The Chi-Town Squares was formed as a club in 1986/87 by
Jerry Cohen
and Ron Goodman. Jerry Cohen was a well
known leader in Chicago's
gay community and helped start
many organizations. Ron Goodman was
a DJ in various dance
bars around the city, working at CAROL'S SPEAKEASY
on
Wells St. at that time. | First
graduating class
1988
Click photo for full view |
Ron had
learned to square dance in Seattle before he moved to Chicago. David Boyer,
manager of CAROL'S at the time, heard of Jerry's wish to start a square
dance club which
he relayed to Ron. With that, CAROL'S, the last grand
disco palace in Chicago, became
the first meeting place of the Chi-Town
Squares. After advertising
in the local gay newspapers, about thirty students formed the first class in
September, 1987. Classes were held at the Wellington Avenue Church at Wellington
and
Broadway. A live caller was hired to teach the BMP class (basic
through plus calls)
the first year. A delegation from the club went
to the 1988 IAGSDC (International Assc. of
Gay Square Dance Clubs)
convention, Cross Trails in the Desert, in Phoenix where they
were
officially accepted into the association.
Chi-Town Squares has continued to grow in numbers, quality of dancing and as hosts
for
dances ever since. In September 1989, the club hosted its first
fly-in, The Great Chicago
Crossfire. That fall, the club started its
first advanced level class. That fall also marked the
landmark year
that Lin Jarvis joined the club to teach the
basic level class. Lin taught all the
BMP and advanced classes for
many years. He and his wife Barb became very big
supporters of the
club and help us gain acceptance in the straight square dance community.
John Oldfield, our own Club Caller, took over teaching the Advanced classes several
years
ago. In the fall of 1995 the club offered its first Challenge
Level class taught by Saundra
(Sandie) Bryant. Saundra is a very well
known international square dance caller and also a
big supporter of
the club. Our present home is Ebenezer Lutheran Church,
1640 W. Foster
Avenue in Chicago. Most dances and all classes are held there.
Saundra
Bryant and John Oldfield are now our current instructors and are assisted by
Michael Maltenfort and Larry Tradup, our newest up and coming callers.
Every year since 1988, a delegation from the club has attended the annual IAGSDC
convention. In 1991, Ron Bast, a board member at the time, decided Chi-Town
should host
a convention and put a bid in for the 1995 convention.
After much discussion, the club
agreed to go forward with the idea
and the ground work was set. A board of five members
formed Tip The
Cow, Inc. to start planning for the convention, Track 2 Chicago. Two
years
in the planning and a mountain of work done by many members all
came together over
Memorial Day weekend 1995. Around 1,100 square dancers
from the fifty or so IAGSDC
member clubs came to celebrate gay and
lesbian square dancing for three days. To make
the Convention even
more memorable, the hotel was shared by all of the men and women
in
town for the International Mr. Leather Contest. The 'Leather tip' was the largest
ever! The
twelfth annual IASGDC Convention came off very well
and the entire club had a great time
hosting the national Lesbian/Gay
Square Dance community. In other areas
the club has grown, too. Many members of the club now dance regularly with
the Recyclers, a straight Advanced/C1 level club. This club brings in quality
callers from
across North America to call every second and fourth Friday
of the month except in the
summer. Being accepted as a part of
this group of dancers was one of the first big steps
club members took
into the other dancing community. In the fall of 1995 the MCASD
(Metropolitan
Chicago Association of Square Dancers) the mainstream square dancers
association of over fifty local clubs accepted Chi-Town into their ranks. A hearty
few have
moved up and are taking lessons or dancing up to the C-4 level
with members of other
MCASD clubs.
In the spring of 1996 the second Campy Dancing Weekend was held at a Lutheran
church
camp, an hour west of Chicago.
We have hosted the 'Great Chicago Crossfire' Fly-ins since 1989 with over 110
dancers
in attendance the last few of years. 'The Great Chicago
Crossfire XIX' - The Raucous Caucus,
will be held over Labor Day Weekend, 2008 featuring Saundra Bryant and Barry Clasper,
with John Oldfield, Kris Jensen, Michael Maltenfort, and additional guest
G.C.A. callers.
On Sunday August 31, 1997 Chi-Town Squares
celebrated its tenth anniversary as part
of its annual Great Chicago Crossfire
fly-in. The follow poem was read by its author Steve
Wellman to help commemorate the
occasion.
Tenth Anniversary Poem by
Steve Wellman Though
I haven't seen much glory yet As
the club's self-proclaimed poet laureate My
humble ego was greatly enlarged When
I was approached by the one's in charge Who
ask of me if I would say A
word or two to you today And
since we're here to celebrate I'm
happy to accommodate I
asked myself "what should I say To
make this celebration gay 'Cause
happy thoughts I wish to give I
don't want to be negative So
since discretion rules the day There's
quite a bit I cannot say "Although
it would be so inviting To
talk about the petty fighting And
bickering among the board These
things" I said "must be ignored It
should not be among my jobs To
criticize the level snobs Or
those who push like macho men Or
need a shower now and then I
will not bitch when it's my turn About
those who will never learn Of
thinks Advanced is not enough When
they can hardly get though Plus I
can cannot tell them what I think Of
that putrid shade of pink At
times it is a mystery If
I am dancing with a he or she But
it would fill my soul with dread To
talk of this to them" I said "Whiner
whining over money Callers
jokes that are not funny And
Gary's little indiscretion That
thing I would never mention I'll
have to button up my lip For
though its just a Mainstream tip Regroup
is the most common call These
things I won't bring up at all The
vicious rumors we hear so much A
subject I would not touch I
said to me "Do not project An
image that we won't respect Like
how on most Sunday's without fail While
pounding down ice teas on sale We
square up in a drunken trance And
fumble through another dance A
tip we've heard a dozen times And
we break down on 'bend the line' I
also said to me "You hush About
those friends of Mary Jane Rush The
new class starting in the fall Is
well attended I recall They're
checking out the brand new meat" I
said "Now that I can't repeat The
club's disease I cannot say Is
hepatitis B or A And
I won't even start to speak About
the cliques we see each week And
I won't even start to say Our
styling is an awful way That
we do 'Sides face grand square' to
grind an ax would not be fair" But
oh my how the tongues would wag If
I ignored our things in drag And
please forgive me if I quote From
something I already wrote "The
SheDevils without regret Exude
hair spray and body sweat" But
let's not look just at the smell Each
name starts with the letter 'L' Each
SheDevil is heaven sent And
cosmetically incontinent Applying
make-up till its gone And
drunken Leda on the lawn And
the Honky Tonk Queen, Oh, yes it's true That
they've produced not one but two And
both times how they made us proud 'Cause
they weren't pulled out of the crowd No,
they were contestants in the show Unlike
a certain Hamm we know Now
all along we've all been told That
Chi-Town Squares is ten years old But
we were not members formally In
the IAGSDC Until
1988 And so in
closing I will state Although
it is inopportune We're
doing this one year too soon So
I propose we find a chair And
do this thing again next year
31 August 1997
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