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

1976 Portland, ME 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/.

2009 – *Josephine “Jo” Yakimowski (MA)

Round Dance Cuer Jo Yakimowski started square dancing in 1973 with the Spares `n Squares in Milton, MA. Archie Howell was the caller. Jo’s mother saw an ad in the paper and said it would be fun since she had gone with Charlie Baldwin during World War II down to …

2009 – Sandi Simmons Toth

Round Dance Cuer & Teacher Sandi has been involved in New England square and round dancing for more than three decades. She has been a dancer, teacher, founder and leader of dance clubs and an active participant and leader of many organizations. These include local area associations, the New England …

Bailey, Hillie: SDFNE Hall of Fame

November 17, 2007 My name is Joseph Fabian and today I’m here today talking with Hillie Bailey, From Holden, Maine. A nationally recognized Hall of Famer from New England, Hillie has dedicated his life to the art of Square Dancing. Joseph Fabian: Hillie, Tell us about where you were born …

Baird, Pancho & Marie

Bob Brundage –Hi again. This is Bob Brundage and today I’m in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The date is November 14th, 1996 and today I’m at the home of Pancho and Marie Baird, certainly one of the most respected old timers around that’s been associated with square dancing for many, …

Baker, Clark: SDFNE Hall of Fame

CLARK BAKER INTERVIEW Bob Brundage – Well, hi again. This is Bob Brundage and today is December the 3rd, 2006 and today we have the pleasure of talking with a gentleman back in Belmont, Massachusetts by the name of Clark Baker. Clark is very well known in the square dance …

2008 – Bob & *Norma Silva (FL)

Square Dance Caller and Round Dance Cuer Bob and Norma began Square and Round Dancing in 1976 with the Riverside Squares. They enjoyed the activity so much that they graduated callers school and became a Caller/Cuer team. They started their first square and rounds class in January of 1979 and …