As the vaccine becomes more available, the prospect of dancing again appears to be getting closer. Once we have all received the vaccine, and the governor rescinds restrictions and opens up our venues, the “new normal” will still have to be worked through. There will be some changes. Perhaps dancing outdoors will come first. Take time to do some proactive brainstorming about what this might look like, and plan a community event that would be a kickoff for a new beginning.
As I write this in January, I am looking forward to the Federation Zoom meeting on Sunday, January 24. It will be great to see the familiar faces of all the Federation officers and delegates. We need this connection to make and share plans. Even though there are no dance activities going on, it’s important to stay positive that our plans will make a difference in the future. When you read this, the meeting will have already happened. Get in touch with your Council delegates and have them share what the Federation is doing.
Some callers are doing “Zoom square dancing” for one or for a couple. I have asked a couple of the callers to write an article for the OFN about how this works. You might want to attend a “dance” to have fun and get some exercise for an evening. Try it; you will like it!
I have attended some of the Zoom meetings that the Federation callers are holding in order to prepare for getting back to dancing. They are discussing all aspects of “Callerlab’s” social square dancing. Also, more information will be coming out on advertising using social media to reach the younger generation. As always, we need more dancers, especially after the attrition that the pandemic is sure to have caused. Being unified in this effort will help get our lesson graduates dancing sooner, and with other clubs. Consequently, we will all have more fun. A lot of effort has been put into these plans. My wish is that your club and caller will support this effort and make it happen. New members are the name of the game.
Swing Your Partner……..Especially on Valentine’s Day!
Gary Clark
Federation President
A big thanks to those of you who keep sending in articles and club news. Check back next week for news about the Randall Award winner, announced at the Federation meeting on January 24.
Click here to find out how to get your information into the OFN, including dances, lessons, photos, flyers, advertisements, and caller/cuer information.
We have set up an email mailing list to notify people when a new edition of the online OFN is available, and for other important news about the OFN. To subscribe to this mailing list, just fill out this information:
You may find the text of this article by Federation 2nd Vice President Tim Keck, and useful pages from the State of Oregon and from USDA, https://ofn.club/content/2020-12/Covid%20Guidelines%20(201201).pdf .
Thomas Buchheit, the Oregon Federation's Youth Activities Chairman, would like to remind you that the Federation will award at least one $500 scholarship to a deserving high school senior or college freshman. Read the article and get the application form here.
The Federation Board held what would ordinarily have been its Mid-Winter Festival meeting as a Zoom call on January 24, 2021. The Randall Award was presented to Gary & Norma Sohn of the Mid-Willamette Area. Congratulations to a well-deserving couple!
Nominations for Federation officers for the 2021-22 square dance year were also announced:
The current President, Gary Clark, automatically becomes Past President. The current 1st Vice President, George Hermann, automatically becomes President. Ballots will be mailed to the club secretaries early in February, and must be returned to the Federation Secretary during April.
The next Federation meeting will be a Zoom teleconference on May 16, 2021, at 9:00 AM.
As of now, no Oregon Summer Festival is planned for 2021. Washington's Summer Festival is scheduled for June 17-19, 2021, in Everett, WA.
Mid-Winter Festival 2022 is currently scheduled for January 28-30, 2022, at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany.
The latest news about the National Square Dance Conventions® is located in the National Squares magazine, produced by the NEC. You can find the latest issue here: (http://nsdcnec.com/flipdocs/NatSqOnline/Natsq1120/index.html)
The 70th National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Jackson, Mississippi, June 23-26, 2021.
The 71st National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Evansville, Indiana, June 22-25, 2022. Note that the 71st NSDC Pre-Convention, previously scheduled for March 10-13, 2021, has been canceled and will be held virtually.
The 72nd National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Mobile, Alabama, June 21-24, 2023.
The 73rd National Square Dance Convention® has just been awarded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for June of 2024.
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:
February 1 -- Emerald Empire Council
February 7 -- Klamath Country Squares
February 26 -- Tualatin Valley Council
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.
Well, we made it through 2020 and are waiting to see what 2021 will bring us.
From what I have heard, most in person square dancing in Oregon will not start until late spring, or maybe even fall.
I'm happy to say I have been dancing and calling on Oregon during the lockdown. I began doing it around April 2020 online. I don't have a partner or any other dancers quarantining with me, but my phantoms and I are still enjoying dancing and having a lot of fun.
One or two couple virtual square dancing on Zoom started shortly after the lockdowns began all over the world. The first ones I saw were from Bob and Dorothy Simpson and Darby Love calling from the garage in Quesnel, BC. They did one couple squares and round dancing. That really piqued my interest. Shortly thereafter, Mike Dusoe and Denise Carbonell started up with virtual square dances, and meany more followed. At least, that was the way I found them.
There is a Facebook page called "virtual square dance" (you have to join the page) which lists weekly dance schedules, and lots of YouTube videos that teach how to dance with phantoms and have entire dances you can watch and dance to. Check out virtual square dancing and one couple dancing online.
I have met so many people from all over the world (I can now advertise that I am an international caller). I have had dances with dancers from Australia, Sweden, Germany, and many other coutries, as well as dancers from all over the USA. It has been so much fun getting to know these fun people. I usually set aside time during my hour or hour and a half for people to visit between tips.
If you have not tried this, I sincerely suggest you do so. It takes a little practice, but since there is not a full square, if you mess up, who cares? You're having fun.
You can also find round dancing all phases, and square dancing up through challenge. You can dance to callers you may not ever have had a chance to dance to before. So, come on, give it a try, folks. You will be so happy you did. You can always contact me on my Facebook page with any questions you might have.
Keep smiling, keep dancing
Sandy Harris
In response to the absence of normal square dance activities, Tom and Liza Halpenny are leading online Zoom dancing most Mondays at 7:00 p.m. for about an hour. We dance “square dancing for one couple,” plus western line dances and international folk dances which are taught. The square dancing uses recordings by Jim Hattrick and Buddy Weaver designed for one-couple squares. Participants can join the dancing or just watch and enjoy the music. Between dances, chatting and joke telling are encouraged. Let’s Keep Hoppin’ began in July as a temporary activity, using the Happy Hoppers club Monday lessons time slot, in order to maintain social connections with square dancers. We led 20 meetings in 2020 and we expect to continue for the foreseeable future. Contact Tom at gnitened@yahoo.com to be added to the notification email list with the Zoom link.
Tom Halpenny
January 19, 1941 – December 15, 2020
Jim Harris passed away on December 15, 2020 as a result of cancer. Jim lived a very interesting life. He was born in Bartlesville, OK and grew up in the Clovis/Fresno, CA area. He started his working career at age 14. He was trained as a professional painter and spent several years as a painter and paper hanger in the San Francisco Bay Area. His proudest accomplishment was working for the Marriott Corporation in the early 1970’s. He was the General Superintendent in complete control of building the three Marriott Great America amusement parks in Santa Clara, CA; Gurney, IL; and Manassas, VA. He kept 900 employees working with a total budget of over $9 million.
After he left Marriott’s he moved to Lake Tahoe, NV and built custom homes at Incline Village for several years. Jim moved to Oregon in 1981 and settled in the Bridge area. In 1989 he married Denise Glock and they spent 31 years of wonderful togetherness – lunching together, working, square dancing, and generally always being together. Jim and Denise are members of Sets In Order Square Dancers in Coquille. Jim built the parade float that the club still uses. Jim was so proud of Denise and her round dance cueing; driving her to many dances and festivals all over the state.
Jim built several custom homes in Coquille and Bandon and then was the owner/operator of American City Cabinets and Woodworking Supply in Coquille for 23 years. He made many people happy with the beautiful custom cabinets that he built. He continued to work up until just 2 months before his death.
Jim did not want any memorial services and Denise is honoring those wishes.
Final arrangements are under the direction of Amling-Schroeder Funeral Services, Coquille.
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 February Round of the Month: "A Guy is a Guy", Phase II Two-Step, choreographed by Stella and Peter Tennant, music by Doris Day.
[Download your cue sheet here] (https://www.roundalab.org/CuesheetsDL2/A%20Guy%20Is%20A%20Guy%20%2C%20Tennant%2C%20S%26P__2.pdf).
For more information on the Round of the Month, please contact .
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.
Our club so wants to get back to dancing and is looking for good news from Governor Brown in getting locations opened back up again.
I continue to write a weekly (or so) email to the dancers letting everyone know how others are doing. I find this out from reading Facebook posts to keep up on people.
Some people are doing outside stuff, others are trying to do some small family gatherings for the holidays that just passed. Others are just getting by waiting for some kind of activity to happen to get out of their homes. We will survive, hopefully sooner rather than later.
See you on the dance floor trying to remember how to do the various steps to rhythms.
Marilyn Schmit
Some granges may approach their renters to ask for donations to defray their costs, since they have no rent income. Certain expenses are fixed, as you know. It’s just as important to support your landlord as it is to support your club. Not every club is in a position to donate to their landlord; but you may be asked and it should be done if at all possible.
Jim Schira
Sadly, we have no dancing news to report for Chaps and Petticoats. Maplewood Grange remains closed, except for some interior renovations and exterior maintenance.
Emails, texts and phone calls have been our means of staying in touch with each other. We did gather, before Christmas, at a member’s home with one-third (1/3) of our membership in attendance. It was great to visit and share a meal - felt like normal and time flew by.
Now that the COVID vaccine is rolling out to our necessary workers, care facilities and some appointments are occurring, we sure hope the wearing of masks, social distancing and “shelter-in-place” is lifted soon and dancing can resume. ‘Lessons for all’ will be the theme when our hall re-opens.
Betty Chipps
The Hoppers are going to have a meeting in February. The first in several months. Via Zoom, of course. Looking forward to seeing their faces and hearing John Kaleta's jokes. In the meantime, we have been getting together via Zoom to do square dances for one couple and line dances with Liza and Tom Halpenny. So much fun to see everyone. And Tom and Liza have committed to continue as long as necessary. Thanks! You two are the Bomb!!
Looking forward to everyone being vaccinated and that herd immunity. Until then, please stay safe and healthy.
Janet Linebarger
The vaccine is coming and with it is a renewed hope. Meanwhile let is remember to reach out and stay connected to our fellow dancers., Stay well and hold on to the hope that we will be dancing again soon.
Carol Mendenhall
As we look ahead to a return to dancing, the Ramblers are giving serious consideration to the Social Square Dance (SSD) program under development at CALLERLAB. Compared to the way most clubs currently operate, SSD offers new dancers a shorter, simpler, and more active route to becoming a dancer. Coming back from our COVID hiatus seems like a good time to give this a try. If any clubs or callers out there have experience with SSD, we would love to hear from you!
Wishing everyone good health and good cheer!
Jeff Knapp
President
This has not stopped all social activity, however. The Sunset Promenaders have a weekly "keep in touch" email newsletter, open to all dancers. Eager Beavers have their monthly Beaver Log with a new "sharing of activities" of what members are up to. The TriSquares have monthly Zoom meetings currently discussing how to get started once it is safe to do so. Hoedowners and the Aloha Grange completed their annual "Adopt a Family", donating Christmas gifts to a needy family. Said coordinator Krystal Laas, "Missing was the usual camaraderie while folks are donating and then the wrapping party which was always especially fun. I did enjoy seeing the faces of those who dropped gifts off at my house. Social distancing was observed for the donating, wrapping, and delivering of the gifts."
Ferrous Steinka
Get your shot, wear your mask, social distance for now and try to remember all of the "throughs" i.e. swing, pass, dive, etc.
There is hope!
Nick Johnson
Now you know how it feels to miss all those great dances we took for granted last year. We missed festivals, holidays, and the friends we see regularly. When we begin dancing again resolve not to take all these great activities for granted and help with the organizing the celebrations. My grandmother kept reminding me that “Many hands make light work.” when I tried to disappear to read my latest book. It will take all hands on deck to “get back into the swing of things” so when the call comes say “count on me to help”. Remember your callers are now suffering from cabin fever so they will be just as happy to see us as we are to hear them again.
I always liked the Valentine Dance and the crowning of the King and Queen of Hearts so maybe someone will find a way to elect them virtually this year. I always like to look forward to themed dances during the year.
As I write this it is the last day of 2020 and my resolution for 2021 is to do my part in making someone else’s day a little more pleasant. Maybe they cannot see my smile but they can see a friendly wave and hear a cheery greeting.
For now I put on the music and dance around the living room. I will be seeing you in the square some time this year.
Do not just hope for a better year, be part of the process. Keep the faith and keep checking for our start date at www.EagerBeavers.info.
Rachel Nettleton
Did any Hoedowners do anything new?
Besides wearing face masks and washing our hands,
The year twenty-twenty meant canceling plans.
We did get Mid-winter and an Anniversary dance
But everything else was gone in a flash.
We didn’t do Seaside in March like we thought
Or camping in June to use the reservations we bought.
Summer Festival plans and our pretty green vests
Just became a part of the distancing mess.
No pirates, no cowboy, no singing along.
No classes, no Barn Dance, no themes used at all.
No Seaside Sashay, no turkeys to toss
No Applebees trips, we’ve been at a loss.
No eating and laughing or goofy games played
We did as we’re told and at home we all stayed
Well, it’s the twenty first year and we’re looking ahead
To getting a shot and stopping the spread.
As soon as we know it’s safe to make pairs,
We’ll grab a partner and form up a square.
Stay safe!
Krystal Laas
We will keep you updated on calendar changes thru this OFN report as well as our website: www.mixandminglesquares.org
Lindie Noonan
Kathy Degman
Gloria Davis
February 26 (4th Fri)