Square Dance Foundation of New England

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/.

2000 – Ed & Joy Rutty (CT)

Square Dance Caller & Teacher Ed and Joy Rutty began dancing in 1962, graduating after only six lessons. After some “furious” dancing for two years, Ed became “bitten by the calling bug” and became so accomplished that he actually started getting paid in 1966. Thirty-four years later, Ed is still …

2000 – Dave & Barbara Hass (CT)

Square Dance Caller & Teacher In 1953, at the age of 16, Dave Hass began square dance calling under-the direction of 1. Bard McNulty. By age 20, he had started 2 square dance clubs in CT: Belltown Squares of E. Hampton & the C- Twirlers of Co1chester. In addition, he …

2000 – Mary F. & Willard (Bill) Jenkins (NY)

Square Dance Caller & Teacher Not every couple can say they have “danced” their way through life, but Mary & Bill can. Mary was born in 1914 and became her father’s square dance partner at age 4. Bill started traditional dancing at age 16. And following their marriage in 1938, …

1999 – Al & Anita Monty

Square Dance Caller & Teacher In our Square Dance Activity we have the opportunity to share the accomplishments of individuals. AI & Anita Monty’s dedication and commitment to the square dance movement in Vermont has been extensive. AI, who has been calling for over fifty years, started at the young …

1999 – Mil & Anna Dixon

Square Dance Caller & Teacher Mil & Anna Dixon, both individually and collectively, have been notable in their contributions to our Square Dance Activity. Mil and Anna became members of the Checkmate Square Dance Club in 1967 and soon were involved as dance leaders, being elected Presidents in 1971. …

1999 – Carol Paris (NH)

Square Dance Leader Carol Paris’ self-described “adventure” in the Square and Round Dance activity began with a two-month “introduction” with the Strolling Solos of Medford, Massachusetts in 1979. She liked it well enough to graduate from the Single Eights Class in 1980, and she has been going strong ever since! …