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Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 1
www.happy-hoppers.com March 2017
HAPPY HOPPERS NEWSLETTER
Volume 58 Number 7
President’s Message
I s anyone else out there
ready for this winter to be
over? I sure am. Bring on
spring!
As I see tiny buds here and
there, I am relieved to know
it’s just around the corner. And
that means some Hopper
events coming up. We have our
Irish potato dance in March,
officer elections in April and
our anniversary dance in May.
Many fun times ahead! Also,
we’ll have a general
membership meeting and
potluck right before our April
1st dance. We’ll eat supper
together and have our meeting
and elections before the dance. As part of a club, you all know
how important it is for
everyone to get involved and
sign up to help. You have many
opportunities in the days
ahead, and I’d like to ask you
now to be thinking of ways you
could step up and serve the
club. We are in need of
someone(s) stepping up to vice
president’s position for the
coming year. Together we can
work hard, help each
other and enjoy fun
times swinging around
the dance floor. See
you in a square!
A re you a person who enjoys meeting
new people? Do you like to help
students learn new skills? Is it rewarding for
you to see their enthusiasm each step along
the road to mastering the activity? Do you
enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from
helping to provide a space for achievement,
laughter, joy, companionship, and
community? If so, an opportunity is coming
your way.
As you know, it is time for the election of
new officers for the Happy Hoppers, and the
position of Vice President is open. The most
important, and most fulfilling, duty is running
our Monday night lessons. Tom and I have
done this for three years. It is a good gig.
The friendly welcome we received when we
first started square dancing is what kept us
coming back. The fun we have with our
(Continued on page 5)
By Liza Halpenny
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 2
By Carol Williamson
An extremely fun event happens every
year at the Linn County Fair and
Expo Center in Albany, Oregon. It is Mid-Winter Festival which was held January 27—
29th. Dancers from all over Oregon and parts
of Washington gather together to dance and
socialize. Mid-Winter is special because you
see friends that you only get to dance with a
few times a year. It is a time to rekindle old
friendships and make new friends. Thursday night was the Trails End Dance.
Dave Harry and his wife Bonnie played live
music and called a high energy dance. Dave
played his accordion and the keyboard while
his wife played the drums. Very interesting! Hunter Keller and Mike Seastrom were
the featured national callers. Both did an
excellent job! We also got to dance to lots of
our favorite callers from our area, especially
Jim Hattrick, Craig Abercrombie, and the
Wild Cards. Saturday was the most fun because around
40 of our Happy Hopper family got to dance
and dine together! We all danced along the
edge of the hall so our “Happy Hopper
photographer,” Jean Tolstrup, could get lots of
pictures of us kicking up our heels. We were
lucky enough to get a club visitation picture.
During the break lots of us had dinner
together in a side room at Izzy’s. Too much
good food, great conversation, and warm hugs
were had by all. Some of us rode the free
trolley back to the fair grounds. It was a
chilly ride with tons of laughs on our way
back. We are all blessed to be part of this fun
loving and caring group that we call the
Happy Hoppers Square Dance Club!
The Happy Hoppers participated in the “Grand March” during
the opening ceremonies of the 2017 Mid-Winter Festival.
There were smiles every where you looked. Tom
Halpenny is seen promenading Cindy Lunde.
Randy & Jackie promenade around a square.
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 3
Members of the Happy Hoppers take a few minutes to pose for a group picture during the 2017 Mid-Winter Festival.
Do we need a reminder of the weather we had here just
before we packed up to go to Albany for the 2017 Mid-
Winter Festival?
Melissa James and Rex Tolstrup promenade
around home.
Cheri Spahan and Laura take a break during the festi-
val
Melody and Darrell Mitchell are seen above
reviewing their enchantment with Mid-Winter.
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 4
March Birthdays March Anniversaries
CELEBRATIONS
4 5 5 6 6 6 9
13 14 14 16 19 23 24
Aaron Harrier Robert Bosch Joane Eby Glenn Driscoll Shirley Steadman Kraig Tront Hogen Bays Mary Fulton Ann Funkhouser Jean Tolstrup Wayne Warne Marsha Buckeye Bev Poland Judy Lindeken
Dale & Nancy Smith Michael & Elsie Cain Kraig & Denise Tront Randy & Jackie Amundson Victor Gruol & Jill Bennett
1 6
17 18 20
by Rex Tolstrup
L ast month I wrote an article suggesting
annual membership dues need to be paid
prior to the month of March. Although the
club’s by-laws include a renewal date
provision, they also address late payment of
dues. So, if you have not already renewed
your membership, there is still time. Your
affiliation and your participation in our club
are very much appreciated. Please make your check payable to the
Happy Hoppers Square Dance Club. Mem-bership dues should be given to our club
treasurer, Melody Mitchell. Annual club
membership dues are currently set at $15.00
per person or $30.00 for a couple.
H ere’s a BIG “Thank you!” to all the
people who made our February 20th
clothing resale a success. Without the gener-ous donations of clothing, the dedicated peo-ple who brought in clothing racks and set up
the sale, the fantastic helpers who remained
after lessons to help repack unsold items and
clean up the sale area, and the wonderful cus-
tomers who purchased our gently used cloth-ing, the sale would not have been as success-ful as it was. One couple, Leonard and Linda
Willey, deserve a special note of apprecia-tion. For many years they have faithfully
stored the containers of unsold clothing and
the hangers, brought them to the Square
(Continued on page 5)
By Jean Tolstrup
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 5
Learning Folk Dancing by Tom Halpenny
K en Dewire announced he would be trav-eling to Mexico for all of January, and
he asked Carol Kirsch and me to run his
Tuesday afternoon Folk Dance Club at the
Marshall Center during his absence. Ken plays recorded folk dance music
from various countries and cultures and leads
the dancers with a specific dance
choreography for each music selection.
We can view an example video clip at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7efxExvE6DQ. You would think that after attending
Ken's folk dance for the past five years that
Carol and I would be able to stumble through
leading the dances. However, the music titles
have unrecognizable names, and we were
challenged to recall the choreography of the
(Continued on page 6)
Dance Center on sale days, and returned the
containers to their home following the sale.
Their help has been invaluable. The twice yearly clothing resales truly
fund our activities throughout the year and
help to subsidize our dance and lesson nights
when we do not have sufficient revenue to
meet our expenses. The February 20th sale
brought in a little over $475 which will be a
great help in the upcoming year. So, “Thanks
a bunch!” to everyone who helped support
our club.
(Thanks A Bunch Continued from page 4)
You were challenged to bring in 300 pounds
of nonperishable foods for the North County
Food Bank, You met and surpassed this goal
by donating 360 pounds of food. The people
at the food bank were very happy to receive
these donations. They said "Bless you."
square dance friends made us want to be
Vice Presidents, to give something back to
the club that does so much for all of us.
Welcoming new dancers, encouraging them
week to week, and watching them gain skills
and confidence is so rewarding.
The Happy Hoppers are a great bunch of
people. There are ALWAYS many helping
hands, ALWAYS people who gladly step in
where needed. Even the meetings are fun.
Tom and I will support the next Vice
Presidents in any way needed. Grab the joy,
share your smile, be the next Vice President.
(An Opportunity for Joy Continued from page 1)
By Rex Tolstrup
E veryone who has attended our annual
picnic knows how much fun it is. The
annual Happy Hoppers picnic is held in early
August and is well attended. Because our
annual picnics have been such a HUGE suc-cess, the club is offering an opportunity in
the form of an April Fools picnic at the Clark
County Square Dance Center. This picnic,
of course, will be inside. All club members
are encouraged to bring a main covered dish,
a salad or dessert to share. Please plan to
attend and socialize. The picnic will start at
5:00 P.M. The club will furnish plastic ware
and plates as well as beverages.
Congratulations Happy Hoppers By Joanne Oja
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 6
dances. Before departing on his trip, Ken
prepared a playlist of twenty tracks from his
collection of about seventy music selections
for dances he thought that most of the dancers
could do. We agreed to give it a go. The plan
was that I would play the music, and Carol
would demonstrate the choreography of the
dances. Coincident with Ken's departure, he
arranged for a newspaper article to appear in
The Reflector, titled "“Folk Dancing Club in
Clark County Offers Health Fun." The report-er interviewed Ken and me. I said that the
focus is to gain a feeling for each dance. http://www.thereflector.com/eedition/
page_7f92e168-4758-5814-b134-b1604f0a2863.html
Ken traveled to Mexico and we folk
dancers met on our own for the first week,
and we greeted one new dancer. We went
through the music playlist in order. Carol and
I observed that we were challenged to recall
the choreography of many dances, but once
we began playing the music, we immediately
recalled the complete choreography. I
demonstrated a couple dances, like Black Nag
and Patty Cake Polka, and it helped my recall
to vocally sound the music as we walked the
steps. We covered eighteen dances of the
playlist during one and a quarter hour. During the second week, we greeted
several new dancers who had read the
December newspaper article. I am fascinated
to meet new dancers with their fresh brains
and observe how they gradually learn the
dance skills. Learning progresses most
quickly when we begin moving to music as
soon as possible. Dancers join hands to
transmit the feeling of the movements. All
dancers typically are off-balance while
learning a new dance, and we gradually gain
the feeling of moving to the music. We
followed the same process for three more
weeks before Ken returned. The weekly
repetition was helpful, and our ability to cover
eighteen dances maintained variety and
dancer interest. The human brain and nervous system
have an emotional Elephant side and a
rational Rider side that Chip and Dan Heath
explore in their book titled Switch. We need
to train both sides to learn a dance. We can
describe the choreography to the rational side,
which foot to transfer weight with a step or to
tap without a change of weight, and which
path to travel. But the emotional side will
learn the dance only when the music is
played, and we begin to gain the feeling of
moving to music. The Folk Dance Club meets Tuesdays
3:00-4:15 PM year round at the Marshall
Center in Vancouver. Wonderful music from
around the world. $1 until May, then $2.
Contact Ken Dewire at [email protected]
or phone 360-216-6264.
(Learning Folk Dancing Continued from page 5)
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 7
President Melissa James Vice Presidents Tom & Liza Halpenny Secretary Matt & Lise Driggers Treasurer Melody & Darrell Mitchell PAC Delegates Gil Shoemaker and Bob Nichols Evergreen Council Delegates Bryan & Katie Jones
Past President Randy & Jackie Amundson Web Master Lise & Matt Driggers Visitations Danny & Carol Williamson Newsletter Rex & Jean Tolstrup Club Reporter Marc & Fay Kahn Kitchen Lew & Bev Poland Caller/Cuer Jim (Judy) Hattrick
A GRAND ANNIVERSARY PARTY By Carol Williamson
A huge “Thank You” to everyone who
attended Danny and my “Fifty-Oneth
Anniversary Dance” on January 17th. We
appreciate all of you who braved the ice and
snow to help us support our daughter, Miki
Rindt’s third grade class. Craig Abercrombie called an extra fun
dance, as usual! He was joined by Jim Hat-trick, who improvised a two-step round dance
to “our song,” “The Richest Man on Earth,”
by Paul Overstreet. We were so touched that
he would do that! And so impressed! A big
thank you to Craig and Jim. We had shoveled lots of snow at the
Hazel Dell Grange. And we were rewarded
with seven plus squares on the floor. We feel
so blessed to have such a great square dance
family! Our daughter, Miki Rindt, and her hus-
band, Randy, also came to our dance. She
wanted to personally thank everyone for their
generous donations to help her school and her
students. We collected $920 and two baskets
of school supplies. Miki has several students
who need glasses, and she is planning to help
them receive them. Her students will also be
treated to a field trip to the Living History
Museum in Yakima this spring. And a big “Thank You” to the River City
Riders who performed. What an awesome
group of dancing friends. We also want to
thank Jolene and Ed Cummings for
everything that they do for us and our entire
“herd.” We thank you all and hope that everyone
had a great time. Our “Fifty-one Anniver-sary” is now a fabulous memory—thanks to
all of you!
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 8
UPCOMING DANCES & EVENTS
Tualatin Valley Council “Sunday Afternoon Delight” Dance Gary Shoemake calling and Yvonne Clendenin cueing 2:00 to 4:30 P.M. www.tualatinvaalleycouncil.org for details
CCSDC
Happy Hoppers Regular Dance
Jim Hattrick calling and cueing Pre rounds at 7:30 P.M. Plus dance 8:00 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. Bring finger food Door: Glenn & Sharon Driscoll Kitchen: Rex & Jean Tolstrup w/ Melissa James
CCSDC
Columbia River Dancers Tuesday Night Lesson
Round dance lesson 6:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Basic & mainstream square dance lesson begins at 7:00 P.M.
Jim Hattrick instructing
Hoedowners 67th Anniversary Dance
Daryl Clendenin calling and Yvonne Clendenin & Randy Lewis cueing Chicken Dinner 6:15 P.M. Mainstream 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. Plus 9:00 P.M.
Aloha Grange
Hazel Dell
Grange
Happy Hoppers Irish Potato Dance
Jim Hattrick calling and cueing Pre rounds at 7:30 P.M. Plus dance 8:00 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. Sign up to bring your favorite topping for baked potatoes Door: Darrell & Melody Mitchell Kitchen helpers: Volunteers needed
Happy Hoppers 4th session of Monday night square dance lessons begins 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. Plus level square dance lessons 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. Basic level square dance lessons (Levels 1- 51) 9:00 to 9:30 P.M. Mainstream level square dance lessons Door: Volunteers needed Kitchen helpers: Mitch & Judy Lindeken
Columbia River Dancers 2nd Anniversary Dance
Adam Christman calling and cueing Plus level 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. Mainstream 8:00 to 10:00 P.M.
CCSDC
Kelso Senior Center
Hazel
Dell Grange
Sunset
Presbyterian
Church
Happy Hoppers visitation to the R Square D St. Patrick Dance
Adam Christman calling and Lonnie Sykes cueing Plus & Intermediate Rounds 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. Mainstream till 10:00 P.M.
Happy Hopper Newsletter March 2017 Page 9
Boring
Barn
UPCOMING DANCES & EVENTS
Newsletter Editor: Rex Tolstrup - Please submit articles by mid-month to [email protected]
Silver Stars
Darrell Kalmbach calling and Dorothy Lowder cueing Pre-rounds 7:00 to 7:30 P.M.: Plus squares 7:30 to 8:00 P.M. Mainstream squares from 8:00 to 9:30 P.M.
Happy Hoppers Dine-Out
McGrath’s Fish House at 6:00 P.M. 12501 SE Second Circle, Vancouver, WA
Country Cup-Ups “Murder Mystery Dance”
Scott Zinser calling 2:00 to 5:00 P.M.
CCSDC
Hazel
Dell
Grange
Happy Hoppers Potluck, Membership Meeting & Election Night Dance
5:00 P.M. Potluck and general membership meeting Bring main dish, salad or dessert to serve at least eight people Jim Hattrick calling and cueing 7:30 to 8:00 P.M. Pre-Rounds, 8:00 to 10:30 P.M. Plus square dance Door: Marc & Fay Kahn Kitchen helpers: Volunteers needed
Dance On The Water - 3 Hour Dance and Cruise on Lake Coeur d’ Alene Dan Preedy and Adam Christman calling and Theresa Ray & Justine Litzko cueing Boarding at 5:30 P.M. (PDT) at Independence Point
65th Washington State Square Dance Festival “Create A Dream in 2017” Featured caller: Mike Seastrom and featured cuers: TJ & Bruce Chadd The Spokane County Fair and Expo Center will be the location of the 2017 State
Festival. 404 North Havana Street, Spokane WA
Square & Folk Dance Federation of Washington Annual Leadership Seminar
Featured caller & keynote speaker will be Craig Abercrombie. Cuer: Mary Parsons Circle 8 Ranch, 651 Lund Lane, Cle Elum, WA 98922
2017 Oregon Summer Festival “It’s A Capital Idea” Featured caller: Johnny Preston, featured cuers: Rey & Sherry Garza Blanchet Catholic School, 4373 Market Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301 (July 14th, “The Crew” will call at 2:30 to 4:00 P.M. on the Capital, 900 Court St. N.E.)
McGrath’s