Square Dance Foundation of New England

2012 Hartford, CT Convention

1976 Portland, ME Convention

2012 Hartford, CT Convention

1976 Portland, ME Convention

2012 Hartford, CT Convention

Welcome to the Square Dance Foundation of New England!

The Library/Museum of the Square Dance Foundation of New England (SDFNE) has been closed, however the SDFNE continues to exists as an online entity at: http://www.sdfne.org. It is important to realize that a large collection of materials from the SDFNE collection are available on the SDFNE.org web site. Most important among these are the full set of Bob Brundage interviews with more than 100 leading square dance people from the past 60 or more years and the complete digitized issues of the New England Caller/Northeast Square Dancer magazines. The complete publications of five major caller note services are also available on the web site. There are many other items available for viewing.

The collection of historical materials has been transferred to the University of New Hampshire. The Milne Special Collections Library there has what is probably the largest collection of square dance related material anywhere in the world. As we closed our museum we moved a huge amount of books, documents, recordings, photographs and other items to the UNH Library. These added to the already substantial collections we had been sending over the past decade. The task of organizing and cataloging this material will take years. To help support the University’s work on this task the SDFNE has recently made a contribution of $5000 and we hope to continue this support in the future.

Many of the books and records that we have shared with UNH over the past decade have already been cataloged and are listed on the UNH web site. To search for books use the web address: https://www.library.unh.edu/ then enter the keyword SDFNE. Click here to look for records and enter the collection name SDFNE. Other types of materials will require a more specific identification and help with searching the very complete donation lists that the Foundation has on our computers. If you are searching for something like that, contact Jim Mayo: jmayo329@aol.com or John Wedge: jbwedge@gmail.com.

In November of 2016, the SDFNE transferred much of the remainder of it's museum documents and artifacts to the Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY. At this time, Square Dancing is not yet mentioned on the web site of the Museum of Dance, however they have informed us that they will be featuring a special page and a display on Square Dancing in the near future. Our contact is programming and outreach director coordinator, Jessica Munson. Her email address is: info@dancemuseum.org. They're web site is: http://www.dancemuseum.org/.

Also, check out the Square Dance History Site at: https://squaredancehistory.org/.

Reel, Rich

RICH REEL – July 13, 2008 Bob Brundage – Well, hi again. This is Bob Brundage. The date today is July the 13th, 2008 and we’re talking with Rich Reel out in Brisbane, California. Rich is a webmaster of all sorts of things and we’re anxious to find out more …

Riggs, Bob

Bob Riggs – May 3, 2012 Bob Brundage – Well hi again. This is Bob Brundage and today is May the third, 2012 and today I’m talking with Bob Riggs up in Centennial, Colorado. We had an enjoyable session or two at the Callerlab convention in Nashville a month ago so …

Ritucci, Ken

KEN RITUCCI INTERVIEW February 12, 2004 Bob Brundage – Tonight we’re talking with Ken Ritucci back in West Springfield, Massachusetts by telephone. Ken is a fine caller and caller-coach and has been around the square dance world for some time and we’re looking forward to an interesting interview about his …

Roth, Gloria Rios: CALLERLAB Milestone, SDFNE Hall of Fame

Gloria Rios Roth – March 23, 1997 BB – The third interview of the day and we’re very, very happy to meet a very old friend, excuse me, a long time friend, originally from Massachusetts, now living in Nova Scotia. Today, again, is March 23 and we are still here …

Rutty, Ed: SDFNE Hall of Fame

ED RUTTY NOVEMBER 13, 1996 (Bob Brundage) Well, here we are again, this is Bob Brundage, and today is November the thirteenth, 1996, and we just enjoyed a very nice lunch with Ed and Joy Rutty, we’re in the big metropolis of Portland, Connecticut. (Ed Rutty) Big! [BB] And so …

Sargent, Don

Don Sargent – March 11, 2011 Bob Brundage – Well hi again. This is Bob Brundage and today is March the 11th, 2011 just a couple of days after my 89th birthday and today we’re having the pleasure of talking with Don Sargent and his wife Hope and they’re residing …