Welcome to April.
As we move through situations around us and across the country, please take a moment and check on people you haven’t seen or heard from in a while especially those who you know live alone or don’t have relatives in the area. It doesn’t matter where you know them from: long time friend, church, square dancing or other activity, another family member – just check on them and make sure they are ok. If you yourself live alone, please make sure that you have made arrangements to check in with someone regularly too.
There are several reasons for checking in with people – it is comforting to know that there is someone who will call for help if they don’t hear from you (or the other way around); you or someone else will know that you or they are not forgotten; and it will give someone actual human contact if they are currently self-isolating. We all need this reassurance even if we won’t admit it.
A check in can be by phone call, email or text. Just reach out. Your contact may be the only one they get that day.
Let us continue to use good sense – if you aren’t feeling well, please stay home if you can and take care of yourself. But on the other hand – don’t panic and do a year’s worth of stocking up on supplies.
Have someone from your club keep the “Where and When” updated so others know if you are dancing for a particular night. If you are looking at going out – check the “Where and When” first and then, if you still aren’t sure – call the contact number to double check.
Keep safe and hopefully see you out and about again soon.
Karyn Buchheit
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the square dancing world particularly hard. Unfortunately, our world is like the worst case: it is a very physical activity, necessarily involving a lot of personal contact, and our population is demographically way older than average, thereby making us more vulnerable.
It can be difficult to see the justification for all of these cancellations. After all, you are in charge of your own health, and ought to be able to make your own choices. However, with a virus like this, the stakes are substantially higher. It's true that, statistically, you will be just fine if you contract the virus. The problem is that you are contagious before you see symptoms, and in some case the virus runs its course without causing any symptoms at all, while you remain dangerously contagious. During that time, you are spreading the virus to others, and a percentage of those people will die. That's the result we're trying to avoid.
The CDC has now asked that all gatherings of 50 or more be canceled, and any gathering with more than 10 "vulnerable" people (meaning those over 60 and those with existing health conditions) be canceled. Unfortunately, that means virtually every square dance event.
Hang on tight, and we'll all get through this.
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The next Federation meeting, scheduled for Klamath Falls, on April 26, 2020, has been postponed until May 17. If the coronavirus limitations have not been listed by then, the meeting will be held as a videoconference.
We hope you are planning to attend the 2020 Summer Festival, to be held at the Seaside Convention Center in Seaside on August 21-23, 2020. This festival is sponsored by the Eager Beavers and the Hoedowners.
Oregon's Mid-Winter Festival 2020 will be held January 22, 23 and 24, 2021, at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany.
The OFSRDC Youth Activity Coordinator is accepting applications for this year’s OFSRDC Scholarship. There are two $500 scholarships available to graduating high school seniors or college freshmen. The completed applications are due in to the Youth Coordinator by May 1, 2020. Rules and applications are available on the Federation website or by clicking here or by contacting Thomas Buchheit at buchheitfarmkm@gmail.com If you know a square dancing youth who might be eligible, please encourage them to check this out.
Thomas Buchheit
OFSRDC Youth Activity Coordinator
The 73rd Silver State Festival in Sparks, NV, scheduled for May 8 to 10, has been canceled.
The 69th National Square Dance Convention® in nearby Spokane, Washington, has been canceled. Refunds will be issued.
The 70th National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Jackson, Mississippi, June 23-26, 2021.
All clubs in the Oregon Federation are required to maintain their status as non-profit corporations with the State of Oregon. The Secretary of State's office mails out a renewal notice about a month before your registration expires every year. The following clubs expire this month:
April 1 -- Interstate Highlanders
April 7 -- ReVuN'Q
April 23 -- Oak Hills Squares
April 23 -- Salem Swingin' Stars
April 25 -- Valley Squares
April 26 -- Independence Wagon Wheelers
April 27 -- Single Trees
April 29 -- Tri Squares
April 30 -- Chaps & Petticoats
Download a complete list of the Federation club dances this month, all sorted by date and city.
Everything in the When & Where is extracted from the state directory information. If you find that your club information is wrong, you can fix that by going to the directory information area and fixing your data.
Click on the title to see the article.
To All Oregon Councils and Clubs from Silver City Squares Youth:
This is to let you know that the Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival for May 1st & 2nd, 2020 has been cancelled. This is the first time in their 70 years of history that this has occurred and was decided by the PNTSDF Committee during their meeting on March 15th. The cancellation was made with the condition of a 1-year age extension also happening – any youth who was eligible to compete in any category this year will be able to do so next year in the same category.
This was not an easy decision for the Committee. There were several reasons involved in this decision, including: The clubs/participants from Canada are by order of their National Government under a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon return if they leave Canada as well as current school closures and a ban upon gatherings similar to Washington and Oregon – these are all from their National Government and not the Province/local and are in place until lifted by their Prime Minister; many of our participating clubs have been unable to practice for at least 2 weeks at this time and are looking at not being allowed to hold any practices until close to the end of April – due to most of them using schools to practice in; uncertainty of actually having a location May 1st & 2nd to hold the Festival – Auburn Mt. View High School had indicated that IF school was back in session, they would still rent to the Festival but if schools were still closed we would be out of luck; judges were backing out; no indication if Washington would have the gathering ban fully lifted by that time.
There was discussion about the possibility of just postponing this year’s festival to June or summer or fall – this was not going to work for most of the participating clubs, so it was discarded as an option.
The Silver City Squares youth are going to continue with practices at a slower pace for this year as well as continuing to fundraise. In view of this, their Fundraiser Dance, cash raffle drawing, brunch has been postponed to Sunday, May 3rd and a new flyer is posted. All funds raised this year will be rolled over to help with next year’s expenses. Please disregard the letter that the kids sent out to the clubs and councils for this year – this was sent out prior to the Teen Festival committee making their decision.
Thank you for your understanding and support of our youth.
Karyn Buchheit
Silver City Squares Youth Coach/Advisor
Clarence Eugene "Gene" Cowan, 91, passed away January 17, 2020 at his home in Salem.
Born in Kelso, Wash. July 28, 1928, to George and Wilda Cowan in a cabin in the woods, he enjoyed logging and fishing with his father, and soon developed a life long love for archery.
Gene enlisted in the Navy in 1946 through 1951. After the Navy he attended the University of Washington and earned his BS in Electrical Engineering.
Janice nee Ernst and Gene married in 1952 and Gene worked for Boeing and other electronics firms until 1960. A job offer arrived from a new electronics firm called Tektronix. The offer was quickly accepted and when not bicycling to work or playing chess, Gene honed his archery skills, eventually becoming Pacific Northwest Champion for two years running. Gene was respected at Tektronix for his electronic skills and the two patents he received while working there.
In 1969 the family moved to a small farm north of Newberg and Gene and Janice found friendships in the local square dance community. Gene took early retirement around 1985 from Tektronix and soon found consulting work with Cascade Microtech, where he supported 24 additional patents.
After Janice passed in 2002 he returned to square dancing, and soon met the second love of his life, Maureen. Together they enjoyed years together of dancing, travel, and close companionship.
Gene is survived by his companion Maureen Gruchalla, son Mark, daughter Jana; grandson Jacob and great-grandson Shaman.
You can download this list of callers and cuers who are available and ready to call or cue a dance for you.
Callers:
Cuers:
The Rogue-Sis-Q Council has chosen the April Oregon Round of the Month: "Alligator Stroll", Phase II+2 Two-Step (strolling vine & slow rock the boat), choreographed by Ruth & Lloyd McKenrick, music by Josh Turner. Download your cue sheet here.
For more information on the Round of the Month, please contact .
Everything in this section is taken from the state directory information. If you find that your class information is wrong, you can fix that by going to the directory information area and picking to the "Lessons" tab.
Click a thumbnail to download the flyer.
Click a thumbnail to see the full-sized picture.
Click a council name to go directly to that section.
On a sad note, Gail Jackson, one of our newer callers, lost her partner and best friend, Richard Kinkle. Richard suffered a heart attack unexpectedly. Gail is also our treasurer. Gail always felt so blessed to have Richard in her life, and we all are so sad for her. We will have a fifth Saturday Amateur Dance August 29. We encourage anybody who wishes to call and/or cue for fun to let one of us know.
Our next Fifth Saturday Dance is also the Area's Benefit Dance for Food for Lane County which will be May 30, 2020.
7The format will be the same as usual with 7:30- Pre-Rounds and 8:00 Squares and Rounds.
Calling and Cueing for fun,
Christina Corelli, Secretary CCCA
On Saturday Feb. 29 a whole square of Cast A Shadows members danced to Randy Dibble in Woodburn. Everyone had a great time and look forward to doing it again on the next 5th Saturday.
When we don’t have a live caller, we dance to recorded tips by nationals callers. We dance at eh Emerald Square Dance Center at 2095 Yolanda Ave. in Springfield from 2-4PM in Hall B behind the center. If you are in the area, please come join us. We’d love to have you in one of our squares. To see a tentative schedule of our dances go to CAS-sd.yolasite.com. Be sure to call ahead of time if you are not on the email list so you know for sure we are dancing. Call Fred Beisse at 458-221-3564 or Gaynor Hintz at (541) 741-4149.
Gaynor Hintz
Club Reporter
We did not hold a dance at the end of February as the hall had been rented out to the Eugene Opera for rehearsals. Jim will be back calling our 2nd Friday dances and we look forward to having Darrell Kalmbach call our 4th Friday dance in April. I got to dance to his fine calling at the Independence Wagon Wheelers 60th birthday dance March 8. He is such a fine cller—he along with George Hermann and Bruce Lowther made it a special dance for sure.
Keep on dancing, everyone, and stay well.
Gaynor Hintz
We dance every Sunday with very few exceptions from 5:30 with Tim Matteson calling all levels mainstream to advanced. Tim is very good at adapting levels for whoever shows up.
Remember, our hall has a cushioned wood floor, air conditioning and even heat! We always seem to have a lot of food too!
Come one, come all and join us for FUN dancing and camaraderie.
Call Tim Matteson at 541-988-0399 or David at 541-520-7311 to make sure we are dancing. We'd hate to miss you!
Come and dance with us!
Christina Corelli
By the time this OFN comes out, we will have had our annual Coast Retreat the weekend of March 13-15. Highlights include the dancing, of course, and the social time including the group potluck on Saturday at noon. It's not too early to save the 2nd weekend in March for next year's Coast Retreat! Karen
Once the Federation ballots are received, we will hold a meeting to vote on them and to work on club officers and thoughts for what we want to do in the future. Our club is small but steady. Come and join us soon. Marilyn Schmit
Leonard Snodgrass is resigning as our club caller as he has decided to accept a position as club cuer for Valley River Dancers. We wish him luck. His last dance as our caller will be our May dance. Since this is also usually one of our dinner dances, please come out and join us in sending Leonard off with a smile and as full a dance floor as we can manage. Please watch for our flyer for our May dance for more information.
We are taking advantage of the dances we have left with Leonard to have prospective club callers come in to share the stage and "audition".
The Knights and Dragons are practicing hard and we are still fundraising since our competition is May 1st and 2nd. Mom (Karyn) has had to do a lot of rearranging with practice schedules for us this year so that we can have as much time as possible together as teams. Petrina Buchheit
April 18th is the Buzzin' Bee anniversary Dance. The Theme is Honey Time! This will be our 62nd anniversary and we will have KC Curtis calling and Lonnie Sycks cueing. We start dancing with pre plus at 7pm and Mainstream with rounds at 7:30 pm. Come and join us!
The Bee
At this time, we are looking forward to our Murder Mystery Play and Dance on April 19th, performed by the Crazy 8 Players. Patricia Neils has a broken ankle and may be playing her character in a wheelchair. Pray for her speedy healing! It is another original play, so come and be part of the fun. Tickets are on sale now! If you have not gotten yours, contact Bev, Marc, Young, Patricia, or Carol.
Beverly De La Bruere
Currently we are looking forward to a pizza night and club meeting on April 4th before our dance starts at 7:30. Election of officers for the next dance year will occur during that meeting. Given that it is sometimes difficult to get people to step up and offer to take board positions, we are delighted to have candidates for all elected officer positions. It is especially rewarding that we have a mix of new and returning volunteers. Since we believe that these officers will bring fresh ideas for our club activities, we are looking forward to another great year of dancing.
On April 13th we will have a gently used clothing resale during our regular Monday night lesson. Throughout the years we have been blessed with a large amount of very nice square dance attire being donated for the sale. Our new dancers as well as club members and guests have a great time finding just the right outfit or addition to their wardrobe. It is sometimes hard to get the students back on the dance floor for their lesson. The true reward is to see how much fun the students seem to have when they show up at the next lesson wearing their new clothes.
We are hopeful that we will be able to celebrate our 61st anniversary at our May 2nd dance. The theme for this year is “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” We hope to have a large number of our square dance friends join us that night to help us celebrate.
The Hoppers are sending their best wishes to all our square dance friends hoping you will stay healthy and well and we will see you in a square somewhere soon.
Jean Tolstrup
Carol Mendenhall
If we’re able to resume dancing, we have a real lulu teed up for April 11. This will be the Rosetown Ramblers Spring Formal* (*formal attire optional), a mash-up of Easter bonnets and prom and cotillion and however else you interpret “spring” and “formal.” Creative attire admired! The caller will be international phenom Gary Monday, from Seattle. We will alternate Mainstream and Plus dancing from 7 to 9:30. The second tip will be an Advanced star tip.
Our graduation dance is scheduled for May 9—stay tuned for more info, as that date could change depending on when we resume lessons.
Wishing good health to all and much dancing delight!
Jeff Knapp, President
Rogue Sis Q Council and clubs are dark for the month of April, maybe longer. The COVID-19 has played havoc on the activities. Pear Blossom is not cancelled, but postponed until the first weekend in May.
Rogue SisQ council hopes everyone remains safe, stay healthy, and continue to enjoy life.
Please watch the website or the Facebook Pages for updates & more info -or contact a board member.
Stay Healthy & We Will See You Soon!!!
Charlie's Website: www.charliebrownsquares.com
Charlie's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charliebrownsquares
Once again I begin with sad news. Long time member Linda Hayes passed away due to the many complications of Muscular Dystrophy. She and Ron dedicated countless hours helping our club, volunteering as officers and board members, along with heading and running our "Pepsi Booth" over the past several years. She will certainly be missed.
Thank thank you to everyone who attended our Valentine's dance we had three squares. we danced Advanced, Basic, M/S and Plus A big thank you to our Oregon dancers, as well as many of our Monday night dancers. They really had a great time showing off their new clothes that Peggy got off of the Stars clothes racks. A very special thanks to Elaine for doing our rounds, we look forward to having her do our future dances.
We hope you will join us for our St. Patrick's Dance with a splash of Mardi Gras thrown in. We are planning our Easter Bonnet Dance in April. We had great fun last year modeling Bonnets and Hats. So be sure to dig out your best Bonnet or Hat and plan to attend. There will be a special prize for the best Bonnet and hat.
We are working on something special for our 52nd Gold Diggers Dance. We plan on raffling off another custom locket. Even with the conflict of the Nationals we hope to hold the dance but are shooting for the 4th weekend. Who knows this year it may be a two day event :-0 :-)
We hope to see you on the floor
Dean
Our March "Game Night" was a lot of fun. Attendance was a little thin, but we all had a great time anyway. The next Game Night is May 8th and the potluck theme is "Hillybilly Fixins'."
That is something like beans and cornbread, or some such, I think.
The "Teddy Bear" Dance originally schedule for March 28th, is going to be postponed. There is not a new date available yet, but we will advise everyone when it will be. This is such an important event for the kids in Jackson County. The Stars are once again collecting stuffed animals for the Jackson County Sheriff's Department to give to children in distress. Las year we collected and donated 200+ animals. I think we can do better. There is a tote on the stage at the Rogue Valley Square Dance Center to put the animals in. PLEASE HELP!
We are once again going to sponsor the Alzheimer's Benefit Dance. It will be Sunday, June 7, 2020 from 2pm to 5pm. This is a very worthy cause and hits home to a lot of us in the square dance world. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer Research. The Callers & Cuers are donating their time and the Stars are donating the hall. A challenge has been issued. Last year we raised $520+ and the challenge is to double that, at the very least.
See you in a Square!
The Council encourages all dancers to attend the anniversary dances of member clubs and you still have time to plan on attending the R Square D's 67th anniversary on the 28th of March at the Kelso Senior Center in Kelso.
Coming in April will be two more anniversaries, the Valley Squares will have their 71st Anniversary on the 18th of April at the Aloha Grange. The dance begins at 7pm with mainstream and then plus from around 8:30 to 9:30 or so. This dance features Scott Zinser calling and Connie Clark cueing.
The very next day on Sunday April 19th, the Eager Beavers will be celebrating their 45th anniversary at the IOOF Hall in Hillsboro. This year the Caller/MC will be Daryl Clendenin who will be assisted by Jim Hattrick and Darrell Kalmbach. Cueing will be Daryl, Jim, and Joyce Hooper. The dance begins at 1:00pm with Pre-Plus and Ph III rounds followed by Mainstream and Ph II at about 1:45 to 3:30. Open break from 1:45 to 3:30.
Ferrous Steinka
Supporting square dancing is easy when it is lot of fun. Some of us are on a mission to give you more opportunity for fun by recruiting dancers for Seaside Summer Festival, August 21 - 23. We have ribbons for sale. For more information see our flyer at EagerBeavers.info. Look for us. We will be wearing green vests looking like crossing guards.
Set a goal of visiting at least one other club once a month. You will be warmly welcomed, which feels good, and you may find you have visitors to your club which makes both of you winners. The days are longer and the weather better so you have no excuse. However, do check for closures in case of Covid-19 virus spread to our area.
It was exciting to see such a great crowd at the TVC dance at the Aloha Grange. The dancing was fast and furious with a lot of laughter at the silly goofs even seasoned dancers had. We may not be perfect but we have more fun than anybody.
Plus Lessons are moving along quickly with a small but enthusiastic class. Sometimes it is difficult to see who is student and who is member and it is all good fun. Remember we are now dancing at the Aloha Grange as of March 2nd with lessons and brush up at noon.
What is the most important dance in April? If you said, “Eager Beaver Anniversary Dance” you are correct. Join us for a great dance and great refreshments and most important, fantastic callers and cuers. Save the date and join us at the IOOF Hall, Sunday, April 19, 1:00 pm, for a mix of Mainstream, Plus, and Round dancing.
We dance on most holidays. Even if you have a job, you can join us once in a while. Our three callers keep us on our toes as each week one seems to have some new twist to keep our minds sharp. During lessons our regular Plus dance is at 1:15 - 3:00 pm immediately following the noon class. Come enjoy our three great callers. We dance "Every Monday Afternoon" at the Aloha Grange, 185th Ave & TV Highway, Aloha. Please check for up to date information at www.EagerBeavers.info.
Rachel Nettleton
Craig Holt
Lindie Noonan
Our April theme dance will be a Peanut Butter and Jelly dance on April 6th. Lesson from 6:30 to 7:30 (angels welcome) and the dance follows from 7:30 to 9:00, with all singing calls and phase 2 rounds. Refreshments are available during open break. Please bring a jar of peanut butter or jelly to donate to the Westview HS food bank.
Please join TVC’s newest club any Monday night for mainstream lesson at 6:30 and regular dance at 7:30.
Marie Clem
April 1st through May 20th Craig will be offering a new set of Plus workshop/lessons on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm-7:30pm. April 10th is "Spring Celebration" theme dance.
April 25 we will be dark for the Yakima Sashay.
It is not too soon to remind you of our OCTOBERFEST weekend, October 9th and 10th. Please note the location will be Catlin Grange in Kelso! You can start checking GPS now, it is a closer location for most. RV parking is available, but dry camping.
Come loosen up those gardening muscles and join us at a dance. See you, Annie
Dance info: 7pm - 8pm Plus with advanced rounds, 8pm - 9:30pm Mainstream with rounds. 106 NW 8th Ave, Kelso, WA 98626 by the Rotary spray park at the intersection of Hwy 4 and W Main, Kelso/Longview. Our dances are $6 donation.
Annie Tietze
This month our Thursday Plus Dance nights are on April 2nd, 16th and 30th featuring Darrell Kalmbach calling, and Tami Helms cueing. The dancing starts with Intermediate Rounds from 7:00 and the Plus dancing starting at 7:30 until 9:30 with a break after.
Our Saturday Mainstream dance is April 4th with a theme of “’50 Sox Hop”.
Mike and Julie Stout are our Mainstream Club caller and cuer.
On April 18th the Club dance is DARK as we are going to visit the Valley Squares Anniversary Dance at Aloha Grange.
All our Mainstream Dances start with Intermediate Rounds at 7:00 until 7:30. Then our Square Dances start at 7:30 until 9:30 with a Plus every third tip.
Tom & Janice Sminia
The Toe Draggers decided to cancel our March 20th and our April 3rd dances due to the COVID-19 Virus concerns. We hope and pray that all of our square dance friends and family will stay healthy and safe. We are looking forward to dancing with you again when all of our clubs resume dancing.
Kathy Roberts
In April we plan to visit the double-anniversary dance for the Valley Squares on the 18th and Eager Beavers on the 19th. On the 26th we have our annual general meeting and election of officers, once again at Dundee’s La Sierra Mexican Restaurant which has a terrific side room and great food. Please join us at the Tigard Grange on the 10th for the “Spring Up and Pay It Forward” dance when we collect donated goods for the Tigard Good Neighbor Center, and on the 24th we dance to “Grace Notes” which is all Gospel and Singing Calls. Both dances are with our caller Terry Halley and cuer Sandra Pinion.
Gloria Davis
Some of the Valley River Dancers attended the 5th Saturday TVC dance at Aloha grange, and had a great time. There were 102 in attendance for Adam Christman (calling) and Joyce Hooper (cueing). Meanwhile in Woodburn on the same night, Randy Dibble was on stage for Valley River Dancers’ 5th Saturday ‘A’ dance, and there were 3 squares in attendance for this successful Leap Day dance as well.
Valley River Dancers had recent club visitations to the memorial dance in honor of Ken Pratt, Salem Swinging Stars, Toe Draggers and the Chaps and Petticoats Flintstone dance.
Our 4th Friday March Mainstream dance (March 27th) is our Hippie Dance. There will be prizes for the grooviest fashions. Hop into a crowded flower power van with your far out square dancing brothers and sisters and come on out to Newberg particularly if we’ve taken your banner lately! We’d love to party-on with you. Peace man!
Our 4th Friday April Mainstream dance (April 24th) is our Wild, Wild West dance. Four of our ladies will be away, so we have an even greater need for female solo dancers to come pay us a visit so the guys don't have to dance together!
We start PLUS LESSONS on Tuesday, March 24th, 6:30 – 8 p.m. $6 each. Come on out for superb instruction by Randy Dibble and improve your PLUS dancing confidence. Lessons will be at the Chehalem Community Center kitchen area (2nd and Howard Streets).
Coming this summer, we have a new Cuer for our 2nd Friday Plus night. Leonard Snodgrass will be bringing to our dance a mix of intermediate and easy level rounds. Leonard has been involved with music and dance most of his life. He enjoys square dancing and loves round dancing. Cueing and teaching dance are new passions of Leonard’s, and we are delighted to welcome him to our stage. We will have guest cuers at our 2nd Friday dances in the meantime.
Save the Date – ‘Dancing Under the Stars’ Mainstream and Round Dance--part of the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival (located at the Tennis Courts on 6th and Howard Streets) - Friday, July 24th!
The Valley River Dancers dance Plus on 2nd Fridays. Randy Dibble Calling; Leonard Snodgrass Cueing (beginning in June); and Mainstream on 4th Fridays. Randy Dibble Calling, Sherri Clark Cueing, in Newberg at the Chehalem Community Center. Randy Dibble also calls our ‘A’ dances on 5th Saturdays at the Woodburn Senior Estates Community Club. https://www.valleyriverdancers.org. Check out our new Facebook page—Valley River Dancers – Newberg.
Josie Rosenbury
Our classes are coming along very well, everyone is having a great time learning and getting to know each other. Tuesday, April 14th will be our Jamboree, 7-9 pm.
Our April 18th dance is our "71st Anniversary" dance. Come join us for a great dance. Scott Zinser is calling , Connie Clark cueing. 7- 8:30 pm Mainstream, 8:30 to 9:30-ish pm Plus (we dance until we no longer can).
See you in a square,
Carolene Siebert