The ultimate caller — remembering the late Dick Mackey

The ultimate caller — remembering the late Dick Mackey
Woodland Studios

Dick Mackey is shown here from last December after calling his final square dance for the Gnat Boxers, closing a 50-year career. Mackey passed away July 1.

                        

Editor’s note: The following was written and submitted by the Gnat Boxers Square Dance Club about Dick Mackey, who served as the club caller for over 50 years and taught people from Wayne, Ashland, Summit and Holmes counties how to square dance. He retired in December 2020, and the club had planned a party in his honor for August, but he fell ill and passed away on July 1.

Dick Mackey made the tapestry of Wooster richer and more vibrant by serving as club caller for the Gnat Boxer Square Dancers for over 50 years.

Mackey used an easy-going, gentle approach to stitch together lesson after lesson, teaching hundreds of folks to do-si-do and weave the ring. He preferred Western-style square dancing because one acquires a finesse and smoothness of moves through a period of learning and dedication, producing a graceful fluidity set to music. In addition, the unique social aspect of square dancing allows folks to weave their lives with one another, often creating lifelong friendships while also offering countless health benefits.

In 1959 Bill Alkire taught square dance lessons through the Wooster YMCA. Inspired by the popularity of the class, two years later he struck out on his own and formed the Gnat Boxer Western Square Dance Club, named after a move known as box the gnat. The club first danced in the high school cafeteria of what is now Cornerstone Elementary School.

During the early 1960s, friends Bob and Annabelle Ogden persuaded Mackey and his wife Nancy to try square dancing. Pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed dancing, Mackey agreed to take lessons. Nancy paid for the classes up front, knowing he would finish the course if money had been invested.

Intrigued with the calling aspect of square dancing, Mackey began playing around with calling while still taking lessons. Then in 1965 he officially launched his teaching career when the city manager of Rittman encouraged him to form a club known as the Rittman Grand Squares.

Experienced dancers, known as Angels, traveled from Wooster to Rittman to partner with the students to bolster Mackey’s confidence. Because many of the members lived in Norton, the club eventually relocated and subsequently changed its name to the Norton Grand Squares.

In 1967 Mackey replaced Alkire as club caller for the Gnat Boxers and eventually moved the club to Valley College Grange. He recalled running speakers on both floors of the Grange because members danced in the basement and on the main floor. Quickly outgrowing the Grange, the Gnat Boxers made Triway Junior High their next home. From Triway, the club returned to the YMCA. However, when the YMCA converted the space used by the club into a weight training room, Mackey moved the Gnat Boxers to Ida Sue School, where they continue to this day.

The Ohio State Fair used to hold yearly square dance competitions for the youth. Over a span of 20 years, Dick and Nancy Mackey led the Wooster team. Local folks often referred to their home as “The Dancing House” because they opened their basement and their garage and yard to the youth of Wayne County for over two decades.

In good weather folks parked their cars on the side of the road, pulled lawn chairs from their trunks and watched the kids practicing outside on the Mackeys’ lawn. Envied by their opponents, the Wooster team became formidable foes, winning many trophies over the years despite rigid rules, fierce competition and synchronized moves.

Although Dick and Nancy Mackey’s oldest son, Dwight, did not enjoy square dancing, he loved to play bass guitar. Sadly, Dwight passed away at the tender age of 16. Their youngest son, Matt, called his first dance to “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll” at the state competition just three days after his eighth birthday. Their daughter, Denise, as well as her children have all danced competitively at one time or another at the state fair. Additionally, both Denise and Matt periodically called with their father.

However, the fondest memory from those years comes from a time when the dancing in the basement stopped long enough to make hardtack candy with the youth. Somehow, Dick and Nancy Mackey always managed to weave sweetness into everything they did.

Considered a regional caller, Mackey called dances all over the state of Ohio, as well as in New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Michigan. Additionally, Dick and Nancy Mackey traveled to Canada and all four of the main islands of Hawaii during his calling days. However, his favorite place to call remains at home with the Gnat Boxers.

Mackey retired from calling at the end of 2020 with 55 years under his belt. Coming out of the pandemic, he looked forward to attending a retirement open house planned in his honor. Regrettably, he fell ill in the middle of June and quietly slipped away the morning of July 1. In early June he had commented that he thoroughly enjoyed his ride with square dancing from start to finish with no regrets because he mostly accomplished what he set out to accomplish.

Ever humble, Mackey said he never considered himself a real sophisticated caller because he kept his patterns simple. However, Nancy remembers many nights when he returned home from a dance and would ask her if she wanted to kiss a star.

Like old scraps of fabric sewn together to create a patchwork quilt, Mackey took time to weave a legacy of Western-style square dance through the very fabric of Wooster, making his hometown richer and more vibrant.


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