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue includes
  photo articles on the Copy Cats excursion to the 2018 Tumbling Leaves
  Festival, and their Holiday dinner Dance. We also welcome two new
  clubs to the RAF family. There is also a description of re-invigorated
  RAF promotion efforts, as Debbie and Jeff Blood bring the Promotions
  Committee back to life.


articleid: 238
position: 05
type: text
content:
  Be sure to browse the rest of our website for complete dance schedules
  and information from the Rochester Area Federation&mdash;such
  as club reimbursement programs and forms, clubb insurance information
  and forms, and for the RAF meeting schedule and minutes.

  Note that our &ldquo;Breaking News&rdquo; section is located on the
  RAF Home page, between the buttons and the Open House listings. It has
  been active this winter, with news of cancelations and other urgent
  messages.

  And please click <a href="../articles/president-2019-03.html">HERE</a> for
  the quarterly message from the RAF President, Jim Gotta.


articleid: 238
position: 07
type: text
content:
  Nominations are due by end of February, but if you get them in right
  now (early March) it won&rsquo;t be too late. Now is the time to
  consider nominating worthy folks for the highest honor the dance
  community can bestow. Click <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a>
  for guidelines, a listing of past recipients and to download the
  nomination form. See the D-N Award article in this issue (Photos &amp;
  Features) for more information.


articleid: 238
position: 09
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say farewell to long-time dancers and friends Nancy
  Fincher (Batavia Silver Stars) and George Dormer (Village Squares).


articleid: 238
position: 11
type: text
content:
  In the October, 1962 Promenader, I found a great quote from Lee HeIsel
  on the subject of dance level:

  &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the Difference between a high-level club and a
  Iow-level club:

  In a low-level club you walk through first and then dance,

  In a high-level club you try to dance first then you walk
  through.&rdquo;

  A while back, my attention was focused on &ldquo;dance level&rdquo;
  issues, but more recently I have come to realize that the social
  aspects of square dancing are more important. Almost anyone can learn
  to dance, but only in a welcoming and supportive social
  setting. Over-emphasis on dance level&mdash;Basic, Mainstream,
  Plus, etc.&mdash;creates barriers and it leads us to neglect
  socialization. But without the strong social fabric within and between
  our clubs, it&rsquo;s a good bet there would be no dancing at all.

  I found a great article on this point in the monthly magazine
  &ldquo;American Square Dance.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s by Jim Mayo, and it
  highlights the social aspect of square dancing, which I think we often
  downplay as we focus on dancing levels and skills. I&rsquo;m working
  on getting permission to reproduce the full article, but here&rsquo;s
  the opening paragraph:

  &ldquo;Square Dancing is a wonderful recreation. It gives us exercise,
  both mental and physical. At its best, it lets us move, taking our
  steps in time to the music. But even more importantly in my opinion,
  it lets us enjoy each other. Of the three great values of our
  activity&mdash;movement, mental challenge and
  sociability&mdash;the greatest is sociability. The chance to
  meet people and to share with them the work and rewards of club
  membership is a benefit of modern square dancing that we don&rsquo;t
  often discuss. Yet it may be the most lasting and important of all the
  benefits of square dancing.&rdquo;


articleid: 238
position: 13
type: text
content:
  Bob had a problem getting up on time in the morning and was always
  late for work. Eventually his boss lost patience with Bob and
  threatened to fire him if he didn&rsquo;t get it under control.

  So, Bob went to the doctor, who gave him a prescription, directing Bob
  to take one pill each night before going to bed. He followed the
  directions and got a wonderful night&rsquo;s sleep, even beating the
  alarm in the morning. After a leisurely breakfast, he cheerfully drove
  to work.

  &ldquo;Well, boss,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;the pill my doctor
  prescribed actually works!&rdquo;

  &ldquo;That&rsquo;s fine, Bob,&rdquo; said the boss, &ldquo;but where
  were you yesterday?&rdquo;

  Keep dancing!


articleid: 240
position: 1
type: text
content:
  As our editor, Peter Emmel, pointed out from the &ldquo;American
  Square Dance&rdquo; magazine; &ldquo;Of the three great values of our
  activity&mdash;movement, mental challenge, and
  sociability&mdash;the greatest is sociability.&rdquo; This is
  something that the Cloverleaf Squares square dance club endeavors to
  include in its activities: Social Interaction. There is some activity
  for every dancer. The club holds events like, bowling nights, picnics,
  canal trash pickup, mystery rides, and dinners. This is an addition to
  their regular theme dances which encourage additional play and
  fun. Themes at the club have included Halloween costume night,
  Thanksgiving dinners, and Hawaiian night.

  Cloverleaf Squares is a singles oriented club, welcoming couples and
  families. Their activities are not designed for a &ldquo;singles
  meetup&rdquo; but just as a way for people to come together and not
  feel out-of-place or pressured to make connections. Having families
  and couples attend just adds to the inclusiveness and comfort for the
  solo dancer.

  Another way the club keeps the sociability aspect prominent with their
  dancers is to maintain various public platforms for members to keep
  informed and connected. They have an information line (585.987.5972)
  which is updated at least monthly with upcoming events. The club also
  uses it to post urgent messages such as winter closings. The club
  maintains web pages at www.cloverleafsquares.org. On its web page is
  news about upcoming events and pictures of past events. What fun it is
  to relive a distant or recent past event with your friends.

  The best venue to maintain that social contact is through its
  Facebook page. Many times after dances or activities there is a
  posting with a few remarks and some pictures. Commonly, former
  dancers will &ldquo;Like&rdquo; postings. The nature of the Facebook
  presence helps to provide memories for current or former dancers.
  Many appreciate the posts and even share some with their friends

  Dancing is the center of the club. Many members travel to other clubs
  either regionally or to outside festivals. Along with other Rochester
  dancers, some will attend the annual Washington Area Square Dancers
  Cooperative Association (WASCA) dance held every March. Around every
  Labor Day, the Single Square Dancers USA sees Cloverleaf dancers at
  many of their annual convention dances (Dance-A-Rama). The club has
  done a few banner stealing trips and other group trips to other local
  clubs. Last month, many members along with several Rochester dancers
  attended a Penn Yan Friendship Squares afternoon dance. Later they
  joined the Penn Yan club for an evening dinner.

  The club is planning for more &ldquo;adventures.&rdquo; Later in March
  will be another pancake breakfast trip to Cartwright&rsquo;s Maple
  Tree Inn in Angelica, NY. Their summer picnic will be on July 20th at
  Gates Fire District Station 3. As always, the club loves other dancers
  and families to join them at any of their dances or outside
  activities.


articleid: 241
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Holley&mdash;March 23, 2019. Romayne is predeceased by his
  first wife, Gloria Scott Barrett. He is survived by his wife Tanya
  "Toni" Barrett; children, Joan Cowen-Barrett, Richard (Tami) Barrett,
  Sue (Ron) Byron, Randall (Heidi) Barrett, Christine (Art) Gilman &amp;
  Andy Roushey; 15 grandchildren &amp; 13 great-grandchildren; brother
  Harold Barrett; sister in law, Kay (Brian) Daily; several nieces,
  nephews &amp; dear friends.

  Romayne was a member of the Scouts, achieving their highest honor as
  an Eagle Scout. He loved to square dance and was a life member and
  past president of the Cloverleaf Squares square dance club. Romayne
  worked for and eventually retired from Taylor Wine Co. in
  Hammondsport, NY. He was a gentle man, who loved life and found humor
  in almost any situation. He will truly be missed by family and
  friends. For more information about Romayne please visit
  www.walkerbrothersfh.com

  Published in Rochester Democrat And Chronicle on Mar. 28, 2019


articleid: 242
position: 2
type: text
content:
  As I&rsquo;m writing this, it is a beautiful spring day. We&rsquo;re
  mostly through our dance season and our 61st Dance-O-Rama is in the
  books. The Dance-O-Rama committee put in a lot of effort over the past
  year and certainly during the dance, and I think the results show
  it. Those of you who took the time to fill out a survey seemed to
  agree.

  Our activity continues only with more new dancers and callers and
  cuers coming into it. We had several new callers try out their talents
  at Village Square&rsquo;s Amateur night. I think everyone had a great
  time, and we need to continue to urge these individuals and others to
  keep going. As with everything, it takes practice.

  We had more new dancer graduates this year than the previous couple of
  years, but the biggest challenge as always is to keep the folks we
  have dancing.

  Once again this year we have several regional and national callers
  coming to the area to call dances (Preston, Bower, Shoemake, Gotta,
  Sikorsky). On top of these, the RAF Promotions Committee is looking to
  put together another couple of free dances in order to get everyone
  out sometime during the summer. I hope to see everyone, but
  particularly our new graduates out this summer having fun and keeping
  up the dance moves.

  Our next dance season begins in September with many clubs holding open
  houses, and don&rsquo;t forget our &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo;
  Federation Fall Ball. Find those friends and family with the dance
  moves and get them out on the dance floor. Get all your fellow club
  members and new graduates out to the Ball and get to know your fellow
  dancers from the other clubs.

  I&rsquo;d like to take this opportunity to recognize several
  folks. First is to thank Stu Jones for his service to the RAF board
  for the past year two years. I want to welcome new board members Kris
  and Amy Aeckerle as well as Rick and Donna LaDonna. The board looks to
  be as strong as ever and I look forward to another great year of
  dancing. I appreciate those that nominated and voted for Lurine and me
  for the Daphne Norma award, as well as all those that have expressed
  congratulations and appreciation. There are a lot of people in this
  activity that have been working a lot longer and harder than we
  have. Please take time to recognize them and potentially nominate them
  for one of of our awards next year.

  See you on the dance floor!

  Jim Gotta


articleid: 243
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Belles N Beaus Graduate Four New Dancers

  Our beginner square dance class graduated on Monday, April 29, with a
  the graduates being led into the room, under a bridge of two facing
  lines of club members with raised arms to form the bridge. A candle
  lighting ceremony highlighted the main elements of square dancing
  (Friendliness, Duty, Democracy, Fun). Diplomas were presented to each
  of the graduates. We celebrated with an Ice Cream social and
  &lsquo;graduate cupcakes&rsquo; following the ceremony.

  I am attaching a few pictures for the PROMENADER.

  Our four graduates are:

  Rosie Holley

  Don Felice

  Laurie Felice

  Carol Mesolella


articleid: 244
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At its April 4th meeting, the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs (RAF) elected its officers for the coming season:

  President&mdash;(continuing) Jim Gotta

  Vice Presidents&mdash;(continuing) Debbie Bllood and Jeff Blood

  Secretaries&mdash;(continuing) Gary Granath and Lorraine
  Granathh

  Treasurers&mdash;Rick LaDonna and Donna LaDonna

  Communications Liaison*&mdash;Amy Aeckerlle and Kris Aeckerle

  *In addition to serving as RAF VPs, Jeff and Debbie Blood occupied the
  Communications Liaison position for the past several months. During
  that time, they reconstituted the Promotions Committee, and lined up
  Amy and Kris Aeckerle to assume the Communications Liaison role in
  June and oversee the newly re-formed Promotions Committee. Jeff and
  Debbie will remain active members of the Promotions Committee under
  Amy and Kris.

  This re-development of the RAF&rsquo;s role in promoting square
  dancing and fostering collaboration among all clubs in our area is an
  extremely important initiative. Therefore, the RAF board agreed it
  would be better to leave the presidency and vice presidency &ldquo;as
  is&rdquo; for another year&mdash;to let Jeff and Debbie
  continuue to focus on facilitating these activities without the
  distractions of advancement to the presidency.

  The attached photo shows the RAF Board at its May 14 meeting, taking a
  break to smile for the camera before returning to planning next
  year&rsquo;s activities. If your club is not represented at these
  meetings, please consider volunteering to become your club&rsquo;s RAF
  representative.

  Gathered around this table roughly every month are the wonderful folks
  who bring you Dance O Rama, The Fall Friendship Ball and other
  multi-club events, as well as financial support (grants and
  reimbursements) for your club&rsquo;s dancer recruiting and retention
  efforts, dancer insurance for every member club, the RAF website
  (schedules and listings) and the Promenader (news, photos and
  articles). They are all dancers, just like you.


articleid: 245
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On May 11, the Cayuga Cut-Ups put on a feast to celebrate their 58th
  Anniversary in style. The fare included steak, corn, potato, salad and
  yummy desserts&mdash;and of course anniversary cake. The Hip
  Boot Boys&mdash;joined by an unexpected trio of
  &ldquo;Doo-Ahh&rdquo; girls&mdash;put on a wonderful show.

  On a beautiful day for the drive to Auburn, the event drew many
  couples from Rochester. Included were six couples from the Village
  Squares on a banner retrieval raid. (The photo is missing Jeff and
  Debbie Blood.)

  Many thanks to the Cayuga Cut-Ups for such a memorable evening, and
  kudos on your 58 years of dancing!


articleid: 246
position: 8
type: text
content:
  Here are the DOR 2019 survey results: 31 responses were received

  Printed copies of survey for dancers to complete were available at DOR in the main hall.
  There was also a link on the RAF website and on the RAF Facebook page: Square Dancing Rochester.

  <ul>
  <li>1. How often do you come to Dance-O-Rama?
  <ul>
  <li>Annually 74%
  Frequently 7%
  First Time 19%
  </ul>
  <li>2. Levels of dancing preferred:
  <ul>
  <li>Combinations of Plus &amp; Mainstream 87%
  <li>Other 13%
  </ul>
  <li>3. Venue&mdash;Perinton Rec Center
  <ul>
  <li>Favorable&mdash;Good to Excellent 87%
  <li>Neutral 6.5%
  <li>Unfavorable 6.5%
  </ul>
  <li>4. Anything we should change for next year:
  <ul>
  <li>Nothing or no response 58%
  <li>Location* *26%
  <li>More mainstream 3%
  <li>Want callers outside local area 10%
  <li>Wooden floor for rounds 3%
  <li>*This past year, Jeff and Debbie Blood have looked at 20 alternative locations for DOR.
  All of them have been eliminated due to at least one of the following:
  <ul>
  <li>a. Date availability (RAF bylaws restrict to 1st Saturday in May)
  <li>b. Inability to lock in date in advance
  <li>c. Organization&rsquo;s first preference for use of space
  <li>d. Dance floor issues&mdash;need special flooring, can&rsquo;t dance on their floors or carpeting
  (Renting dance flooring is cost-prohibitive.)
  <li>e. Room acoustics for large halls not suitable for square or round dance calling
  <li>f. Rental cost too high
  <li>g. Long distance from Rochester Area
  </ul>
  <li>Locations we have checked out and found are not available for DOR are listed below:
  <ul>
  Town of Greece Senior Center
  <li>Greece Central Schools
  <li>Pittsford Recreation Center
  <li>Henrietta Recreation Center
  <li>RMSC
  <li>RIT Inn Conference Center
  <li>Monroe Community College
  <li>Riversedge Party House
  <li>Charter School (formerly Greece Odyssey)
  <li>YMCA
  <li>Good Shepard&mdash;Henrietta
  <li>Arch Angel&mdash;Henrietta
  <li>St Judes&mdash;Spencerport
  <li>Father&rsquo;s House&mdash;Paul Rd
  <li>Gates Chili High School
  <li>Quality Inn&mdash;Gates&mdash;near airport
  <li>RIT Campus
  <li>Most Holy Trinity Church
  <li>Perinton Presbyterian Church
  </ul>
  <li>We found one location that could meet our needs: Sweden Walker Rd Rec Center in Brockport.
  However, it is no longer available for DOR on May 2, 2020. Major concern with this location is the distance and route access for the majority of our membership. The majority of our clubs dance on the East side of Rochester and in the Finger Lakes Area.
  <br><br>
  If anyone has suggestions for locations, please contact us at dfbjvbhome@aol.com and we will provide you the facilities requirements for DOR.
  </ul>
  <li>5. Dinner Feedback&mdash;From those that ate the dinner:
  <ul>
  <li>Favorable 79%
  <li>Neutral %
  <li>Unfavorable 7%
  </ul>
  <ul>
  <li>From those that did not eat the dinner:
  <ul>
  <li>11 people responded
  <li>9 responses were neutral
  <li>2 were unfavorable on the dinner: (1) cost and (1) food choice
  </ul>
  <li>Do you want dinner offered at future Dance-O-Ramas?
  <ul>
  <li>74% responded Yes
  </ul>
  </ul>
  <li>6. Parking
  <ul>
  <li>1&ndash;2 Passengers in car 64%
  <li>3&ndash;4 Passengers in car 13%
  <li>No response 23%
  </ul>
  </ul>
  <h3>Written Comments from Survey:</h3>
  <ul>
  <li>1. We love the people, nicest on the planet
  <li>2. Publish videos; get signoffs
  (DOR meeting interprets this to mean to get permission to make videos)
  <li>3. We had a great time, thank you
  <li>4. Shorter Daphne-Norma Award program
  <li>5. Didn&rsquo;t like type of food
  <li>6. Our callers are great, liked schedules handed out by greeters &amp; raffle ticket with # on it
  <li>7. Chicken was dry
  <li>8. Had a great time; line dance caller not mentioned on flyer
  <li>9. Coats and boots taken. Would be better if just DOR, not community
  <li>10. Dinner was late, form buffet line immediately not serve salad
  Dinner Hour calling very thin&mdash;may be think about it
  Dinner being late might have had something to do with this
  <li>11. Great. Lots of fun
  <li>12. All Great
  <li>13. teach hex dancing&mdash;6 couple per square
  <li>14. too much thru traffic with rec center, crowded. Dinner: need salt/pepper, serve own salad
  didn&rsquo;t care for pasta sauce
  <li>15. Great job, fun day. Dinner: what your served was great!
  <li>16. Any way to use gym to eliminate the sound problem. 2 lines with 2 tables
  (add additional serving line with 2 tables)
  <li>17. Don&rsquo;t like location, gym or larger rooms would be better.
  <li>Too crowded for graduation and awards, think people don&rsquo;t come too crowded
  <li>In previous years not enough food, didn&rsquo;t seem like food was a good value.
  <li>18. No credit given for line dancer on flyers or announcements
  <li>19. Anyone bending raffle tickets should be told their tickets will be pulled&nbsp;&hellip; unfair to rest of ticket holders
  <li>20. Dinner: back to Otto Tomato, prompt and better quality /selection of foods.
  <li>Great job with dance
  <li>21. Thanks for another great DOR
  <li>22. New comers didn&rsquo;t know what to expect, [put] info in FAQ on RAF website.
  <li>Verbal feedback on the sound and temperature in the Plus Hall B was very positive.
  <li>Extra speakers and more fans were added to the room this year.
  </ul>
  <h4>Additional feedback received at 5/14/19 RAF meeting:</h4>
  <ul>
  <li>Bring DOR closer to Genesee and Erie Counties
  <li>Half Day Tickets. If you come for the second half of the dance, it consists of dinner hour, parade,
  announcements, a little dancing and clean up.
  <li>Only the caller and one dancer in dance hall during supper hour.
  <li>She wanted to dance but there wasn&rsquo;t anyone to dance with.
  <li>Square were consistently breaking down in both rooms.
  <li>Are the new dancers graduating before they are ready?
  <li>Members from another club were not informed of the schedule by their club.
  <li>It wasn&rsquo;t until they arrived at the dance did they see a schedule.
  <li>They invited guests to watch them dance and it was the dinner hour.
  <li>I told them they need to talk to their club president.
  (FYI The dance schedule was available on Facebook [Square Dancing Rochester] prior to DOR)
  </ul>
  The DOR 2020 Committee will review the survey results and discuss
  the topic of evening tickets/ half day tickets at next DOR meeting in Sept.
  <h4>Square Dancing Rochester Facebook Page:</h4>
  <p>We are encouraging our members who use Facebook to join the RAF Facebook page: Square Dancing Rochester. Instructions for joining the RAF Facebook page are included in the RAF website guide that was sent to all recent graduates and club presidents. The RAF website includes a link to the RAF Facebook page as an additional way to keep members informed.

  For announcements, photos and &ldquo;late-breaking&rdquo; news, you can&nbsp;&hellip;
  follow us on Facebook: Square Dancing Rochester
  and/or visit the RAF website: http://www.squaredancingrochester.org

  We hope everyone had a great time at DOR 2019 and hope to see you next year at DOR 2020 on May 2.

  <a href="../png/201906-Survey.pdf">Survey</a>

  Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood

  DOR 2019 &amp; 2020 Co-Chairs

  RAF Vice Presidents

  Email: dfbjvbhome@aol.com


articleid: 247
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Summer, 2019 issue of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 247
position: 03
type: text
content:
  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue includes
  several articles on Dance-O-Rama, the RAF&rsquo;s annual spring
  festival, held on the first Saturday of May. In addition to three
  halls of square and round dancing, the festivities include welcoming
  ceremonies for new Mainstream graduates, dancer recognition awards and
  a fundraising raffle of club baskets. In this issue you&rsquo;ll find
  articles on all of these.

  The RAF is always seeking ways to improve its programs and events. 31
  Dancer Feedback questionnaires were filled out by DOR dancers this
  year. Results are summarized in an article in this issue. If you did
  not fill in one of the questionnaires, the planners of next
  year&rsquo;s Dance-O-Rama would still like to hear your opinions on
  how this festival could be made better. Please click <a href="../flyers/DOR-Survey-2019.pdf">HERE</a> to download
  the Dance-O-Rama feedback questionnaire. Please fill it out and scan
  or mail it to Jeff and Debbie Blood at the address shown on the sheet.

  Other articles in this issue cover graduations (at clubs who submitted
  photos) and other special events, such as the Amateur Caller Night
  held by the Village Squares in May. The summer Promenader also
  includes an article introducing new Federation officers who assume
  their new posts in June.


articleid: 247
position: 05
type: text
content:
  A notable newly re-constituted group within the RAF is the Promotions
  Committee, to be headed by Amy and Chris Aeckerle as they assume the
  post of Communications Liaison. Watch for this committee to organize
  events aimed at dancer recruitment and retention. A related article in
  this issue presents a few things that I think are important for clubs
  to think about and adjust in coordinating these efforts.


articleid: 247
position: 07
type: text
content:
  Whether you are a new graduate or a seasoned dancer, you should mark
  your 2019 calendar for the September 28th Fall Friendship Ball, which
  will be held in Penfield at the First Baptist Church. This is the
  RAF&rsquo;s annual &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; dance. As in the past
  the dancing will take place in the afternoon, from 2pm to around 5pm,
  followed this year by a pot luck dinner. The dance will be free to
  2019 graduates, but pricing for other dancers will be tailored to
  encourage them to bring food and/or a recent graduate with them.


articleid: 247
position: 09
type: text
content:
  Reminder: The RAF website has a &ldquo;Late Breaking News&rdquo;
  feature. When clubs notify Sidney Marshall (RAF Webmaster&mdash;sidneym@frontiernet.net) of a cancellation or other short-notice
  announcement, he will post it immediately on the RAF Home Page
  (www/squaredancingrochester.org), under a banner titled &ldquo;LATE
  BREAKING NEWS.&rdquo;

  For maximum distribution of their messages, clubs should use this in
  addition to the &ldquo;SquareDancingRochester&rdquo; Facebook page.


articleid: 247
position: 11
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say farewell to Buffalo area caller Larry Dunn and
  Cloverleaf dancer Romaine Barrett.


articleid: 247
position: 13
type: text
content:
  An article included in this issue gives my thoughts on avoiding
  schedule conflicts that happen too frequently. Conflicts cause grief
  to clubs who plan special events that depend on attracting dancers
  from other clubs. Conscientious use of the Calendar of Special Events
  on this website can help avoid conflicts.


articleid: 247
position: 15
type: text
content:
  English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the
  creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at
  all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when
  the lights are out, they are invisible.

  Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an
  asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a
  play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have
  noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat
  chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? If
  teachers taught, why didn&rsquo;t preachers praught? If a vegetarian
  eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

  You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your
  house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by
  filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.


articleid: 248
position: 01
type: text
content:
  The Parade of Graduates was more than twice as long as last
  year&rsquo;s, with 65 new dancers at Dance-O-Rama 2019. Nine area
  square dance clubs introduced their Mainstream class graduates at this
  year&rsquo;s festival in Fairport on May 4.

  The June Promenader issue is our opportunity to congratulate and
  welcome all 65 of this year&rsquo;s graduates by name. We encourage
  you all to continue dancing throughout the summer and return in the
  fall to expand your circle of dancing friends. In particular we look
  forward to seeing you at the Fall Friendship Ball on September 28th at
  the Penfield Baptist Church.

  2019 Square Dance Graduates:

  Batavia Silver Stars:
  <br>
  Lindsay Perry
  <br>
  Belles N Beaus
  <br>
  Don Felice
  <br>
  Laurie Felice
  <br>
  Rosie Holley
  <br>
  Carol Mesolella

  Cayuga Cut-Ups:
  <br>
  Katie Brock
  <br>
  Aubrey Davis
  <br>
  Paul Green
  <br>
  Betty Green

  Cloverleaf Squares:
  <br>
  Kathy Buechel
  <br>
  Christopher Ferra
  <br>
  Debbie Monson-Mercado
  <br>
  Katherine Cuyler
  <br>
  Victor Harter
  <br>
  Simone Harter
  <br>
  Darlene Traughber
  <br>
  Thayton Traughber

  Copy Cats:
  <br>
  Madeline Azoulay
  <br>
  Mitch Berner
  <br>
  Deb Bower
  <br>
  Jeff Vincent
  <br>
  Elizabeth Burgwardt
  <br>
  Barb Crawford
  <br>
  Kathleen Hoesterey
  <br>
  Justin Hoesterey
  <br>
  Donna Indovina
  <br>
  Bob Indovina
  <br>
  Larry Kilbury
  <br>
  Betty Ann Manganello
  <br>
  Joan Manganello
  <br>
  Ginny Mills
  <br>
  Pete Mills
  <br>
  Betty Morley
  <br>
  Michelle Orr
  <br>
  Brian Orr
  <br>
  Jolene Overhauser
  <br>
  John Overhauser
  <br>
  Pietra Santacroce

  Fulton Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts:
  <br>
  Janet Wiehle-Amond
  <br>
  John Klimachefsky
  <br>
  Margie Klimachefsky
  <br>
  Chris Coufal
  <br>
  Naomi Coufal
  <br>
  Stef Mueller
  <br>
  Karen Lynch
  <br>
  Fun Bunch
  <br>
  John Roden
  <br>
  Bonnie Gloskey
  <br>
  Brooke McCarthy
  <br>
  Vince Klock

  Silver Squares:
  <br>
  Kathy Bader
  <br>
  Mary Hunt
  <br>
  Lea-Marie Inserra
  <br>
  Hal Julius
  <br>
  Mary Julius
  <br>
  Jim Mc Atee
  <br>
  Gayle Pyke
  <br>
  Joe Scanlon
  <br>
  Mary Scanlon
  <br>
  Alice Sission
  <br>
  Gae Zanche

  Waterwheel Squares:
  <br>
  Linnette Ramey
  <br>
  Guy Ramey
  <br>
  Alicyn Ringler
  <br>
  Jim Simmons
  <br>
  Karen Sterman


articleid: 249
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Hundreds of thousands of people square dance. But few people become
  callers, whose individualized, rhythmic patter directs the dancers
  into their choreographed moves.

  When Lawrence F. Dunn was first invited to a YMCA square dance as a
  young man, he &ldquo;wanted no part of it,&rdquo; said his longtime
  companion, Arlene Nowak. Yet he went on to become a busy and popular
  Western-style square dance caller who founded three local dance
  clubs.

  A lifelong resident of Kenmore, Mr. Dunn died March 6, 2019, in
  Kenmore Mercy Hospital. He was 81.

  Mr. Dunn was the first child of Lawrence M. Dunn and Mildred Rosinski
  Dunn and the brother of James M. Dunn.

  He graduated from St. Joseph&rsquo;s Collegiate Institute in 1956 and
  studied business at Bryant &amp; Stratton College. He became an early
  computer programmer, working in what was then called the &ldquo;IBM
  Department&rdquo; of Sylvania in Buffalo, Dunlop Tire and DuPont in
  Tonawanda. He completed several training classes in IBM computers at
  each job, then was hired to manage the IBM Department at CA Hackett
  on Military Road in the Town of Tonawanda. After that company closed,
  he worked as a computer consultant until he retired in the 1980s.

  But Mr. Dunn was best known for his more than 50 years of involvement
  in the square dance community.

  After finally being coaxed onto the floor at that first square dance,
  Mr. Dunn realized, &ldquo;Hmm, I can do this; as a matter of fact,
  I&rsquo;m pretty good at this,&rdquo; Nowak said. A friend&rsquo;s
  father who was a caller encouraged Mr. Dunn to give calling a try.

  Mr. Dunn started calling square dances in 1964. The same year, he
  formed his first square dance club, the Village Squares, which
  continues today. He also formed two other challenge-level clubs for
  more experienced dancers, the Perfecto&rsquo;s and the Diamond
  D&rsquo;s, which also remain active.

  In his early days as a caller, &ldquo;he used to memorize the whole
  dance,&rdquo; Ms. Nowak said.

  For his 45th high school reunion, Mr. Dunn wrote of the joy he
  experienced when his students forgot their cares on the dance floor.
  &ldquo;While I was at St. Joe&rsquo;s, I never thought that I would
  become an entertainer, because I was so shy,&rdquo; he wrote.

  Mr. Dunn was known for his style and patience with beginners, Nowak
  said. &ldquo;Calling is all teaching,&rdquo; Nowak said.
  &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what made him happy, introducing people to square
  dancing. It&rsquo;s such a fun activity, and he made everything fun
  because of his personality.&rdquo;

  While the popular image of Western square dancers includes women in
  colorful full skirts supported by layers of crinolines paired with
  men in matching shirts, Mr. Dunn instructed beginners in street
  clothes, Nowak said. &ldquo;He did a lot of parties and block
  parties, and people came as they were, in jeans or shorts,&rdquo; she
  said.

  The Village Square club was known for its demonstrations at the Erie
  County Fair, the Kenmore Memorial Day Parade, Darien Lake,
  Cheektowaga Town Park, First Night Buffalo, the Taste of Buffalo and
  at many other events.

  Mr. Dunn also wrote a square dance call, titled &ldquo;With the
  Flow,&rdquo; that has become popular and is widely used, Nowak said.

  He was a longtime member of CALLERLAB, the international association
  of modern Western square dance callers.

  Mr. Dunn and Nowak met in October 1980, when she attended a square
  dance in the Polish Cadets Hall in Buffalo at the encouragement of
  her boss, who was a square dancer. They were together for more than
  38 years.

  Mr. Dunn was an amateur genealogist for 40 years. In a nod to his
  half-Irish heritage, he put together a leprechaun costume that he
  would wear to St. Patrick&rsquo;s Day parties and dances, Nowak said.
  &ldquo;He had pointed shoes, green silk clothes and a top hat,&rdquo;
  she said. He was a lifelong member of St. Paul&rsquo;s Roman Catholic
  Church in Kenmore. Besides Nowak, Mr. Dunn is survived by his brother
  James, a niece, two nephews and seven great-nieces and -nephews.


articleid: 250
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The 2019 Fall Friendship Ball is scheduled for Saturday afternoon,
  September 28, at the First Baptist in Penfield Church (same venue as
  the Copy Cats regular dances). This will be an afternoon dance,
  followed by a pot luck supper.

  This dance was conceived as an opportunity for new dancers and
  established dancers to get together and kick off another season of
  dancing. However, in its first three tries, there have been very few
  recent grads in attendance. So, a few changes are planned for 2019.

  Details are yet to be worked out, but in the interest of improving
  attendance by recent graduates, instead of making the event
  free-of-charge for all, there will be a &ldquo;sliding scale&rdquo; cost
  for dancers. All 2019 graduates will be admitted free of charge, but
  the cost for all others will be $5 per person, reduced to $3 if you
  bring a dish to pass, and free-of-charge if you &ldquo;bring&rdquo; a
  graduate.

  It sounds complicated, but the idea is to encourage established
  dancers to take the initiative and connect with recent graduates and
  ensure that they join us for this dance.

  Each club should work out how they want to make these connections. One
  idea would be to come as a group, or at least coordinate your arrival,
  so you can check in dancers and grads at the same time. Another
  approach might be to put out a sign-up list at your September dances,
  for grads and dancers to pair up in advance on paper, and agree to
  check in together at the Friendship Ball. Perhaps clubs with a large
  number of graduates could reach out to other clubs to find
  &ldquo;sponsors&rdquo; for some of their grads.

  At DOR, graduates received a copy of the Fall Friendship Ball flyer in
  their &ldquo;welcome&rdquo; packet, so they are all aware of this special
  dance, but that&rsquo;s never been enough. We are reminded time and
  again over the years that it&rsquo;s the personal touch&mdash;the direct
  person-to-person invitation from an established dancer&mdash;that makes
  new dancers feel welcome and brings them out to dance and socialize.

  Please do your part and &ldquo;bring a graduate&rdquo; to the Fall
  Friendship Ball!


articleid: 251
position: 01
type: text
content:
  The Rochester area&rsquo;s 2019 Dance-O-Rama was a delightful
  afternoon and evening of dancing and socializing that brought together
  255 dancers from the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes area.

  This annual festival is also the official welcome for graduates from
  the mainstream program of square dance instruction. Festival
  organizers, Jeff and Debbie Blood, noted that &ldquo;there were a total of
  65 graduates from 9 of our clubs that sponsored mainstream
  classes.&rdquo; (2019 graduates are listed in a separate article on
  this page.)

  Dance-O-Rama not only introduces new dancers to the wider dancing
  community, it also provides an opportunity to publicly recognize and
  acknowledge the outstanding contributions that certain dancers make to
  keeping this wonderful activity alive and well in our area.

  We do this through two awards. The Daphne-Norma Leadership Award is a
  Rochester Area Federation award established in 1977 by John Fink and
  Frank Salvaggio, in honor of their wives, Daphne and Norma, to express
  appreciation for extensive and sustained leadership in square
  dancing. The Circle of Service Award was established at the national
  square dance convention in 1985 to recognize dancers who have made
  significant contributions to square dancing. (The 2019 recipients are
  covered in separate articles on this page, and previous recipients are
  listed in the Awards section of this website.)

  D-O-R is also the principal fund-raising opportunity of the year for
  the Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs (RAF),
  primarily through the club basket raffle and 50/50 ticket sales. This
  year the event raised $1,692.

  Most of this will be put to use in two RAF programs. One of those is
  the Dancer Recruitment and Retention Fund, which supports the efforts
  of individual clubs through reimbursements and grants. The other is
  the RAF&rsquo;s Promotion &amp; Communications committee program,
  spreading the word about square dancing to prospective new dancers
  throughout our area and sponsoring dances and other events aimed at
  encouraging graduates to keep dancing. (For more on these activities,
  click the green &ldquo;Federation&rdquo; button at the top of this page.)

  Thanks to all of the many folks who made this year&rsquo;s
  Dance-O-Rama such a success. As you can see from the accompanying
  photos, it was a lot of fun!

  (Note: Dancer feedback collected via questionnaires at the festival is
  summarized in a separate article on this page)


articleid: 252
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Every year our clubs work hard recruiting new prospective dancers to
  join beginner classes and learn Mainstream dancing. Recruits who stay
  with the program through the first season are the new dancers we
  welcome at DOR in the Parade of Graduates.

  Many of those graduates will continue dancing through the summer,
  encouraged by club members to learn an additional set of calls&mdash;the
  Plus calls&mdash;so they can come back and dance with the club&mdash;since
  most (with the laudable exception of the Belles N Beaus) dance at the
  &ldquo;Plus&rdquo; level. But, sadly, many graduates do not come back to
  become long-term dancers. Why is this?

  One reason is that the one-year class cycle is too short to build a
  strong foundation of dancing skills, even at the Mainstream
  level. Most can learn the basics in that time, but it takes more than
  one season to become confident enough&mdash;both skill-wise and in terms
  of social comfort&mdash;to dance through the embarrassment of broken-down
  squares.

  The best remedy for this is painless&nbsp;&hellip; and, actually, a lot of fun:
  MORE DANCING!

  So, to help graduates&mdash;and the rest of the dancing community&mdash;to do
  more dancing over the summer, the RAF Promotions Committee, as well as
  the leaders of many clubs, are going out of their way to organize
  dances and social events that are built around Mainstream dancing.

  These events should be supported and attended by new&mdash;and not-so-new&mdash;dancers, to help build social connections as well as exercise
  dancing skills.

  To find these events, look for them in the Calendar of Special Events
  on the Promenader page of the RAF website (Click <a href="../promenader.html#specialdances">HERE</a>). In this
  listing, and in the website&rsquo;s schedule pages, the code letters
  at the right-hand end of each listing indicate the &ldquo;format&rdquo; of
  the event. (Click <a href="../schedule/key.html">HERE</a> to look up what the codes mean.)

  Unfortunately, I&rsquo;ve noticed that not all clubs are using the
  codes in a way that&rsquo;s helpful to dancers who want to know how
  much dancing they will be able to do at a given event. For example, it
  would be useful if an &ldquo;M&rdquo; code on an event listing meant that a
  Mainstream dancer would be able to dance at least half the tips. In
  that case &ldquo;MP&rdquo; would mean that Mainstream and Plus tips would
  split approximately 50/50.

  But I think that&rsquo;s not what clubs mean when they include both
  code letters. I see both letters in the listings for events that I
  know would leave a Mainstream dancer on the sidelines most of the
  time.

  So, my recommendation is to look up the club&rsquo;s contact person in
  the &ldquo;CLUBS&rdquo; page of the RAF website (click <a href="../clubs.html">HERE</a>), tell them
  which dance(s) you are interested in and ask how a Mainstream dancer
  would enjoy it. For dances sponsored by the Federation, you can
  contact the RAF Promotions Committee chairpersons, Kris or Amy
  Aeckerle (aaeckerle@yahoo.com).

  Another way to find details on the format of a dance is to look up the
  flyer. For each event that has a flyer, there is a link to the flyer
  in all schedule listings for that event&mdash;click the word
  &ldquo;flyer&rdquo; in the listing.

  All posted flyers are in chronological order on a browsable page of
  thumbnail flyer images. Find that page by clicking the yellow &ldquo;Ads
  and Flyers&rdquo; button on the Promenader page (Click <a href="../promenader.html">HERE</a>), and then
  scroll through the entire current flyer library. When you find a flyer
  you are interested in, click anywhere in the image of the flyer. This
  will open a full-page PDF version of the flyer that you can download
  and/or print.

  In addition to individual event flyers, some clubs create a special
  flyer that lists all their special dances and events for the whole
  season. These flyers tend to be at the top of the browsable &ldquo;Ads
  &amp; Flyers&rdquo; page, so it&rsquo;s a good idea to look there
  first.

  If you have ANY trouble finding these items on the website, please do
  not hesitate to contact me (pemmel@frontiernet.net) or any established
  dancer who is familiar with the site. It is accessible by any device
  with a web browser&mdash;i.e. by computer, by tablet or by smart phone.

  Note to club presidents and sign-in table greeters:

  Each graduate received a &ldquo;welcome&rdquo; packet at DOR. One of the
  items in the packet was a special Free Dance Card that entitles each
  new graduate to one free dance at eighteen of the RAF clubs.

  New graduates have been advised to use the RAF website codes as a
  guide when checking the clubs dance program level. It was indicated to
  them that most callers will call a mainstream tip upon request.

  So, please prepare your club to welcome our 2019 graduates when they
  present their ticket, and please alert your caller that they are
  expecting to be able to dance at least a few tips.

  This is one way we can all participate in the process of welcoming new
  dancers into this wonderful activity.


articleid: 253
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At Dance-O-Rama, 2019, the Daphne-Norma Leadership award was presented
  to Jim and Lurine Gotta. Following is the citation read by Jane Jones
  at the presentation:

  &ldquo;This year&rsquo;s recipients of the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award
  are a very special couple&mdash;always ready, always willing. They are
  quite unique in that one partner works more behind the scenes while
  the other is very visible.

  With encouragement and support from his better half&mdash;this person has
  become a prominent caller aand cuer. He is very involved in promoting
  square dancing and is especially willing to be a guest caller. His
  easy ways with new dancers have helped him become a very effective
  teacher. He organized open square dancing at the Greece Town Hall
  Senior Center. where he has demonstrated excellent teaching skills. He
  can get people who have never danced before&mdash;up dancing in a very
  short time.

  He has become the caller for Champagne Whirl-A-Ways and has stepped in
  to call for Happy Squares at the Pittsford Community Center. He is
  also a prominent member of the Caller&rsquo;s Co-Op. He willingly
  assumes a leadership role whenever one is needed. He calls for any
  clubs when asked, if he is available.

  This person was Vice-President for two years and President for two
  years of the Rochester Area Federation and was Chairperson and acting
  Chairperson of Dance-O-Rama for two years. He will continue as
  President of the RAF for another year.

  This couple have been members of Copy Cats and Cloverleafs since 2011
  and of Shamrock Squares since 2014. They also dance with Boo Bull
  Squares and DBD.

  This person&rsquo;s wife is not only encouraging and supportive&mdash;she
  also does her part helping out whenever she is needed. One of her
  specialties is dancing the male role whenever it is needed.

  We all know that behind every good man who has significant
  achievements&mdash;there is a wonderfully strong aand supportive woman.

  So&mdash;on behalf of the Daphne-Norma Selection Committee, it gives us
  grreat pleasure to introduce you to the recipients of the 2019
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award&mdash;Jim and Lurine Gotta&rdquo;


articleid: 254
position: 1
type: text
content:
  It happens way too often. Special dances end up scheduled on the same
  night, so attendance at both events is less than what it could have
  been.

  At best, this means dancers miss out on interesting events because
  they can&rsquo;t be in both places at once. At worst, it turns what
  could have been two profitable events into drains on the treasury of
  two clubs.

  This has been a perennial challenge over the years, and various
  efforts have been made to avoid these clashes. Dance calendars
  published in the paper Promenader were helpful, but in the paper
  version they only covered three months out.

  For many years Ken Georger (Country Twirlers) maintained (by hand) a
  &ldquo;Master Calendar.&rdquo; But he could only list events that clubs
  notified him about and to avoid a conflict a club had to call Ken and
  ask if the date(s) they wanted were free. Ken did what he could to
  remind clubs with regular &ldquo;big&rdquo; dances to schedule them early,
  but it was inconvenient and not enough clubs used it to make it
  completely reliable.

  The paper Promenader included a Calendar of Special Events on its
  front inside cover, based on Ken&rsquo;s Master Calendar, but it had
  similar limitations&mdash;you had to have a copy of the magazine to read
  it, and of course it couldn&rsquo;t list events that hadn&rsquo;t been
  submitted yet.

  Now, in the Age of Information, we should be able to solve this
  problem. For $5 per event, the electronic Promenader&rsquo;s
  &ldquo;Calendar of Special Events&rdquo; can be instantly accessed from
  anywhere in the world on devices that you can carry in your pocket. It
  lists dances and other events as far out as they are known. (Click
  <a href="../promenader.html#specialdances">HERE</a>.)

  However, it still can&rsquo;t list events that haven&rsquo;t been
  submitted. This is where you come in.

  Every club with scheduled special events should take advantage of this
  listing to secure their date(s), especially if they expect to draw
  dancers from outside their club. And they should do it as soon as the
  date is known. That is the best way of avoiding conflict over dates.

  Clubs planning such events should consult the same Special Events
  Calendar to find open dates. And when they settle on a date, they
  should send $5 ($10 for non-RAF member organizations) to the RAF
  Treasurer (Rick LaDonna, 67 Grandview Drive, Fairport, NY 14450) and send an email (to
  Promenader@rochester.rr.com) giving whatever basic event information
  is settled&mdash;even if it&rsquo;s just the date, organization and name
  of dance.

  If you are a board member of your club, or are part of the team
  organizing an event, when the date is being discussed, speak up and
  ask if anyone has consulted the online Events Calendar to see which
  dates are free&mdash;in fact, you can do it yourself, right there at the
  meeting!

  And when the date is settled, speak up and make sure that the action
  items include contacting the Promenader to post the event and sending
  the check to the RAF Treasurer.

  Also, if you are the club&rsquo;s reporter, sending quarterly
  schedules and news to the Promenader, we encourage you to send in your
  dance schedule for as far out as you have it settled. Even if a few
  dates have aspects that are still unsettled, those can be added
  later. The important thing is to make your dates visible to planners
  from other clubs. To increase your turnout from outside your club,
  think outside your club!

  All other clubs thank you!


articleid: 255
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At Dance-O-Rama, 2019, the Circle Of Service award was presented to
  Warren and Doreen Olson. Following is the citation read by Peter Emmel
  at the presentation:

  &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll start with a description of the Circle of Service award&nbsp;&hellip;

  This circle is the symbol of service to square & round dancing. It is
  designed to be worn with pride by dancers who have received it in
  recognition of their significant contribution to the square and round
  dance movement.

  The award itself is a pattern of interlocking squares and circles that
  symbolize the importance of each such individual to the total picture,
  and the strong bond between the two &ldquo;sister&rdquo; dance activities,
  square dancing and round dancing.

  This award can be worn as a pin or as a dangle. It is a
  &ldquo;dancers-only&rdquo; award, as in &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just a dancer&rdquo;
  and it is always presented by a previous recipient&mdash;a member of the
  Circle of Service.

  This year, it is Sally&rsquo;s and my great pleasure to welcome Warren
  and Doreen Olson to the Circle of Service. They have been dancers for
  I don&rsquo;t know how many years. I believe they started at
  Swingin&rsquo; Singles, with Jerry Carmen calling. Then, after some
  years off to raise a family, they resumed dancing with the Village
  Squares and the Copy Cats.

  More than &ldquo;just dancers&rdquo; Warren and Doreen have served in
  leadership roles at the Copy Cats and at the Federation&nbsp;&hellip; that&rsquo;s
  not the Death Star, it&rsquo;s the Rochester Area Federation of Round
  and Square Dance Clubs&nbsp;&hellip; or RAF, as Warren calls iit.

  Square dancing is a group activity, and many people contribute to make
  things happen, but I think anyone who knows Warren and Doreen will
  agree that, over the years, their imagination and energy has been key
  to numerous successful Copy Cats and RAF initiatives.

  Rather than list them all, let&rsquo;s welcome our good friends Warren
  and Doreen to come up and receive their well-deserved award.&rdquo;


articleid: 256
position: 0
type: text
content:
  On May 15, the Village Squares held their biennial Amateur Caller
  Talent Night, with five amateurs calling for six squares of
  dancers. We all had a great time, and when the ballots were counted,
  Judi Schoonmaker ended up taking home the notorious frog.

  The amateurs and their tunes were (in order of performance):

  Peter Emmel&mdash;Sally is a Good Ol&rsquo; Girl

  Judi Schoonmaker&mdash;Purple People Eater

  Evan DeSmitt&mdash;Marry You

  Carl Webster&mdash;Save Your Heart For Me

  Henry Capron&mdash;Calendar Girl

  We hope that all, and more, will return next year when it will be the
  Cloverleafs turn in the alternation of amateur nights.


articleid: 257
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On April 23, following a season of lessons from Ron Brown, the Copy
  Cats put 21 Kittens through the formalities of completing their
  Mainstream square dance education. The tests were evaluated and the
  ceremony went forward, welcoming all to the ranks of square dance
  graduates.

  Congratulations to you all! We hope to see you on the dance floor over
  the summer and throughout the coming years!


articleid: 258
position: 2
type: text
content:
  What do the Copy Cats do when the regular season of dancing is over?
  Why we dance, of course. And at the annual end-of-the-year picnic,
  held this year at the Aldrich Road lodge in Perinton, we ate and
  played games, and we honored special Copy Cats Rick and Donna LaDonna
  with the Rathke award for outstanding volunteer service to the
  club. Bill Ryan provided the music and calls for the Copy Cats and our
  recently-graduated Kittens. Pictured (L-R) are Jim Lasch, Tami
  Adams-King, Laurie Collins, Dave Collins, Wally King, Liz Beauter,
  Royce Rogers


articleid: 258
position: 4
type: text
content:
  Several of our members attended the 68th National Square Dance
  Convention in Atlanta, Georgia where they attended many dance sessions
  as well as helpful workshops on topics such as attracting and keeping
  younger dancers. Pictured (L-R) are Jeff and Debbie Blood, Mary Martin
  and Phil LaRussa.


articleid: 258
position: 8
type: text
content:
  Even though the weather outside was far from cold the Copy Cats had a
  Christmas In July dance at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in
  Webster. The dance was attended by eight squares of brrrrave
  dancers. Santa even made an appearance, thanks to our guests from
  Cayuga Cut Ups who stole our banner. Now, I ask you, is that a nice
  thing for St. Nicholas to do? Isn&rsquo;t it better to give than to
  receive? Ron Brown and Jeanne Harter added to the festive mood with
  costumes and Christmas music as they called and cued for the
  dancers. And, yes, there were even Christmas Cutout Cookies. Thank
  you, new Kitten graduates, for the creative decorations.


articleid: 259
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On July 6, 2019, Sally and Jim Lee were presented with the Circle of
  Service Award by Sally Baechle. They have been square and round
  dancing for almost four decades, beginning with Boots N Slippers
  (Hilton) and now Silver Squares (Rochester). They have been officers
  in both clubs and have served with the Rochester Federation where they
  were active in promoting square dancing in our area. Jim and Sally
  were honored to receive this well-deserved award.


articleid: 260
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Patrick J. O&rsquo;Shea, Chili, NY, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August
  4, 2019 at age 91. Predeceased by his wife, Rita; brothers and sister,
  Jerimiah, Gerald and Maureen Sauer. Survived by his children, James
  (Lydia) and Karen (Ben TenEyck); grandchildren, Dennis, Ryan, Brooke
  and Alexandra; great-grandchildren, Scarlett, Quinn and Presley;
  brother, Daniel; special friend, Elaine Jezsik; and many nieces and
  nephews. Patrick was a US Navy Veteran who served during the Korean
  War.

  A Celebration of Life Mass was held at St. Pius Tenth Church, 3000
  Chili Avenue. Interment was at St. Pius Cemetery. Memorials may be
  made to St. Pius Tenth Church or Honor Flight.

  (Obituary was published in Rochester Democrat And Chronicle on
  Aug. 11, 2019)

  Special note from Elaine Jezsik:

  It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Patrick O&rsquo;Shea went
  home to be with his God, along with family &amp; friends who passed
  before him. He turned 91 on June 17th. I was privileged to be part of
  his life for 20 years and I will miss him dearly. He was the kindest
  man I have ever known. Patrick loved and was proud of and thankful for
  his children, Jim &amp; Karen and the rest of the family. He was also
  proud of his IRISH heritage.

  Pat was a member of CLOVERLEAF SQUARES for many years. As a member he
  was always willing to lend a helping hand. He also served on the board
  and really enjoyed dancing. We made many good friends through the
  club.


articleid: 261
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Mary C. Jackson passed away in Chili on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at
  age 76. She was predeceased by her son, Rich, and is survived by her
  husband of 50 years, Robert; children, Mark and David (Rebecca
  Kingman); brother, Tom (Trudy) Cravens; sister, Julie (Steve) Edmonds;
  brother-in-law, Doug (Lynn) Jackson; several nieces, nephews and dear
  friends.

  Mary received a Bachelor&rsquo;s Degree from Ohio University and a Master&rsquo;s
  Degree from the University of Rochester. She was employed through the
  years at Strong Memorial Hospital, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics and
  Emery and Scuro DMD. She was an active member of the Parkminster
  Church and Pearce Memorial FMC for many years. Mary was a part of the
  Rochester Oratorio Society for many years and enjoyed reading,
  gardening, singing, spending time with family and engaging in
  light-hearted mischief. She was a beloved friend to all who knew her.

  Starting in the mid 90s, Mary and Bob square danced with the Country
  Twirlers club, where they were members until it closed down. More
  recently, Mary was an active member of Silver Squares. At square
  dancing, she was known for her sense of humor and wonderful smile! She
  will be greatly missed.

  A Celebration of Mary&rsquo;s Life was held Saturday, August 10 at
  Parkminster Presbyterian Church, 2710 Chili Ave. Private Interment at
  Mt. Rest Cemetery, Bergen, NY. In lieu of flowers memorials may be
  made to American Cancer Society or InterVaristy Christian Fellowship.


articleid: 262
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Paula Louise Schumacher (maiden name MacKenzie, Ott) of Baldwinsville,
  NY, passed away unexpectedly on June 10, 2019 at the age of 61. She is
  survived by her husband of 40 years Ray Allen Schumacher, mother Mary
  Lou Ott (Edwards), father Melvin Ott, daughter Amy Lynn Schumacher,
  grand-daughter Thalia River Schumacher-Schmidt and son-in-law Kevin
  Schmidt.

  Paula was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and daughter. She was
  born in Detroit, Michigan on December 14, 1957. As a child, she moved
  with her family to Holland, Michigan, where she met Ray, became
  childhood friends and then high school sweethearts. They were married
  in 1978 and moved to Syracuse, NY in 1980 to start a life and family.

  Paula was an enthusiastic genealogist. She used historical records to
  trace her family history hundreds of years back to the Highlands in
  Scotland and Poland. She delighted in helping other people to discover
  their heritage. Paula loved to laugh, travel, take cruises, care for
  her dog, and knit for her family. She enjoyed square dancing with her
  husband and served as President of the Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts Square Dance
  Club in Fulton, NY.

  Services were held on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at the Maurer Funeral
  Home Moyers Corners, 3541 State Route 31, Baldwinsville, NY 13027.

  Contributions may be made to CNY SPCA, 5878 E Molloy Road, Syracuse,
  NY 13211.

  (Obituary was published in The Holland Sentinel on June 18, 2019)

  Special note from Ray Schumacher:

  Paula and I started square dancing with the Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts Square
  Dance Club of Fulton, NY. We took lessons and graduated mainstream in
  2010/2011. Over the summer of 2011 we learned to dance at the Plus
  level. In 2013 we became presidents of the club and served until
  2016. After a two-year respite, Paula resumed the club presidency for
  the 2018/2019 term. Paula and I were learning A1/A2 square dancing
  with the Enovators of Weedsport, NY. Paula was an active member of the
  Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts and helped organize club events such as the
  Club&rsquo;s 60th Anniversary, Dance-O-Rama Baskets and ALS Elaine Eno
  Memorial Dance.


articleid: 263
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Alice Ann (Elgrim) DeFelice, 83, of LeRoy NY, passed away on August 1,
  2019 at Strong Memorial Hospital surrounded by her family.

  Special note from Jan Bencic:

  Alice was born in Trenton, NJ on October 6, 1935 to the late William
  and Helen (Hart) Elgrim. She grew up in the family home in nearby
  Yardville and attended Hamilton High School, graduating in 1955. She
  married Angelo DeFelice on November 21, 1959 and together they raised
  their family in LeRoy.

  Alice, fondly known as &ldquo;Mrs. D,&rdquo; was an active member of the
  community. Over the years she participated with cub scouts and girl
  scouts, the LeRoy Volunteer Ambulance, LeRoy-Stafford Senior Citizens,
  LeRoy Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, and the Ladies Auxiliary of the
  Botts-Fiorito American Legion Post among many others. She enjoyed
  cooking, camping, crafts, and time with her family, but most of all,
  Alice enjoyed square-dancing each week with her husband with the
  Batavia Silver Stars club and the former Promenading Bees
  club. According to Angie they danced all their married life, which is
  close to 60 years.

  Alice is survived by her husband of 59 years, Angelo, her children,
  David (Paul Scherbak) DeFelice, Joseph (Mariellen) DeFelice, and
  Debora (David) Bailey, grandsons Freeman, Anthony, Nicholas and
  Christopher DeFelice, Eddie and Luis Bailey, her sister, Dorothy
  Moore, of Whiting, NJ and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is
  preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, William, Francis,
  Eugene, Raymond and Kenneth Elgrim and her sister, Eileen Prine.

  Memorial donations may be made to LeRoy Ambulance Service, Inc.,
  P.O. Box 56, LeRoy, NY 14482 or the American Legion, 53 W. Main
  Street, LeRoy, NY 14482.


articleid: 264
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Donna Marie Murdock McCagg, aged 84, passed away on June 4, 2019 at
  her home in Honeoye Falls, NY after a courageous battle with
  cancer. She was born May 17, 1935 in Fowlerville, Michigan to William
  W. Murdock and Mary (Murdock) Clark and was one of six children.

  Donna graduated from Hartland High School and Spring Arbor University
  in Michigan. She went on to study nursing at Roberts Wesleyan College
  and earned her Master&rsquo;s degree from the University of Rochester,
  NY. This provided her with a long career at Genesee Hospital in
  Rochester, as well as Rochester General and F.F. Thompson Hospital in
  Canandaigua, NY. She was a Girl Scout Leader, a member of the Grand
  Squares Square Dancing Club, as well as her local walking club and the
  National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House. She also had many
  leadership roles in the Honeoye Falls United Methodist Church, where
  she was a member for over 45 years. She played in the bell choir and
  made it her job to make sure the church flower beds were always in
  bloom. Donna was the most generous person; always thinking of others
  and was loved by so many.

  Donna is survived by her husband of 60 years, Raymond McCagg, children
  Marty McCagg of Quincy, MA and Mark (Tammie) McCagg of Charlotte, NC,
  granddaughter Hallie McCagg, sister Sharon (Howard) Fredenburg of
  Linden, MI, brother Jack (Dinah) Murdock of Anthony, FL and Ilva
  Hamzaj, their exchange student-turned-second granddaughter, of
  Albania. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Murdock and
  Mary (Murdock) Clark, as well as her brothers William and David, and
  sisters Wilma and Jill.

  Memorial service was held at Honeoye Falls United Methodist Church, 31
  East Street, Honeoye Falls, NY on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, with Pastor
  Mary Rublee officiating. A light reception will follow.

  In lieu of flowers, you may consider a donation to Honeoye Falls
  United Methodist Church or the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in
  Rochester, NY. To leave a condolence, please visit
  www.mertonkaysfuneralhome.com


articleid: 265
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The BELLES &rsquo;N&rsquo; BEAUS dance club is excited to start up
  again September 9 as a MAINSTREAM club.

  Some of the advantages of mainstream:

  &bull; We can blend our class into our club at a much faster rate.

  &bull; We have &ldquo;snowbird&rsquo; members who go south for the
  winter and upon returning they can jump right back in with no problem.

  &bull; We dance all evening with very little breakdown.

  &bull; A mainstream club allows new dancers, class members from
  other clubs, and dancers who want to dance with less focus on
  technical skills simply come and have fun.


articleid: 266
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Marjorie Hamlin, of Greece, passed away on August 11, 2019 at age
  90. She is predeceased by her husband Andy Hamlin. She is survived by
  brother, Al (Avis) Alexander; daughter Michelle (Miles) Bliss; sons,
  Thomas (Corrine), Michael (Marilyn), Mark (Karen), Terry (Joanne); 11
  grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews.

  Marjorie loved her family and was a good friend to many. A long-time
  member of the American Sewing Guide in Greece, Tecumseh Squares,
  Silver Squares, and the DS&amp;W Campers. She volunteered at the
  Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf &amp; Clothes Closet.

  Family and friends gathered Tuesday, August 20th at St. Lawrence
  Church (1000 North Greece Rd.) for her funeral mass. Interment will be
  at the Holy Ghost Cemetery at a later date. Expressions of sympathy
  may be sent in her memory to the Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf at 500
  Maiden Lane, Rochester, NY 14616. Arrangements Schauman-Sulewski F.H.


articleid: 267
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On July 20, the Copy Cats conjured up snowmen and winter fun at their
  &ldquo;Christmas In July&rdquo; dance. Caller Ron Brown and cuer
  Jeanne Harter provided a great evening of music, and Auburn&rsquo;s
  Cayuga Cut-Ups stole Copy Cats&rsquo; banner&nbsp;&hellip; with a
  little help from Santa. A wonderful time was had by all.


articleid: 268
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Brenda Bixby sent us on a trip down Memory Lane by submitting photos
  from the Triggers Scrapbook. The Triggers club was founded in 1963 by
  Myron &amp; Peg Huss, whose Daphne-Norma Leadership Award plaque is
  pictured here.

  Brenda also sent a newspaper clipping with a club group photo. At the
  time of the photo, they danced at Parkland School on English Road. The
  clipping marks the club&rsquo;s 25 Anniversary, so it would have been
  taken in 1988.

  To find out a little more about the Triggers, we browsed the
  Promenader&rsquo;s online archive. (That&rsquo;s a full set of scanned
  back-issues going all the way back to 1962 <a href="../history/history.html">HERE</a>).

  What we found was that the Triggers danced on Tuesday evenings and had
  very similar activities to those we enjoy today. Their Club News from
  September, 1990 is shown here, kicking off a new dance season just as
  we are doing now, almost 30 years later.

  That same Promenader issue carried their flyer for a special dance on
  October 2, 1990, with guest caller / cuer couple Paul and Shirley
  Rzepkowski from Buffalo.

  Thanks, Brenda, for opening this door to our dancing heritage!


articleid: 269
position: 01
type: text
content:
  When we&rsquo;re out for an evening of dancing and socializing, we dancers
  tend to focus on&nbsp;&hellip; well, dancing and socializing. It&rsquo;s easy to
  take the music and the caller&mdash;and the cuer&mdash;for granted. But
  there&rsquo;s nothing easy or automatic about delivering a fun dance.

  There&rsquo;s preparation in advance&mdash;the selection of tunes, the choice
  of patterns aand variations to call. There&rsquo;s getting all the gear to
  the venue and setting it up in working order. There&rsquo;s the inevitable
  range of dancer skills and preferences to balance through the
  evening. And there&rsquo;s the challenge of sustaining two to three hours
  of entertaining energy&mdash;no matter whhat happened earlier in the day
  or the week.

  Then there&rsquo;s the feedback. Every dancer knows to clap at the end of
  each tip&mdash;applauding an enjoyable performance. But tthat&rsquo;s so
  automatic that it&rsquo;s not likely to satisfy any entertainer&rsquo;s need
  for positive feedback on the performance.

  The caller I&rsquo;ve known best, long-time Village Squares caller Jerry
  Carmen, told me he gauged his performance by two indicators: (1) the
  dancers who came up after the dance to say &ldquo;thank you&rdquo; and (2)
  the dancers who stayed for the full performance instead of leaving
  early.

  Imagine yourself at the microphone, producing an evening of music and
  dance moves, and watching the crowd gradually melt away without anyone
  saying goodbye.

  My guess is that Jerry&rsquo;s feelings on this are shared by most or
  maybe all callers. I didn&rsquo;t realize just how deep and far back this
  ran for Jerry until I came across his column&mdash;pictured here&mdash;frofrom
  the September, 1990, Promenader.

  So, as your head and feet begin to ache and you start to think about
  the drive home, include a few thoughts about the caller and about
  expressing your appreciation. Stay to the end if you can, but if you
  must go, then take a moment after your last tip to take the caller
  aside and say something&mdash;even if it&rsquo;s just &ldquo;had a great time
  tonight, but gotta get home now.&rdquo;

  If you&rsquo;re leaving for some reason related to the dance program, then
  it&rsquo;s all the more important for you to say a few words to the caller
  or cuer. They need to know if something needs to change.

  We have wonderful callers in our area. Some have a lifetime of
  experience and others are beginning to build up their experience. We
  should give them every ounce of encouragement we can. Thank your
  caller!

  Here&rsquo;s the text of Jerry&rsquo;s column from September, 1990:


articleid: 269
position: 02
type: text
content:
  <b><i>You think your club has the best caller in the area. His choreography
  is interesting. He is fun and comfortable to dance to, always patient
  and good natured. You wish to show your appreciation, but don&rsquo;t know
  how.

  It&rsquo;s 9 PM and there&rsquo;s ten squares prancing on the floor. By 10 PM
  only two squares remain. The caller looks about and thinks to
  himself, what am I doing wrong? Why does everyone leave so early?
  The dance still has another half-hour to go. By the last tip only
  three couples remain, and they&rsquo;re the cleanup crew. So the dance ends
  early. On the way home, the caller wonders what he can do to make the
  dance more exciting. Do the dancers want more challenge? Different
  singing calls? Or maybe he&rsquo;s wearing them down. Are the tips too
  long? Too Short? These and a lot of other things go through his head
  on the way home.

  What our caller was experiencing was &ldquo;dancer runout&rdquo; (no relation to
  &ldquo;dancer burnout&rdquo;) disease. That&rsquo;s the premature outflow of dancers
  that manifests itself in four groups; (1) those eager to follow the
  primeval urge to &ldquo;beat the traffic&rdquo;, (2) those who party with friends
  somewheres else, (3) those who have to get up early the next day, and
  (4) older members who run out of breath by the middle of the dance.
  Some clubs are afflicted more seriously than others. It appears to be
  contagious, affecting most of the regular members and leaving the
  guests to fend for themselves at the end of the evening. There Is no
  known cure. For the first group, moving up the quitting time only
  results in them leaving still earlier, inspiring others to follow
  suit. A half hour before the end of the dance seems to be the magic
  number. What none seem to realize is they are affecting the
  performance and self-confidence of the caller. If they wish to
  indicate they did not particularly enjoy the caller&rsquo;s performance,
  this is the way to do it. On the other hand, if they really wish to
  show appreciation to the caller, the very best way ls to stay for the
  whole show.

  Would you go to a play and leave before the last act? When you leave
  the dance early, you&rsquo;re cutting out the caller&rsquo;s last act. Most
  callers plan their programs to have a beginning, middle and end. The
  last tip is usually meant to be special. It may be a relaxer or a
  rouser, but always something the caller thinks he does especially
  well.

  The old-time dancers can remember that twenty or more so year ago the
  average dance lasted from 8 to 11 PM and most stayed to the end. Some
  callers can remember completing the last tip and having the dancers
  clapping for more. Attitudes seemed different then. I can remember
  it was customary for dancers to line up after one of these sessions
  and file past the caller, thanking him for the great time. What has
  changed? Have the callers changed, the dancers, or maybe square
  dancing itself?

  You really don&rsquo;t have to line up like in the old days and thank him.
  You don&rsquo;t have to tell him what a great dance he called. All this
  means nothing if you walk out the door early. If you respect your
  caller, think he does a fine job, and wish to show your appreciation,
  stay and dance the last tip. Besides, it&rsquo;s good courtesy.</i></b>


articleid: 264
position: 3
type: text
content:
  Special note from Carol Ann Stahl:

  In June Grand Squares lost one of our longest-dancing club members,
  Donna McCagg, after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. Donna and
  her husband Ray joined the square dancing community many years ago,
  when Grand Squares was Lima Grand Squares, a club founded in 1961 and
  located in Lima. They continued to dance with the Grand Squares and
  followed the club as it relocated to Henrietta in 2001. For the past
  10 years, she and Ray were the only other officers of Grand Squares
  and, as such, their efforts and support played a big part in our
  club&rsquo;s survival. Countless times she provided help with refreshments,
  special dances and even financial assistance when funds were tight.

  But Donna&rsquo;s presence was felt in many other pursuits. Her field of
  expertise was nursing and she worked for many years in various aspects
  of her profession. She enjoyed walking and gardening and was a member
  of the Susan B Anthony House and a long-time member of Honeoye Falls
  United Methodist Church, where she played in the bell choir and
  watched over their flower gardens.


articleid: 270
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Summer is normally a time when dancing slows down. I hope it isn&rsquo;t
  just me, but it seems like I&rsquo;ve been dancing this summer as much as
  any winter dance season. In the past, it felt like dance availability
  was only a night or two a week, but this summer there has been dancing
  available five to six nights a week. I hope you&rsquo;ve enjoyed your
  summer, but I also hope that you&rsquo;ve included some dance time in your
  summer fun. The two free Federation sponsored dances were a lot of
  fun, and well attended with about eight squares at each. My thanks to
  all those who made them happen, as well as to all those who came out
  and danced. The national caller dances, Ken Bower, Gary Shoemake and
  Betsy Gotta were also very good. I&rsquo;m sure the Mike Sikorsky dance
  will also be great.

  September sees us at the start of another square dance season. The
  Fall Friendship Ball is a way to get back into the new dance season
  and meet dancers you don&rsquo;t normally see. We have seen very few
  recent graduates at the Fall Ball in the past so we&rsquo;ve set the
  pricing to try and change that. 2019 graduates get in free, and those
  club members who personally ensure that graduates get there by
  &ldquo;bringing&rdquo; them, will also get in free (remember only 1 club member
  per class member).

  Many clubs are hosting open houses this year, to bring new dancers
  into our activity. We&rsquo;ve had several demonstrations this summer to try
  and promote square dancing. Our yard sign program is continuing this
  year as well as radio ads, and Facebook or other social media
  listings. However, our best source of new dancers has always been
  personal contacts from current dancers. Be sure and talk to your
  friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about dancing and bring
  them to an open house. I suspect I&rsquo;m not the only person who got
  dragged kicking and screaming to my first open house, but once there I
  had a good time. It may take a little extra effort to pick someone up
  and bring them to an open house, but the only way our activity will
  survive in the years to come is with new dancers joining.

  Enjoy the rest of summer and fall with your friends and family, and
  with your dancing family, and I&rsquo;ll see you in a square.


articleid: 271
position: 1
type: text
content:
  For most of us, the desire to become a skillful dancer isn&rsquo;t the
  main thing that brings us to the dance floor. What brings us is the
  friendships we have formed around dancing. We learn to square dance,
  and in the process, we integrate ourselves into an active and
  fun-loving social exercise environment.

  Many of us just want to dance well enough to keep our skills from
  getting in the way of socializing&mdash;i.e. from embarrassing us or
  disrupting our friends. Others are motivaated by the challenge of
  learning new calls and variations on calls already
  learned. Accommodating this range of goals is a real challenge for
  callers, especially those who also teach classes. Teaching programs
  that move dancers along at too fast a pace, combined with club
  programs that don&rsquo;t provide enough practice time, lead to
  frustration and dropouts&mdash;graduates who don&rsquo;t return.

  The RAF Promotions Committee is actively working to increase available
  Mainstream dance time for class members and graduates. We&rsquo;ll address
  those efforts in a future posting, but in this &ldquo;Tip Sheet&rdquo;
  let&rsquo;s focus on the teaching and learning.

  Recently, Mike Callahan shared a November, 2017, article by Kip
  Garvey. It&rsquo;s written by a teaching caller for other teaching
  callers, describing an important element of square dance
  learning. It&rsquo;s an element that takes more time for most new dancers
  to develop than the &ldquo;rush to Plus&rdquo; allows. In Garvey&rsquo;s view,
  this causes many new dancers to give up and drop out. The element
  he&rsquo;s talking about is spatial awareness - a dancer&rsquo;s sense of his
  or her position in each formation. (<a href="https://www.kipgarvey.com/CallerTrainingDocs/It%20Takes%20Time.pdf">HERE</a> is the full text of
  Kip Garvey&rsquo;s article.)
  <https://www.kipgarvey.com/CallerTrainingDocs/It%20Takes%20Time.pdf>

  In Garvey&rsquo;s words:

  <b><i>Watch a new dancer class. Watch the dancers. See how they learn
  each call. At first, they learn movements. They relate the movements
  to the calls. They do not realize they are ends, centers, leaders or
  trailers.&nbsp&hellip; New dancers simply are not spatially aware of their
  positions within formations until well into the learning process.&nbsp&hellip;
  New dancers do not develop spatial orientation untill they have been
  square dancing for many hours, often as many as 40 or 50 hours of
  dancing. Some will become spatially oriented sooner. Others will take
  many more hours. Some will take years.</i></b>

  And later in the article:

  <b><i>The lack of spatial orientation results from a learning curriculum
  that is too fast paced, contains too many calls and lacks the single
  most important element of learning spatial orientation - time. New
  dancers need time. Time is the one thing they have been deprived of
  for the past three decades or more. There is no shortcut for learning
  spatial orientation.</i></b>

  Garvey goes on to pointedly urge club leaders and his fellow callers
  to revise their teaching programs. He suggests that instead of pushing
  ahead to get through Mainstream and Plus in one year, teaching
  programs should allow more time for new dancers to practice and
  develop their spatial awareness. Not all callers or cub leaders will
  agree with Garvey&rsquo;s message about teaching, but there is a growing
  consensus in our area that more Mainstream dance time is needed. As
  discussed at this summer&rsquo;s RAF Club Presidents meeting, the RAF and
  club leaders are actively working on making that happen.

  Meanwhile, what&rsquo;s so important about spatial awareness?

  Spatial awareness is important because in square dancing, where you go
  (i.e. your next movement) is determined entirely by where you are
  (i.e. your position) when the movement starts. It&rsquo;s actually your
  position, not your gender, that determines your movement in the
  call. Teaching &ldquo;ladies do this and men do that&rdquo; gets new
  recruits dancing right away because they come in the door knowing
  their gender. If they have to first learn how to tell if they are ends
  or centers or leaders or trailers before they start dancing, we are
  likely to lose most of them after one session.

  For some calls, the difference between your movement pattern and
  someone else&rsquo;s depends on whether you are an &ldquo;END&rdquo; or a
  &ldquo;CENTER&rdquo; in the starting formation. For other calls, it depends
  on whether you are a &ldquo;LEADER&rdquo; or a &ldquo;TRAILER&rdquo; in the
  formation. And in many formations, you are in two positions at once,
  for example a leader and a center. Which of these is the
  &ldquo;operative&rdquo; position depends on what the next call turns out to
  be&mdash;i.e. whether the next call has you working with the people beside
  you or those in front of and behind you.

  How quickly you recognize your position and link it to the appropriate
  movement is the essence of your dancing skill. Comfortable and
  resilient dancers develop the habit of mentally noting their position
  at the end of each call, so as to be ready for the next call.

  I don&rsquo;t know how to teach square dance movement patterns or spatial
  orientation awareness, but I do know how to make diagrams.

  Accompanying this article is a diagram that I hope will be a useful
  visual aid to hand out at square dance classes. Its purpose is to help
  dancers build a mental picture of the formation they are in and
  visualize their position in it. Keeping a diagram like this in mind
  also makes call definitions more intelligible. (Click <a href="../png/201909-Garvey-position.pdf">TIP SHEET-POSITION.pdf</a> to
  view/download/print a PDF version.

  (Experienced dancers who occasionally break down their square when
  they freeze on a call when they are in an unfamiliar position should
  also take one of these home - maybe in a plain brown envelope, so
  nobody else will know.)


articleid: 272
position: a
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Fall, 2019 issue of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 272
position: c
type: text
content:
  Our Club News section contains an article from each RAF member club,
  describing recent activities and upcoming special events. Browse the
  Club News page and see what&rsquo;s going on in Rochester area square
  and round dancing.

  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section includes photo
  articles about recent activities as well as commentary on topics of
  interest to dancers. In this issue, there&rsquo;s a recap of the Copy
  Cats summer fun, and photos from their &ldquo;Christmas In July&rdquo;
  dance. There&rsquo;s a peek down memory lane at the Triggers SD Club
  with photos from Brenda Bixby, and a reminder from Jerry Carmen, also
  from the archives, that we should take time to thank our
  callers. (There are not too many of them left!) As beginner classes
  start up this month, we are re-running an important article on being a
  &ldquo;Good Angel.&rdquo;

  We also introduce a new &ldquo;column&rdquo; in this issue. I&rsquo;m
  calling it the &ldquo;Tip Sheet&rdquo; because I hope to make it a
  useful source of aids and advice for new and established dancers and
  for club leaders. I receive the monthly &ldquo;American Square
  Dance&rdquo; magazine, which often has thoughts worth sharing, so I
  plan to do so through future Tip Sheets. In this issue, on a
  recommendation from Mike Callahan, the Tip Sheet carries excerpts from
  a 2017 opinion article by Kip Garvey. Garvey is a national caller with
  pointed opinions on how to foster strong dancers and avoid what he
  sees as the discouragements of the past three decades. (See also
  &ldquo;Mainstream Dancing&rdquo; and &ldquo;Editorial Comments&rdquo;
  below.)

  The Tip Sheet this issue includes an accompanying &ldquo;Dancer
  Position&rdquo; diagram that I hope will help with one of the key
  concepts identified by Garvey.


articleid: 272
position: e
type: text
content:
  The RAF Promotions Committee, headed by Amy and Kris Aeckerle, was
  busy over the summer. They organized two free area-wide dances
  especially geared for recent graduates. To continue this success, they
  are considering ways to provide consistent and reliable opportunities
  for Mainstream dancing throughout the year. Watch for this committee
  to organize other events and initiatives aimed at dancer recruitment
  and retention.

  And don&rsquo;t just watch, participate! If you are an officer of your
  club, then at your club&rsquo;s board meetings you should make a point
  of discussing how this committee might be able to help you meet some
  of your club&rsquo;s goals. Put it on the agenda right now.

  Another initiative of this committee is aimed at encouraging new
  dancers and prospects (and even seasoned dancers) to make more use of
  the RAF website and the Promenader. They have created a Guide to
  introduce newcomers to the content and structure of the website. They
  are also considering how we should revise the existing &ldquo;Welcome
  Prospective New Dancers&rdquo; page to make it serve better as a
  portal for new and prospective recruits.


articleid: 272
position: g
type: text
content:
  Whether you are a new graduate or a seasoned dancer, you should mark
  your 2019 calendar for the September 28th Fall Friendship Ball. It
  will be held in Penfield at the First Baptist Church. This is the
  RAF&rsquo;s annual &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; dance.

  As in the past the dancing will take place in the afternoon, from 2pm
  to around 5pm. This year, it will be followed by a pot luck
  dinner. The dance is free to 2019 graduates, but pricing for other
  dancers is tailored to encourage them to bring food and/or a recent
  graduate with them. Take a look at the <a
  href="../flyers/federation-2019-09-28.pdf">flyer</a> for
  details. <http://www.squaredancingrochester.org/flyers/federation-2019-09-28.pdf>


articleid: 272
position: i
type: text
content:
  Reminder: The RAF website has a &ldquo;Late Breaking News&rdquo;
  feature. Clubs should notify Sidney Marshall (RAF
  Webmaster&mdash;sidneym@frontiernet.net)) of a cancellation or
  other short-notice announcement. As soon as he sees the email, he will
  post the announcement on the RAF Home Page
  (www/squaredancingrochester.org), where it will appear under a banner
  titled &ldquo;LATE BREAKING NEWS.&rdquo;

  For maximum distribution of urgent messages, clubs should also use the
  &ldquo;SquareDancingRochester&rdquo; <a
  href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/315003042261167/">Facebook Group
  page</a>. Your club&rsquo;s communications person (or someone else who
  is a Facebook member) should join this Facebook Group so you can post
  directly. Click the link above, then look for the &ldquo;Join&rdquo;
  button and click it. The moderator(s) will approve you as soon as they
  see your request, after which you can post announcements any
  time. This group currently has 87 members, many of whom will get
  notifications from it and relay them to their dancer distribution
  lists, so your message will get out quickly.


articleid: 272
position: k
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say farewell to far too many of our square dancing
  friends: Alice DeFelice, Marjorie Hamlin, Mary Jackson, Donna McCagg,
  Patrick O&rsquo;Shea and Paula Schumacher.


articleid: 272
position: m
type: text
content:
  I think the most important recent development in square dancing is the
  increasing amount of specific action being taken to make Mainstream
  dancing more the norm, or at least to provide a broader and more
  reliable selection of Mainstream dances for new graduates to choose
  from. The goal is for a beginner class graduate to be able to find
  regular dancing opportunities without having to go immediately through
  the Plus level gauntlet with a weak foundation in the basics.

  The &ldquo;old&rdquo; mode of &ldquo;Plus Clubs&rdquo; scheduling
  occasional &ldquo;Class/Club&rdquo; dances is not working. Graduates
  from beginner classes need time and practice&mdash;at the
  Mainstream level&mdash;to to get comfortable with their dancing
  and to establish the social ties that will encourage them to join us
  as dancers for life.

  One year of instruction with the expectation of coming out as a Plus
  dancer is not realistic. Our graduates end up discouraged and feeling
  like failures&nbsp;&hellip; and they bail out to look for a less
  frustrating and intimidating activity.

  New initiatives by individual clubs and by the RAF Promotions
  Committee are changing that landscape. Last year the Belles
  &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus, who dance Monday evenings, designated
  themselves as a Mainstream Club (see article in this issue) and we
  heard at the annual meeting of club presidents that other clubs are
  considering doing the same. Over the past summer, the RAF&mdash;through its reconstituted Promotions Committee&mdash;sponsored
  two area-wide Mainstream dancess. And discussions are in progress
  about how to maintain a reliable thread of Mainstream dancing
  opportunities throughout the coming season.

  A consensus is forming among RAF leaders, club leaders and area
  callers that developments like these are worth supporting and
  contributing to. An article in this issue, suggested by Mike Callahan,
  presents some thoughts on this from a national caller&rsquo;s
  perspective. (See the Tip Sheet in the Photos &amp; Features page.)

  We all have a stake in this. Too many clubs are just hanging onto
  solvency by their fingernails. Last year&rsquo;s graduating class of
  beginners numbered 65 potential new dancers. Keeping even half of them
  interested, and encouraged enough to keep dancing, would be a big
  boost to their respective clubs.

  But why settle for half? If we lose half of the people who invested
  nine or ten months of their time and energy in learning to dance, we
  are doing something seriously wrong. The steps being taken now look
  like a great start on fixing the problem.


articleid: 272
position: o
type: text
content:
  Lexophilia is a word used to describe those who have a love for words
  and enjoy word play, such as &ldquo;you can tune a piano, but you
  can&rsquo;t tuna fish,&rdquo; or &ldquo;to write with a broken pencil
  is pointless.&rdquo;

  Here are a few examples:

  I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

  Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting
  a rest.

  Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was blown off?

  He&rsquo;s all right now.

  The roundest knight at King Arthur&rsquo;s round table was Sir Cumference.

  When she noticed her first grey hair, she thought she&rsquo;d dye.

  The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in
  his work.

  Fish in schools sometimes take debate.

  The short fortune teller who escaped from prison became a small medium
  at large.

  A thief stole a calendar. The judge gave him twelve months.

  Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.

  We&rsquo;ll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.

  When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

  The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on
  it.

  The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky
  ground.

  They gave out dead batteries free of charge.

  If you take a laptop computer for a run, you could jog your memory.

  A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

  A bicycle can&rsquo;t stand alone; it is two tired.

  A will is a dead giveaway.

  Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

  A backward poet writes inverse.

  In a democracy it&rsquo;s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it&rsquo;s your
  Count that votes.

  A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

  If you don&rsquo;t pay your exorcist you might get repossessed.

  Her marriage brought her a new name and a dress.

  Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I&rsquo;ll show you A-flat
  miner.

  When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.

  The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine is now fully recovered.

  A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulting in Linoleum
  Blownapart.

  You are stuck with your debt if you can&rsquo;t budge it.

  Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

  He broke into song, but he couldn&rsquo;t find the key.

  A calendar&rsquo;s days are numbered.

  A lot of money is tainted: &rsquo;Taint yours, and &rsquo;taint mine.

  A boiled egg is hard to beat.

  He had a photographic memory, but it was never developed.

  A plateau is a high form of flattery.

  Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

  When you&rsquo;ve seen one shopping center you&rsquo;ve seen a mall.

  If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

  When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she&rsquo;d dye.

  Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

  Santa&rsquo;s helpers are subordinate clauses.

  Acupuncture: a jab well done.


articleid: 273
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Parkwood Heights Senior Living Community joined in the square dancing
  fun on October 21. Nelson and Linda Espenscheid, members of Boo Bull
  squares and residents of Parkwood Heights, squared up with folks from
  Boo Bull Squares and Copy Cats. Many members of the Parkwood community
  showed up to enjoy the demo. Dancers included: Jeff Blood, Alice
  Bubel, Gary and Lorraine Granath, Rick and Donna LaDonna, Phyllis
  Smeltzer, Jet Thomas, and David and Mary Jo Webster. Thanks to Gary
  Bubel for organizing and calling, and to Amy Aeckerle for recruiting
  dancers.


articleid: 274
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Each September, Copy Cats welcomes its newest class Kittens at our
  annual open house. This year was no exception as folks gathered at Bay
  Trail Middle School in Penfield for an evening of fun, food, and
  dance. Club members, who spent weeks preparing for this event, were
  rewarded as 19 folks turned up to give square dancing a spin. Of
  course, by the end of the evening, Ron Brown (caller and instructor)
  had everyone up on the floor, dancing, laughing, and generally having
  a good time. Subsequent to the Open House kick-off, Copy Cats and
  Kittens continue to meet each Tuesday evening at Bay Trail for
  Mainstream and Plus lessons accompanied by laughter and
  friendship. Come on by and join us! See you in a square!


articleid: 275
position: 1
type: text
content:
  We would not be dancing if it weren&rsquo;t for the extra efforts of
  folks who consistently go out of their way to make things happen in
  square dancing. They promote square dancing; they welcome and
  encourage new dancers and they help keep experienced dancers engaged
  by providing organization, leadership and direction. The Daphne-Norma
  Leadership Award is one of the ways we recognize these special people.

  The award is presented each year in May&mdash;at Dance O
  Rama&mdash;to honor an individual or couple who have made an
  outstanding contribution to dancing in our area. Recipients are
  selected from nominations sent in by dancers like you.

  If there is someone whose consistent service to square dancing in your
  club or in the wider dancing community has caught your attention,
  please fill out a copy of the Daphne-Norma Nomination Form, which
  you&rsquo;ll find in our <a href="../awards/awards.html">Awards section</a>
  There, you&rsquo;ll find links to the History and Guidelines, a list
  of Past Recipients and the Nomination Form.

  Send your completed Nomination Form to the award&rsquo;s most recent
  recipients, Jim and Lurine Gotta at 12 Bent Oak Trail, Fairport NY 14450, or via email: gotta@rochester.rr.com
  (phone: 585-421-9241).

  If that&rsquo;s too much trouble, simply send an email to them at
  gotta@rochester.rr.com&mdash;with the following information:


  Nominee&rsquo;s Name(s)

  Your reasons for nominating them

  Your name and club affiliation

  Your email address and phone number

  It&rsquo;s that simple!

  Selection for this significant honor is a cumulative
  process. Nominations are due by the end of February, but they are also
  held over into future years, and can accumulate to build a compelling
  case for &ldquo;your&rdquo; nominee. So, please don&rsquo;t
  hesitate. Send in your nomination now!


articleid: 276
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Copy Cats&rsquo; Mainstream Square dance class this year has 12
  new dancers&mdash;the 2019&ndash;20 Kittens. This year&rsquo;s
  class Turkey Raffle was won by Eric McClellan (pictured). If you are
  an experienced dancer with Tuesday evenings available, and you would
  like to help bring new dancers into our activity, then consider coming
  to Bay Trail Middle School Cafeteria (1760 Scribner Road, Penfield,
  NY) from 7pm to 9pm on Tuesday evenings to help angel this class.


articleid: 277
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

  Another great dance season is underway. Hopefully everyone is getting
  out and seeing old friends and acquaintances again. It&rsquo;s good to
  see that many of our clubs have new dancer classes with steady
  attendance. Obviously, without these new dancers, the activity we all
  love will die out. So, I encourage all of you to help out with classes
  in any way possible.

  The Federation&rsquo;s &ldquo;welcome back&rdquo; dance, the Fall
  Friendship Ball, went off very well. We had several new graduates on
  the dance floor, so that was great to see. I appreciate those that
  filled out surveys, and we have started planning next year&rsquo;s
  Ball.

  The winter and holiday season is when we see a lot of clubs holding
  class / club dances. For the new dancers, it is a great time to meet
  new people and dance to other great callers. As much as the busy
  holiday season allows, I encourage dancers new and experienced to get
  out and go to the other clubs for some good cheer and great dancing.

  Lurine and I were honored to receive the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award
  this year. As such, we are chartered to gather nominees for next
  year&rsquo;s recipient. Please think about those people that have been
  instrumental in your dance life or the life of the clubs you support,
  and submit their names to be recognized. The <a
  href="../awards/awards.html">nomination form</a> is under the Award
  section of this web site.

  Enjoy the holidays and I&rsquo;ll see you on the dance floor.


articleid: 278
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On October 26, the Copy Cats hosted the 2019 edition of their
  &ldquo;Spooktacular&rdquo; Halloween costume dance, with the Hip Boot
  Boys and Alice Bubel. The costumes were wild and crazy and the dancing
  was fast and loose.


articleid: 280
position: 1
type: text
content:
  On October 28, the Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus hosted a Halloween
  Costume dance, that included a birthday celebration for Roy
  Baird. Costumes were varied&mdash;and scary&mdash;and
  the cake was delicious!


articleid: 281
position: 1
type: text
content:
  A raiding party from the Village Squares took a road trip on November
  16. Our aim was to steal a banner from Penn Yan&rsquo;s Friendship
  Squares. We had a good meal in Penn Yan and a great time with our Penn
  Yan friends, dancing to the music of Gil Porter and Eileen Webster.


articleid: 282
position: 1
type: text
content:
  The Rochester Area Federation is experimenting with a new way for
  clubs to participate in its regular meetings. Club leaders and
  interested dancers may now attend RAF meetings by phone.

  The call-in number is (605) 313-4441, with Access Code 347590.

  The RAF is an association of area clubs. Its core purpose is to foster
  inter-club coordination, with the goal of increasing the number of
  dancers at member club events.

  To accomplish this, RAF officers and club representatives get together
  for a formal meeting most months of the year. Meetings run about 90
  minutes and involve active planning for promotion and recruitment
  programs as well as special events. Discussion is lively and ideas
  flow freely.

  Meetings are monthly (except December, June, July and August). The day
  of the week rotates, to avoid overlapping with the same club dances
  every time. The physical meeting place is Bill Gray&rsquo;s, on
  Jefferson Road in Henrietta. Up to now, the meeting time has been 7:30
  pm, but starting last month the time has been moved to 6:30pm as an
  experiment, in hopes of making it easier for folks to attend from
  further away.

  The full schedule of meetings can always be found via the <a
  href="../meetings.html">Meetings and Minutes</a> button on the
  Federation Page of this website. The call-in number and access code
  is listed there also.

  Since RAF member clubs are spread across western NY, from near Buffalo
  to the Finger Lakes, a call-in option seems like a good way to enable
  more clubs to be represented in RAF discussions and planning efforts.

  In announcing this new option, RAF Vice Presidents Debbie and Jeff
  Blood had this to say about it:

  &ldquo;We are hoping member clubs will consider dialing into the RAF
  meetings when traveling to meetings is not an option. Presently, we
  are using a cell phone at the meeting as the speaker/microphone, but
  depending on the popularity of dial-in access, we will review our
  options for better equipment.&rdquo;

  If you have any questions about this new feature, please contact:

  Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood&mdash;dfbjvbhome@aol.com or
  585-225-8751 (home&mdash;leave a message)


articleid: 283
position: 1
type: text
content:
  This year&rsquo;s Fall Friendship Ball in Penfield on September 28
  drew 57 dancers. Nine of these were recent graduates&mdash;a
  significant increase over last year. As usual with dancing, everyone
  had a great time.

  We know this not only from the lively atmosphere at the dance, but
  from respondents to the dancer survey, who voted overwhelmingly (26:1)
  to keep this dance on the RAF schedule. Depending on how many of these
  sheets are from couples, they represent up to 95% of those in
  attendance.

  Twenty-seven completed surveys were received, responding to questions
  about location, cost and format. A full tally of responses is given below.

  The Fall Friendship Ball is an annual &ldquo;area-wide&rdquo; dance
  organized by volunteers at the RAF. It is intended as a kick-off for
  the new season, bringing together dancers and especially returning
  graduates from all RAF clubs. To encourage dancers from further away,
  it&rsquo;s an afternoon dance, followed by an optional
  meal. It&rsquo;s scheduled late in September, to avoid distracting
  attention from club Open House events. To spread exposure and
  hopefully increase dancer attendance, it features multiple area
  callers and cuers.

  The dance location has moved around, in an effort to make it
  accessible for clubs in all parts of the RAF region. The pricing has
  been kept low, and this year was skewed to provide a stronger
  incentive for recent graduates. Instead of being catered, the dinner
  this time followed a potluck format.

  2019 was the fourth edition of the Fall Friendship Ball, and as you
  can see from the survey questions, we are still working on ways to
  tailor it to serve its purpose of bringing together new and
  experienced dancers from all clubs in the RAF region.

  If you have suggestions to add or questions to ask, please contact
  your club&rsquo;s RAF representative, or your club president, or an
  RAF officer, or send email to
  raf_pres@squaredancingrochester.org&nbsp;&hellip; and mark your
  calendar for September 19, 2020, for next year&rsquo;s Fall Friendship
  Ball.

  <hr>

  Fall Friendship Ball 2019 Survey Results - 27 surveys turned in<br>
  <br>
  Question 1 - Do you think RAF should continue Fall Ball? (27 responses)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes (26)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No (1)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Comments:<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; It&rsquo;s fun<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Nice time to dance<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Great social &amp; friendly environment - love the multiple callers and ccuers<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Maybe evening instead of afternoon<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Move time to evening either Friday or Saturday<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Mainstream with plus<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; More promotion during summer<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; This is our first year - graduated last year<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; This is our first year<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Dance<br>
  <br>
  Question 1a - If yes, would you attend next year? (26 responses)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes (25)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No (0)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t know (1)<br>
  <br>
  Question 2 - Should dinner be offered? (24 responses)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes (19)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No (5)<br>
  <br>
  Question 2a - If yes, would you prefer catered or dish to pass? (19 responses)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Catered&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (4)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dish to pass (15)<br>
  <br>
  Comments / suggestions (underlining, exclamation marks, emojis taken right from comments)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(sub bullets are multiple comments made on single survey sheet)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Either dinner style works<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Put more snack or finger food out during 3hr dance. No need to have addditional 2 hours after 3 hour dance<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; I like the moving location. Maybe move east to pick up Fulton, Baldwinnsville, etc.<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Get a place with air conditioning please :)<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Please advise if the location can get warm / hot in the early fall session so we may dress appropriately&mdash;thank you!<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Like the afternoon<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Love the afternoon ending with dinner, thank you!<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; If potluck and dance, need ovens, ref, &amp; crockpots extra electricals<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Lots of fun, nice get together from the summer plus practical practicee dance<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Eliminate dinner. Dinner is adding a lot of work for a small number off people.<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Bring snacks like a &ldquo;normal&rdquo; dance.<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Thanks to all involved for putting on the 2019 Federation dance!!<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Nice to get together with everyone from different clubs<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; Keep up good work<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&bull; If dinner, need snacks also<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Simpler prices&mdash;present grads free, others $3<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Like afternoon time slot for dance<br>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Had a great time!!!<br>


articleid: 284
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Winter, 2019 issue of the Promenader&mdash;a
  quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs.


articleid: 284
position: 03
type: text
content:
  Our &ldquo;Club News&rdquo; section contains an article from each RAF
  member club, describing recent activities, upcoming special events and
  whatever else they would like you to know about their club. Browse the
  Club News page and see what&rsquo;s going on right now in Rochester
  area square and round dancing.

  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section includes photo
  articles about recent activities as well as commentary on topics of
  interest to dancers. In this issue, you&rsquo;ll find illustrated
  articles on activities by the Copy Cats, Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus,
  Penn Yan Friendship Squares and Village Squares.

  There are two articles on RAF activities. One presents survey results
  from the 2019 edition of the Fall Friendship Ball and the other
  introduces a new call-in option for RAF meeting attendance.

  And finally, there is a reminder that the deadline is approaching for
  Daphne-Norma Leadership Award nominations.


articleid: 284
position: 05
type: text
content:
  I hear that other clubs besides the Belles &rsquo;N&rsquo; Beaus are
  considering designating themselves as &ldquo;Mainstream Clubs.&rdquo;

  If you prefer Mainstream dancing, you can easily locate appropriate
  dances in our schedule listings. Check the code letters given at the
  right-hand end of each dance listing. A dance with the code letter
  &lsquo;M&rsquo; and without the code letter &lsquo;P&rsquo; will be a
  Mainstream dance.

  Using the &ldquo;Sort by Club&rdquo; link at the top of any schedule
  page, and then scrolling down, will show you which clubs dance at what
  level(s)&nbsp;&hellip; as well as other details about each dance.

  The meanings of all codes can be found by clicking the &ldquo;Key to
  Codes&rdquo; link at the top of every schedule page.

  If you are uncertain about the format of any dance, please don&rsquo;t
  hesitate to contact the club to make sure. Their contact info can be
  found in at least two places on our website: their article in our
  &ldquo;Club News&rdquo; section and their listing in the &ldquo;Club
  Presidents and Contacts&rdquo; section.


articleid: 284
position: 07
type: text
content:
  An initiative is taking shape at the RAF to extend the &ldquo;Summer
  Fun&rdquo; dances that were such a success over the past summer, into
  the other three seasons. Ideas are being discussed for how to
  integrate this with area clubs, in ways that will augment&mdash;rather than compete with&mdash;club activities.

  The goal of this initiative is to increase the number of Mainstream
  graduates who stay in square dancing. If you have thoughts on this,
  please share them with your club&rsquo;s RAF representative or contact
  Kris &amp; Amy Aeckerle of the Promotions Committee
  (aaeckerle@yahoo.com).


articleid: 284
position: 09
type: text
content:
  The 2019 Fall Friendship Ball drew about the same attendance as last
  year, but included far more recent Mainstream class graduates than
  previous years. I&rsquo;m sure this was due to the pricing structure
  that rewarded established dancers for &ldquo;bringing&rdquo; a recent
  graduate with them. The personal touch is by far the most effective
  way to keep graduates engaged and integrate them into our community.


articleid: 284
position: 11
type: text
content:
  Reminder as we enter the &ldquo;unsettled weather&rdquo; season: The
  RAF website has a &ldquo;Late Breaking News&rdquo; feature. Clubs
  should notify Sidney Marshall (RAF Webmaster&mdash;sidneym@frontiernet.net) of a cancellation or other short-notice
  announcement.

  As soon as he sees your email, he will post the announcement on the
  RAF Home Page (www/squaredancingrochester.org), where it will appear
  under a banner titled &ldquo;LATE BREAKING NEWS.&rdquo;

  For maximum distribution of urgent messages, clubs should also use the
  &ldquo;SquareDancingRochester&rdquo; Facebook Group page. Your
  club&rsquo;s communications person (or someone else who is a Facebook
  member) should join this Facebook Group so that you can post directly.

  On Facebook, search for &ldquo;SquareDancingRochester&rdquo; then look
  for the &ldquo;Join&rdquo; button and click it. The moderator(s) will
  approve you as soon as they see your request. After that, you can post
  announcements any time. This group currently has 91 members, many of
  whom will receive immediate notifications from it and relay them to
  their dancer distribution lists, so your message will get out quickly.


articleid: 284
position: 13
type: text
content:
  Sad News from Minnesota:

  The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma
  complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 75.

  Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin.

  Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including
  Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker,
  the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high
  with flours.

  Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a
  man who never really knew how much he was kneaded.

  Born and bread in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business,
  but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a
  very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

  Despite being a little flakey at times, and lately becoming somewhat
  of a crusty old man, he was considered a positive roll model for
  millions.

  Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John
  Dough, Jane Dough and Do-Si Dough, and an as yet unnamed offspring in
  the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

  The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.


articleid: 285
position: 1
type: text
content:
  How often have you heard the benefits of square dancing during class
  sessions? Exercise, new friends, mental stimulation and the list goes
  on. But, has anyone ever claimed the possibility of romance and
  marriage?

  Well, that is just what two of our current kittens experienced when
  they agreed to take square dance lessons this past fall. Mary Ellen
  Butler and Eric McClellan were invited by Rita Wilbert and Beth
  Burgwardt, respectively, to join the Copy Cat square dance class last
  September. When they saw each other at the second class, they realized
  that they had known each other when they attended the same church for
  10&ndash;15 years, but had not seen each other in 25 years.

  They exchanged contact information and had their first date on October
  20 when they made a day trip to Niagara Falls. On the way home they
  missed every exit for Rochester until they reached the Palmyra exit,
  demonstrating how much they enjoyed each other&rsquo;s company.

  On November 4, the couple visited a local park and stopped back at
  Eric&rsquo;s place for a cup of coffee. Mary Ellen opened a new bottle of
  creamer by removing the plastic ring that sealed it. Eric picked up
  the plastic ring and asked Mary Ellen to give him her hand. Although
  she was puzzled, she put out her hand whereupon Eric slipped the
  plastic ring and asked her to marry him. She accepted. The next week
  they went ring shopping and got their marriage license.

  On November 12, during class Ron Brown seemed to be demonstrating the
  California twirl. As he raised Mary Ellen&rsquo;s hand he pointed out the
  sparkler on her finger; clever way to tell the class and angels about
  the new engagement.

  On Sunday, November 24, they attended church together. At the end of
  the service the pastor asked everyone to be seated and announced,
  &ldquo;We are going to have a 12-minute announcement; we&rsquo;re going to
  have a wedding.&rdquo; Eric had alerted his children the day before,
  but Mary Ellen had kept their plans a secret. Ironically, her brother
  and two sisters happened to be in church that Sunday.

  The whole congregation stayed for a reception including cake and light
  refreshments coordinated by Mary Ellen.

  Do you think we should add ROMANCE as a benefit of square dancing?


articleid: 286
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Cloverleaf Squares will be hosting an anniversary dance celebrating
  fifty years as a square dance club on March 15 of this year. To have
  something special leading up to and following the event, we decided to
  invite different callers to our regular Sunday dances in a program we
  are calling the &ldquo;Cloverleafs Anniversary Trail-Through.&rdquo; As it turns
  out, the Rochester area is rich with great callers, ranging from
  long-time experts to aspiring beginners.

  Earlier this year, Jim Gotta (Fairport, NY) called at our Sports Theme
  night on January 26. He started dancing in 2010 and began calling in
  2012. He dances A2 and has begun Challenge dancing. Ron Brown (Cicero,
  NY) called for us on January 26. He started dancing in 1987 and has
  taught the Copy Cats&rsquo; classes for 28 of his over 30 years as a
  caller. For eight years, he was the Superintendent for Square Dancing
  for the New York State Fair. Keith Harter called for our Class/Club
  Valentine&rsquo;s dance last February 9. He and his cuer wife, Jeanne
  Harter call and cue in the Central New York Region. Keith currently
  calls for the Pairs N Squares in Liverpool, NY. Ray Tompkins (Avon,
  NY) called for us last February 16. He is the caller for the Dalton
  Gang in Dalton, NY. He started dancing in 1969 and began calling in
  1973. He was away from dancing for 30 years but fortunately started
  calling again six years ago. On February 23, Gil Porter (Fairport, NY)
  called at our Mixer dance. He started calling in 1965 and has called
  throughout New England. He dances DBD and A2. The March 2015
  Promenader called him the &ldquo;newest phenom&rdquo; in our area. He
  regularly calls at Village Squares.
  Bill Ryan (West Seneca, NY ) will be calling at our Mardi Gras dance
  on March 1. He began calling in 1964 and calls for the Batavia Silver
  Stars and Waterwheel Squares. The Cloverleafs are glad he is traveling
  East to be with us. Ron Schweitzer (Memphis, NY), calls for the Fun
  Bunch in Auburn and will be traveling West to be with us as an
  Anniversary Trail-Through caller on March 8. He is a relatively new
  caller who has begun to add some A1/A2 calls to his repertoire.

  March 15 is the club&rsquo;s 50th Anniversary dance at the Diplomat Event
  Center, a party house at 1956 Lyell Avenue in Rochester. Both Mike
  Callahan, our long-time caller, and Linda Liberti, our former cuer
  will be returning from Arizona to be with the club. We also expect
  guest caller, Bruce Shaw, who called in this area for many years and
  was the Cloverleafs caller and instructor in 1970 when the club was
  formed.

  There will be two more callers in our Trail-Through program. The first
  will be Dave Eno (Preble, NY) who will call on March 22. Dave is an
  international caller who calls for the Shirts &rsquo;N&rsquo; Skirts and the
  Enovators. He teaches and dances at the &lsquo;C&rsquo; level. Relatively new
  caller, Richard Rosenfield (Ithaca, NY) will call on March 29. He is
  the caller for Ithaca Sunday Squares and frequently calls for Penn Yan
  Friendship Squares. He holds square dance workshops for Penn Yan
  Friendship Squares.


articleid: 287
position: 1
type: text
content:
  At the Village Squares Christmas party in December, Peter and I were
  proud to honor Carl and Susan Thomas with the Circle of Service
  Award. The circle is the symbol of service to square and round dancing
  and it&rsquo;s designed to be worn with pride by the dancers who receive
  it because it recognizes their significant contributions to square
  dancing. Circle of Service is a &lsquo;dancers only&rsquo; award and it is
  always presented by a previous recipient.

  Carl and Sue served as Presidents of Village Squares twice and they
  have been our treasurers for many years. With Susan&rsquo;s MBA in Finance
  and Carl&rsquo;s law degree from George Washington, the analysis and
  precision of Village Squares financial records would be the envy of
  any Fortune 500 company.

  Carl is wonderfully witty and creative. He once suggested &lsquo;Banana
  Dance&rsquo; as the theme for a Village Squares dance. Each week as the
  date of the dance approached, Carl took a few moments at the
  microphone to explain&mdash;in a hilarious deadpan&mdash;what we were to do
  with our bananas while dancing in the Banana Dance.

  In 2016, at the Archangel School hall packed with square dancers,
  callers, friends and members of the Carmen family celebrating Jerry
  Carmen&rsquo;s 50 years as caller, Carl reviewed Jerry&rsquo;s career and gave
  a moving tribute. For many years, Carl has written the Village Squares
  Club News for the Promenader and in that role as well as in many
  others, he&rsquo;ll be an impossible act to follow.

  Whenever there is something to be done, Susan is the ultimate
  volunteer. She organized Village Squares&rsquo; Trail Back dinner in the
  Fall and our Christmas party and dinner in December even though she
  was still recuperating from a serious operation. After we were forced
  to move from East Rochester, she found the venue where we now are
  dancing and takes care of coordinating our dance schedule with the
  church. She also is a conscientious and computer-savvy Promenader
  proofreader.

  Village Squares are incredibly fortunate to have Carl and Susan as
  members and friends, and we are pleased to honor their commitment,
  competence, and devotion to square dancing.


articleid: 288
position: 1
type: text
content:
  We just wanted to make sure you know about the RAF 62nd Dance-O-Rama
  to be held on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

  It is the largest Square &amp; Round Dance event held annually in the
  Rochester Area. Last year over 250 dancers attended.

  DOR starts at 2pm and runs until 9:45pm on Saturday May 2, 2020.

  We will have 3 rooms of dancing for our 4 square dance callers, 2
  round dance cuers and line dance cuer.

  We offer an onsite buffet dinner during the dinner hour. Tickets must
  be purchased by 4/1/2020

  This year our caterer is Otto Tomotto and the dinner is $16 per
  person.

  We can serve up to 125 people so get your dinner tickets early if you
  plan to eat on site.

  RAF Club packets (with flyers, ribbons, dinner tickets, instructions,
  etc.) were sent to Club Presidents a few weeks ago.

  For additional details such as dance and dinner flyers, dance
  schedules, etc., please check RAF website and Promenader at
  squaredancingrochester.org or the Square Dancing Rochester Facebook
  page.

  DOR is a club-class friendly event. During our evening program we
  recognize the new 2020 graduates from all area clubs.

  Make sure your graduates bring your club banner.


articleid: 288
position: 3
type: text
content:
  Please note there are several important changes to the DOR packet you
  received this year.

  Here are a few of them:
  <ul>
  <li>A dance ribbon &amp; dinner ticket list is provided to track your club sales.
  Please return it with your payment to the DOR Treasurer by the date
  required and address given in the packet.
  <li>Volunteer schedule has been modified based on prior year club attendance.
  <li>Volunteer list includes name and contact info. Please return it to DOR Treasurer with your ticket sales listing.
  <li>Club Baskets for basket raffle need to be at Perinton Community Center by 1:30 pm day of DOR
  <li>For easy reference, the DOR 2020 dance schedule is posted on the Square Dancing Rochester Facebook Page and in the Promenader as page 3 of the DOR Flyer.
  </ul>
  If you have any questions or comments, please don&rsquo;t hesitate to
  contact us at: raf_vp@squaredancingrochester.org

  We hope to see you all at DOR 2020!

  Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood

  DOR Co-Chairs and RAF Vice Presidents

  Debbie &amp; Jeff Blood #squaredance #socialexercise

  2/10/2020


articleid: 289
position: 1
type: text
content:
  In the Tip Sheet of the Fall 2019 issue of the Promenader, Peter Emmel
  discussed spatial awareness as it pertained to movement. Let&rsquo;s
  add to it by introducing positioning. Not only do dancers need to know
  where they are and their relationship with other dancers, but they
  also should position themselves so they and others can better find
  themselves.

  When turning a quarter, a half, or even three quarters, the move
  should be that amount, no more and no less. The nice thing about
  square dancing is that it happens in a square and is usually in
  rectangular rooms. We begin as heads or sides, facing a
  &ldquo;Head&rdquo; wall or a &ldquo;Side&rdquo; wall. So if we do a
  &ldquo;Square Thru Four,&rdquo; then we should end up looking at the
  side wall on your side. If another couple is waiting at
  the end of the call, then we would be in place for the next call. Both
  your couple and the other couple should have the spatial awareness of
  being in a &ldquo;Facing Couple&rdquo; position.

  Even in the &ldquo;Square Thru&rdquo; movement itself should be done
  by pointing yourself from one wall to the next. Rounding the corners
  may give you and your dancing partners a slight disorientation. Even
  so, this would not terribly affect the completion of the call, but it
  certainly would help some new or weaker dancers if the focus is on
  wall-to-wall dancing. The more aware the dancer is, the more confident
  the dancer becomes.

  When doing a &ldquo;Hinge,&rdquo; the dancer should only turn a
  quarter turn, and when doing a &ldquo;Swing,&rdquo; the dancer should
  only turn a half turn. Although, sometimes, the &ldquo;Swing&rdquo;
  ends up becoming a three quarter turn as in the &ldquo;Spin the
  Top&rdquo; or &ldquo;Fan the Top.&rdquo; In each of these cases, it is
  best not to over- or under-shoot the position. Being in the right
  place at the right time helps the dancer and any joining dancer to
  form into a position recognized by both dancers.

  All of this is not to say that a square dance is like a march on a
  parade field. We are not doing a &ldquo;Forward March&rdquo; or an
  &ldquo;About Face&rdquo; squarely proceeding from one spot to
  another. It is about moving fluidly, blending with other dancers,
  while maintaining that spatial awareness. If a dancer is in position,
  then another dancer can then continue or regain his or her spatial
  awareness to be ready for the next call.


articleid: 290
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Many dancers, including me, miss the familiar yellow printed
  Promenader that showed up every few months in the mail. It was
  something you could pick up in your hand, put aside and then pick up
  again later. You could flip back and forth through the news and
  flyers, scan the schedules and mark the dances you wanted to
  attend. You could leave it lying around the house and browse it now
  and then.

  Well, you can still do some of those things with the electronic
  version, and you can do many things that aren&rsquo;t even possible in
  print&mdash;like selecting your favorite schedule format. But, for those
  who want to page through a hardcopy Promenader, Anne Granger, club
  reporter for the Silver Squares, may have found the answer.

  She prints every page of the Promenader&mdash;flyers and all&mdash;and puts
  them in sleeves in a 3-ring binder. When a new issue comes out, she
  prints the new pages and substitutes them into the binder.

  The first time is the most work, with more than 100 pages to print,
  but after that, it&rsquo;s not so hard.

  If your club has a member with time and a printer&mdash;or a few members
  to split up the effort and expense&mdash;then maybe this is a viable way
  to increase the access of your members to the Promenader&rsquo;s wealth of
  information.

  Many thanks to Anne Granger and the Silver Squares for this idea!


articleid: 291
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Most dancers have taken part in at least one &ldquo;demo&rdquo; dance. You
  go to an unfamiliar venue and &lsquo;put on a show&rsquo; for a group of
  people you don&rsquo;t know and may never see again. Maybe you already
  dance every available evening, so there&rsquo;s never a convenient time
  for you to join a demo square. If you are asked to organize a demo,
  you cringe at the thought of how many calls you will need to make to
  get enough dancers to be sure of even one square. There must be a
  better way.

  Well, yes, there is. The RAF Promotions Committee, led by co-chairs
  Amy and Kris Aeckerle, has thought about this and worked out a better
  way. But before we get to that, let&rsquo;s consider demo dances as
  explained by the committee at a recent RAF meeting.

  Not all demonstration dances are the same. Some are for recruitment&mdash;showing the public who we are and how much fun dancing is. These
  &ldquo;recruitment demos&rdquo; are aimed at prospective new dancers, in
  hopes that some will join us and help grow our clubs. These dances are
  typically in public places like malls or at town events, hosted by
  organizations that are also interested in attracting active people.

  Other demo requests come from organizations seeking interesting
  activities for their members to see or participate in. These
  &ldquo;entertainment demos&rdquo; are often held at nursing homes, were the
  audience appreciates the dancing and the music, and a few might join
  in if they are able.

  For us, the dancers, there is a different motivation and reward for
  each of these two types of demo. For entertainment demos there is the
  reward of bringing music and smiles to folks who might not be able to
  go out and find them on their own. For recruitment demos, there is the
  satisfaction of doing our part to promote dancing by showing others
  what fun it is and encouraging them to join us.

  Each of us hopefully has at least some level of willingness to put
  some amount of our time into one or both of these worthwhile efforts.

  The idea that Kris and Amy and their team have developed is to ask
  dancers to express this by giving the committee their names and
  outlining their availability&mdash;in advance. That way, instead of making
  200 calls to find the four couples available and willing for a given
  event, they can look on the sheet and zero in on those who are most
  likely to say yes for that day and time.

  To implement this, they have sent around a request asking club leaders
  to gather names and availability for demos. If you haven&rsquo;t seen such
  a list yet, then maybe you could help by taking the initiative to
  start one at your club.

  Putting your name on the list isn&rsquo;t a commitment to join a demo
  square, but it will give the organizer a fighting chance of being able
  to say yes to an organization requesting a demo.

  Here is the information the list should collect:
  <ul>
   <li>Dancer name, hometown &amp; contact information (phone and email)
   <li>Days &amp; time blocks you might be available (e.g. Monday evenings)
   <li>Indication of the distance you are willing to travel (maybe by
   season)
   <li>Type(s) of demo you are willing to consider (entertainment,
   recruitment or both)
  </ul>
  Lists should be given to Amy and Kris at a dance, or you can scan or
  photograph them and sent via email to RAFPromotions@gmail.com


articleid: 292
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Robert (Bob) W. Schlenker Jr., age 87, of Port Bay, NY and Pinellas
  Park, FL, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 with
  family attending, at Suncoast Hospice Bayfront in St. Petersburg,
  FL. He was born on March 29, 1932 in Rochester, NY to Robert Sr. and
  Mabel Dorothy Latimer Schlenker. He was proud to be a veteran of the
  US Navy. Bob was very social, with many lifelong friends, enjoyed a
  career as a hairdresser and, as an avid square dancer. He relished the
  opportunity as a professional caller to entertain others with his
  beautiful voice. He was preceded in death by his parents and his twin
  brothers, Douglas and Donald, and his second wife, Susanne. Surviving
  are his first wife, Marlys (Conwell) Whitcomb, and their three
  children; Deborah Schlenker of Pittsford, NY, Robert W Schlenker III
  of Greensburg, PA, Amy (Schlenker) Mangieri of Nashua, NH; their 5
  grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren; his beloved sister Shirley
  (Schlenker) Reed of Manchester, NY and brother Gerald of
  Colorado. There will be a private family service held in his
  memory. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Suncoast
  Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd. Clearwater, FL 33760-3407 (or
  online at SuncoastHospiceFoundation.org); or to your local VA
  Hospital. (va.gov/find-locations/)

  In the Rochester area, Bob was club caller for the Promenading Bees
  and the Triggers, and he cued round dancing as well. He was a
  long-time member of the Hip Boot Boys square dance calling trio, where
  he was known as Slick and contributed the high range in their rich
  harmony of voices&mdash;as well as to their unique brand of humor and
  gags.


articleid: 293
position: 01
type: text
content:
  Welcome to the Spring, 2020, edition of the Promenader&mdash;a quarterly
  publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance
  Clubs.

  Well, here we are in the twenty twenties, and numerologists have
  already noticed the palindrome potential of dates like 02022020 that
  just passed.


articleid: 293
position: 03
type: text
content:
  The &ldquo;Photos &amp; Features&rdquo; section of this issue includes a
  heart-warming story of love blooming among the Copy Kittens, and a
  rundown on the many callers who will fill the Cloverleafs&rsquo; hall with
  music while Mike is away.

  The Village Squares honor Carl and Susan Thomas with the Circle of
  Service Award, and RAF VPs Jeff and Debbie Blood preview the upcoming
  Dance-O-Rama.

  Silver Squares reporter Anne Granger shows how she provides her club
  with a complete hardcopy Promenader for the flyer table&mdash;go Anne! She
  also submitted a gallery of portraits to help us all meet the Silver
  Squares.

  We also present a fresh look at dance demos, with encouragement from
  Amy &amp; Kris Aeckerle and the RAF Promotions Committee.

  Carl Webster&rsquo;s TIP SHEET contribution explains why dancer
  positioning is so important.

  If you would like to see your club&rsquo;s events posted in the
  Promenader, simply send full-resolution photos (or a link), with a few
  sentences of explanation, to promenader@rochester.rr.com.


articleid: 293
position: 05
type: text
content:
  In this issue we say goodbye to colorful former area caller, cuer and
  Hip Boot Boys member, Bob &ldquo;Slick&rdquo; Schlenker. Bob would have
  liked to hear you say that three times, fast.


articleid: 293
position: 07
type: text
content:
  Be sure to browse the rest of our website for complete dance schedules
  and information from the Rochester Area Federation&mdash;such as forms
  and explanations for club reimbursement programs, club insurance
  information and forms, and for the RAF meeting schedule and minutes.

  Note that our &ldquo;Breaking News&rdquo; section is
  located&mdash;when needed&mdash;on the RAF Home page,
  between the buttons and the Open House listings. Check it, or the
  SquareDancingRochester Facebook page for news of cancellations and
  other urgent messages.

  And please follow this <a href="president-2020-03.html">link</a> for the quarterly message from the RAF
  President, Jim Gotta.


articleid: 293
position: 09
type: text
content:
  Nominations are due by end of February, but if you get them in right
  now (early March) it won&rsquo;t be too late. Now is the time to consider
  nominating worthy folks for the highest honor the Rochester area dance
  community can bestow. For guidelines, along with a listing of past
  recipients and to download the nomination form, please click <a href="../awards/awards.html">HERE</a>.


articleid: 293
position: 11
type: text
content:
  In April of each year, the Rochester Area Federation of Round and
  Square Dance Clubs will elect officers to fill this year&rsquo;s
  vacancies. One unfortunate side-effect of the electronic distribution
  of dance flyers is that it has reduced attendance at RAF meetings.

  It used to be that club reps came to every meeting, bringing packets
  of their flyers, labeled for each of the other clubs. They laid them
  out on the table and picked up all the &ldquo;incoming&rdquo; packets with
  their own club name on them. It was a very efficient person-to-person
  swap. Even better, you got to meet the reps from all the other clubs,
  and you took part in the various planning steps that help coordinate
  square dancing in our area. Nowadays, without the incentive of
  avoiding flyer mailings, participation in RAF meetings is more
  limited.

  That means fewer dancers are aware of the dedicated folks who work
  behind the scenes. It&rsquo;s an inspiring group of dancers just like you,
  who give an hour or two of their time for about nine meetings a year,
  to keep in touch with dancing throughout our area. A few take on the
  manageable responsibilities of officers. This year the RAF will be
  electing new Vice Presidents and Secretaries (plural because these
  posts are often filled by couples).

  I encourage you to consider giving back a little of your time and
  attention by volunteering for one of these positions. The nominating
  committee is Eileen Webster and Peter Emmel, so all you need to do is
  contact one or the other of us to express your willingness. Thanks in
  advance for your help!


articleid: 293
position: 13
type: text
content:
  <ul>
  <li>His dizzy aunt&mdash;Verti Gogh
  <li>The brother who ate prunes&mdash;Gotta Gogh
  <li>The brother who worked at a convenience store&mdash;Stop N Gogh
  <li>The grandfather from Yugoslavia&mdash;U Gogh
  <li>His magician uncle&mdash;Where-Diddy Gogh
  <li>His Mexican cousin&mdash;A Mee Gogh
  <li>The Mexican cousin&rsquo;s American half-brother&mdash;Gring Gogh
  <li>The nephew who drove a stage coach&mdash;Wells-Far Gogh
  <li>The constipated uncle&mdash;Cant Gogh
  <li>The ballroom dancing aunt&mdash;Tang Gogh
  <li>The bird lover uncle&mdash;Flamin Gogh
  <li>The fruit loving cousin&mdash;Man Gogh
  <li>The little bouncy nephew&mdash;Poe Gogh
  <li>A sister who loved disco&mdash;Go Gogh
  <li>And his niece who travels the country in an RV&mdash;Winnie Bay Gogh
  <li>I saw you smiling&mdash;there ya Gogh. . .
  </ul>
  Keep dancing!


articleid: 294
type: text
content:
  Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

  They say Rochester is leading the snowfall competition. While the snow
  has been leaving almost as fast as it&rsquo;s been coming which means
  we&rsquo;re having a great (or is that awful) pothole season, we&rsquo;ve had
  only a couple of dances canceled. Let&rsquo;s hope that continues so we
  can continue with all the great dances.

  March 28th the Callers group will have their Spring Dance. It&rsquo;s a
  great time to meet other dancers, dance to many different callers and
  cuers, and help support the callers.

  The 62nd Dance-O-Rama will be May 2, 2020 at the Perinton Recreation
  Center 1350 Turk Hill Rd., Fairport, NY. This is a Federation wide
  event. While it marks graduation for our newer dancers, it is also an
  opportunity for those from around the area that don&rsquo;t often get to
  see each other to come together and dance. The event starts at 2:00 pm
  and runs until 9:45 pm. Out of town caller Jonathan Weiner will be
  there as well as Gary Bubel, Gil Porter, and myself. Cuers will be
  Alice Bubel and Eileen Webster. Please see the flier for the details.

  There is still plenty of dancing being planned for the summer
  including national callers Betsy Gotta, Mike Sikorsky, and Bill
  Harrison. This fall will see several open houses as well as our
  welcome back Fall Friendship Ball being planned for September 19,
  2020.

  See you on the dance floor.


articleid: 296
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Catherine McGilvery (Jackson) passed away peacefully on 2-13-2020 at
  the age of 86, after a courageous battle with cancer. Pre-deceased by
  1st husband Thomas Jackson, 2nd husband Ben McGilvery. Survived by son
  Mike Jackson, daughter Cathleen (JoAnne) Jackson, step-daughter Sharon
  (Alden) Merrill. Grand-daughter Jaci Jackson, niece Rita (Kenneth),
  nephew Charles (Michelle) and many friends in Arizona and Rochester
  NY. A celebration of her life was held at Fleming point, 720 Latta
  Road on 02-23-2020 at 2:00pm.

  Catherine (Kay) Jackson McGilvery was a long-time square dancer, and
  in 1980 received the Daphne-Norma Leadership Award&mdash;the highest honor
  in Rochester square dancing.


articleid: 297
position: 1
type: text
content:
  A individual donation was recently given to Rochester Area Federation
  (RAF) to start a fund for our callers to assist them with their loss
  of income during this pandemic.

  Even though it is a very generous and wonderful idea, there is no
  provision in the RAF bylaws to administer it. All donations received
  by RAF must be deposited in the dancer recruitment &amp; promotion
  fund.

  There have been several conversations among the RAF leadership this
  past week, trying to figure the best way to proceed. Presently,
  neither the RAF nor the Caller&rsquo;s Co-operative of Rochester (CCR)
  are in a position to fairly administer a donation fund for callers and
  cuers.

  At this time, we are returning the donation and directing anyone
  interested in donating to their callers, to please do it on an
  individual basis. You may want to check with your club leadership
  first, to see if anything is being planned at the club level for your
  callers.

  Please Take Care &amp; Stay Safe,

  Debbie &amp; Jeff

  Vice-Presidents RAF


articleid: 298
position: 1
type: text
content:
  Hi Everyone,

  We hope you all are well &amp; safe. Even though it&rsquo;s been a
  long time since we have danced together, we have great news. The
  Rochester Area Federation has been busy scheduling the Free Summer
  Dances and a special October DORish dance, replacing the canceled DOR
  dance in May.

  We are proud to announce we have 52 graduating class members from
  eight clubs this year. We hope each of the graduates are
  encouraged to join us on the dance floor ASAP.

  The RAF dances being planned are new-graduate-friendly. Our callers
  are prepared to assist the new graduates as they return to the dance
  floor. The callers are well aware the classes were at varying stages
  of completion when all dancing was shut down in mid-March due to the
  coronavirus.

  We have Free Summer Dances planned and a special Saturday afternoon
  DORish Dance planned in October.


articleid: 299
position: 1
type: text
content:
  One of my favorite sources of information Rochester&rsquo;s Square
  Dancing history is Sally Baechle. She and her husband, Walt, started
  square dancing in the early seventies, and over the succeeding decades
  they became leaders and promoters at all levels.

  She recently loaned me a copy of the official program from DOR
  1973. Yes, in those days DOR had a printed program! It had a cover and
  12 internal pages, half of which were devoted to dance information and
  half were ads.

  DOR 1973 was held at RIT, in the athletics building. Sally
  doesn&rsquo;t recall how many dancers attended, but the schedule shows
  three gyms and the ice rink and lists four national callers (John
  Hendron, Kip Garvey, Bob Brundage and Bud Redmond) along with two
  national cuers (Phil and Norma Roberts).

  Dancing started at 2pm and lasted until midnight, with a two-hour
  dinner break. As now, there was dancing during the dinner
  break&mdash;in this case with local callers. The program lists
  Ken Boss, Stan Levandoski, Ed Butenhof, Chip Kellogg, Jerry Carmen
  and Chuck Prister. (See the obituary of Chuck&rsquo;s wife, Gerry, in
  this issue.) All of these callers are pictured in the program, along
  with other Callers Co-Op members&mdash;notably including Mike
  Callahan, Jerry and Betty Carmen, and Bob Ellis.

  I&rsquo;ve included the schedule pages from the program with this
  article, but I encourage you to take a look at the complete Program
  in a more readable (PDF) format by following this link: <a
  href="../png/202006-DOR-Program.pdf">http://squaredancingrochester.org/png/202006-DOR-Program.pdf</a>

  One interesting page you&rsquo;ll find in the full program gives the
  history of Dance-O-Rama up to the 1973 edition. The first DOR took
  place in 1959, at Cutler Union on University Avenue. I think
  it&rsquo;s fascinating to look through this window to the past and
  imagine all the folks who came before us and enjoyed the friendships
  of square dancing.

  It&rsquo;s especially motivating to see the names of the many who
  invested their time in helping organize events like DOR. For each of
  those listed as DOR organizers, there were many more who contributed
  by organizing club dances and recruiting new dancers. Thank you,
  Sally Baechle for sharing these memories and reminding us of the
  legacy we have inherited!


articleid: 300
position: 1
type: text
content:
  (The following story about Henry Ford&mdash;yes, the
  automobile magnate from Michigan&mdash;appeared in the March,
  2020, issue of American Square Dancing. It was in the
  &nbsp;&ldquo;Moore Thoughts&rdquo; column by Paul Moore, and is
  reproduced here with permission.)

  In 1923, Henry Ford visited the Wayside Inn in Sudbury,
  Massachusetts, where he participated in the regular dance program of
  gavotte, the schottische, minuet, and the Virginia Reel led by
  Benjamin B. Lovett. Ford enjoyed the program so much he offered
  Lovett a regular job to teach dancing and to train new leaders in
  Dearborn, Michigan. Lovett turned down the offer because he was
  contracted to the Wayside Inn. Ford, who had a personal fortune of
  twenty billion dollars (in 1920&rsquo;s dollars), simply bought the
  Wayside Inn and Lovett&rsquo;s contract. The contract was rewritten
  for Lovett to come to Dearborn for two months&mdash;he stayed
  for twenty-six years. During the depression of the 1930s, Lovett was
  paid $12,000 per year, plus a new Lincoln every year, a home, most of
  his meals and all of his transportation costs. Ford and Lovett used
  the situation to promote American Square Dancing. Two hundred dancing
  instructors were invited to Dearborn to learn how to dance and to
  call the Virginia Reel. Lovett was also instructed to start a program
  for Dearborn public school children. The dances that Lovett taught
  were regularly printed in newspapers nation-wide. Every Sunday,
  Lovett would travel to Chicago to call live on the radio the dances
  that had been printed in newspapers the previous week&mdash;with separate broadcasts to account for eastern and western time
  zones. [see Editor&rsquo;s note below]

  Benjamin Lovett became so busy that he had to train new dance
  teachers. He developed a minimum staff of twelve to fourteen dance
  instructors to help him with his ever-increasing workload. The program
  kept expanding due to the generosity of Mr. Ford. Any school district
  that wanted a dance program merely had to contact Benjamin Lovett,
  Mr. Ford would write a check from his personal account, and Lovett or
  one of his instructors would be sent to that school. Lovett, again
  sponsored by Henry Ford, was responsible for bringing square dancing
  and ballroom dancing to thirty-four institutions of higher learning,
  among them Radcliffe College, Stevens College, Temple University,
  University of Michigan, University of North Carolina and the
  University of Georgia&mdash;with no charge to these
  universities.</pp>

  Because square dancing took more space than ballroom dancing, Ford
  built a dance hall in Greenfield Village, site of the Henry Ford
  museum. It was beautifully decorated with chandeliers and had a
  hardwood floor that would hold approximately forty squares of
  dancers. Ford even hired one man, full-time, to polish the floor
  daily, whether the floor had been used or not.

  In 1926, Henry Ford published an excellent book on American Square
  Dancing entitled &nbsp;&ldquo;Good Morning.&rdquo; The title page
  states: &nbsp;&ldquo;After a sleep of twenty-five years, old fashioned
  dancing is being revived by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.&rdquo; In the
  archives of the Henry Ford Museum, several written accounts of former
  executives report that Mr. Ford invited all of his executives to take
  lessons in early American Square Dancing. He was quick to tell them
  that he wanted them to take these lessons of their own free will, and
  not be under any pressure. However, an invitation from Mr. Ford was
  tantamount to a command from royalty.

  Benjamin Lovett was a strong leader in early American Square
  Dancing. He was the personification of a gentleman. Regardless of the
  fact that most of his dancers were people of great wealth and
  position, he told them what they were to wear and what they were not
  to wear.

  He insisted that the ladies wear formal dresses and corsages. Men were
  told that they were to wear dark suits. The ladies were instructed
  that they never were to cross their legs at the knees, but only at the
  ankles. And no one could cross directly across the dance floor except
  Mr. Ford.

  When Ford passed away, Lovett could no longer afford the promotion of
  square dancing. In 1949 he announced his retirement and he left
  Michigan, never to be seen there again. He died in Massachusetts in
  1951.

  Editor&rsquo;s note:

  According to Wikipedia, the National Barn Dance was broadcast by
  WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois, starting in 1924. It was one of the first
  American country music radio programs, and a direct precursor of
  Nashville&rsquo;s Grand Ole Opry. After 44 years, the show aired its
  final Barn Dance in 1968.


