Saturday night dances experiencing a big comeback at local community center
By Jennifer Kneuss
December 15, 2010
303
Dozens of people swirled across the dance floor in response to the callers directions to do-si-do, allemande right, circle left, swing, and promenade home on a recent Saturday night in the small village of Stonecreek, south of New Philadelphia. The dancers were gathered for yet another evening of dancing, good food, and plenty of socializing at the Tunnel Hill Community Center, formerly the Jefferson Grange building.
Long before the structure was the Jefferson Grange, it was Fairview School, a one-room schoolhouse located on the site of the current New Philadelphia York Elementary School on Stonecreek Road. In the early 1950s, with the new school slated to be built, Grange volunteers dismantled the Fairview building and transported it piece by piece, with horses and buggies, seven miles away to its current location near the I-77/Stonecreek interchange. The structure was rebuilt, and soon the community was gathering for activities within its walls.
The Grange was where young Pauline Lanzer, accompanying her parents to the dances, first learned how to square dance. It was also where, in 1966, Lanzer met her husband, Norm, while teaching him how to dance. The couple were married in November of that year, with a reception and dance held in the Grange building. This has been a big part of my life for over 65 years, Pauline acknowledged.
By 2009, membership in the Jefferson Grange had dwindled significantly, and its older members found the task of maintaining the building and running programs to be too great. Several community members, including the Lanzers, stepped forward, and purchased the building as a nonprofit entity, the Tunnel Hill Community Center.
Now, the well-worn wooden dance floor is host to anywhere from 50 to 80 or more dancers on three Saturday nights each month.
For our dances, we get people from all over – Mineral City, West Lafayette, Newcomerstown, a big group from Baltic – it is a pretty good area that we are entertaining, said Norm Lanzer.
It is very nice to see the young people coming, as this is a place they can go to and have a good time. Its safe. We really enjoy having them here, said Pauline Lanzer, motioning toward the 30 or more teenagers milling about. We have people here from 3 years old to 85. It is a mixed crowd of people. You dont have to know how to square dance before you come. People will be glad to help you learn how to square dance. Just jump in. The people in the set will just grab your hand and help you get into it. We do polkas, jitterbugs; we have line dancing, waltzes, and slow dances. The teens love the line dancing and even doing the Mexican hat dances. It is good to rejuvenate and get people back to enjoy dancing. Some people dont dance, but just come to enjoy the music and tap their feet. A crowd favorite is the old-fashioned cakewalks held during the dances, where, for a quarters investment, a few lucky winners go home with a delicious cake.
The Lanzers, along with other members of the group, are volunteering for the good of the community. For the community, here at Tunnel Hill we are putting together programs that are oriented to the family, especially to children, explained Norm. The idea of the community center is to keep programs in the community in order to keep families in the community. Our goal is to get things for the teens to do, too.
Cody Kretzinger, 11, loves to attend. I come to these dances because theyre fun. I dance with a lot of girls. It will be a place to hang out when Im older, too.
CJ Meek is from Port Washington, and is part of The Hand Picked Band, the band that has been playing at the dances for more than 50 years. This is a great thing for the community. Its good, clean, wholesome fun for people. Meek paused, looking across the room. A place like this is a dying breed. It is worth preserving.
Dances are held the first, second, and fourth Saturdays, from 8 to 11 p.m. Admission is $5, and $4 for those ages 3-12. The next dance will be held on New Years Day 2011.
