The club has been offering exercise, fellowship, and lots of fun for club members and guests since it began. Western style square dancing made its way from California to Ohio in the early 1950’s. The Promenaders Club was started by Paul Moore who lived in Westerville and wanted to teach neighborhood children how to square dance. As a result, several of the parents of these children also learned to square dance and they formed the club in 1958. Classes were held in the basements of the parents, local schools and the Grange Hall in Westerville. While there are no charter members with the club any longer, Carl and Beulah Fritsche, were in the second class which graduated in the fall of 1959; and Ed and Ruth Conklin, graduated in the spring of 1960. Ruth reported that they graduated after ten lessons in those days, with most calls being taught at the regular dances.
Where we’ve danced
- 1958Indian Run Golf Club on Africa Road (no longer in existence), for the first couple of years
- 1961The Masonic Temple in Westerville, for the 1961/1962 season
- 1962The Grange Hall on East College Avenue, until the fall of 2009
- 2009The old Westerville Senior Center, 310 West Main Street
- 2019The new Senior Center, 350 N. Cleveland Avenue
- TodayQuest Vineyard Church, 4877 Central College Road
The Promenaders have been quite active in the Westerville community, demonstrating their dancing skills at street fairs, local schools, art fairs, the state fair, and the like. At one time there were three clubs in Westerville, but only the Promenaders Club remains.
The “get-a-way” weekend
A highlight of the dancing season was a “get-a-way” weekend in late February, which began in 1973. The first of these weekends was held at the Salt Fork Lodge in Cambridge, OH. Beginning in 1974, club members and guests traveled to Burr Oak State Park, with a final move to the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, OH in 2001. This Promenader-sponsored activity was turned over to caller Tom Rudebock and cuer Phyllis Burdette in 2014, and was enjoyed yearly by dancers from various clubs and various states the last weekend in February.
Honoree Couples of the Year
Each year, the Central Ohio Council of Dance Clubs (COCDC) organizes an Honoree Couple’s competition, during which each club nominates a dancer(s) from their membership. These dancers are selected because of their contributions to square dancing in Central Ohio. One club’s nominee is named as the “Honoree Couple of the Year” for the Central Ohio District at the March COCDC All Club Honoree Dance. The Westerville Promenaders are very proud that six of their current or former members have been so named:
- 1999Ed & Ruth Conklin
- 2005Bob & Ann Phelps
- 2009Dick & Pat Liston
- 2015Larry & Tahna Pasqua
- 2017Bill & Gayle Uhl
- 2018Bob & Karolyn Smith
Giving back
Square dancers as a whole are generous folks, but the Westerville Promenaders seem to go above and beyond in their philanthropic endeavors. In the past they have collected school supplies and baby layettes, and supported the food bank for Central College Presbyterian Church. They also donate generously to the Toys-for-Tots drive in December; plus gathering new warm hats, scarves, mittens and gloves for The Church for All Peoples in downtown Columbus in January; and at the annual Flag Dance in June, old and worn out American flags are collected to donate to the Boy Scouts for proper destruction.
Everyone’s welcome
While the Promenaders began as a couples-only club, the Constitution has been changed allowing single dancers, and children 10 and over, as members. There are rounds as well as squares each evening, with a varied schedule of square dance callers and round dance cuers available during the season. Lessons for new dancers begin each September, on Thursday nights.
The Promenaders have had many members since 1958: some who have passed on to that great dance hall in the sky, some who have retired or relocated, a few no longer able to dance, and some who have moved on to other interests. However, most if not all would agree that they not only learned how to square dance, but found an extended family to share the good times and find support during the bad times we all face on occasion.
“Square dancing is friendship set to music!”