at the Square & Round Dance Hall
In Pioneer Park
Fairbanks, Alaska
Pioneer Park Square Dance Center
March 16 (Tuesday) 7:30-9:30pm
Pioneer Park Square Dance Center
March 30, (Tuesday) 7:30-9:30pm
Pioneer Park Square Dance Center
Pioneer Park Square Dance Center
April 20 (Tuesday) 7:30-9:30pm
Pioneer Park Square Dance Center
The Prospector Squares Plus Club in Fairbanks, Alaska
dances at the Farthest North Square and Round Dance Center
located in Pioneer Park (formerly Alaskaland).
The Club dances the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
with Caller/Cuer Jerrie Weatherford who calls both
Mainstream and Plus level square dancing for the club members and their guests.
Jerrie is currently just learning round dance cueing,
and occasionally, she will practice a round dance and
welcomes the group to give it a whirl.
Summer visitors to Fairbanks are especially welcome to join in the fun of dancing
and listening to the tales told by club members who have lived many years in Alaska.
Click here to view Current Dance Schedule.
A Short History of the Club
In the early spring of 1981 four couples met with
Darwin (Dub) Bartels, a local caller and dancer,
to see if he would do some Plus1/Plus2 Workshops for them.
The couples were Bob and Doris Brown, John and Betty Blackstone,
John and Trude Curwen, and Red & Helen Lawyer.
Dub ordered some records and notes on Plus movements and
started workshops in Curwens' basement with anyone who wanted to attend.
The group quit for the summer but started in the fall and
began to discuss formation of a club.
Since Dub was new to calling Plus, he contacted a local military man,
Bob Locke, who was a caller and asked if he would be
interested in calling workshops and/or dances if the group formed a club.
Dub promised to keep working on plus calling so if Bob needed time off
Dub would be available to cover for him and
would be able to take over as caller for the club when Bob left.
He agreed so they began dancing on Sunday afternoons at Walt's Hoedown Center.
Dub was elected as the president of the workshop dancers
and then of the Prospector Squares which was formed in April 1982.
Bob and Doris Brown were also officers.
When the Farthest North Square and Round Dance Center was opened at Alaskaland
the Prospector Squares moved there and continued dancing on Sunday afternoons.
When the Golden Heart Round Dancers ended their Tuesday night classes for the summer the
Prospector Squares moved to Tuesday nights for the summer.
In the fall of 1988 the Golden Heart Round Dancers ceased holding classes on Tuesday nights
so that fall the Prospector Squares continued their dances on Tuesday night year around.
They held winter classes on Sunday afternoon until attendance dwindled so much that
they moved their classes to Tuesday nights from 7:30 to 8:30 PM and
danced from 8:30 to 10 PM. Sometimes they stayed to 10:30 PM if the dancers felt like it.
When Bob Locke left in 1984, Dub became the club caller until 1993 when he had to retire due to his health. Lynn Davidson was club caller until he and Velma left for Texas in October 1998.
Al Weber then became club caller and Bill Mudd filled in for him
when he had to have knee surgery the winter of 1999.
Al left the summer of 1999 to travel so Bill Mudd took over as caller.
When Bill and Isabelle Mudd decided to devote more time to other pursuits,
John Hanchett and April Boynton held an organizational meeting in September 2008
to restructure the club so that we could carry on the legacy of those who came before us.
We then hired Jerrie Weatherford as the new caller and are
continuing the square dance traditions for the club.
Those who came before us and have strived so diligently to create this club are being honored by the continuance of the club both now and for future generations of dancers.
Help us to make square dancing an enjoyable and
fun year-round activity here in the Interior of Alaska by joining us in a square.
Currently the Prospector Squares dances the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 7:30-9:30 PM.
Contact us:
Call 907-458-7727 or email us Boynton@gci.net
When emailing please put "Prospector Squares" in the subject line
so that your communication does not go to the delete bin.
We are always happy to accommodate out-of-town guests if at all possible,
by gathering together a square and putting on the coffee!
Square em' up!
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