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 kendew@gmail.com

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 tolstrup573@pacifier.com

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