ENTERTAINMENT |
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"The
Waltz You Saved for Me"
Glenda Van Zandt Stroud |
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Before wall-to-wall carpeting was in
vogue, and before anyone could afford it, most homes had
bare wood floors. But folks could purchase
patterned linoleum from Sears & Roebuck or Montgomery
Ward to cover that bare wood: it saved scrubbing
the floors with lye soap and was a good way to avoid
splinters. Nobody had anything, but we all had
plenty of nothing together in equal proportion so that
no one felt left out. Yet those bare or linoleum
floors were the perfect setting for country
dances.
Of course, most dances were planned but many were the
result of an impromptu decision. Without the benefit of
telephones, a community put the word out and pretty soon
everyone knew at which house to arrive a little after
dark thirty. Many people bought "Spangle Dust" at
Woolworth's and kept it on hand to sprinkle over the
floor as it made shoes easily glide across the floor.
Corn meal was also used if the latter was considered an
extravagance. As friends and neighbors arrived,
furniture was moved and musicians tuned their
instruments. Waltzes and two-steps were
intermingled with schottisches and polkas. There was
always a square dance or two as there was usually a
local caller. |
First Couple right, lady in the lead,
Lady 'round the lady, gent solo,
Lady 'round the gent, but the gent don't go.
Ring-up four as you come around
Circle four with your feet on the ground.
Break and swing that pretty little thing,
and
On you go to the next in the ring.
On to the next, lady in the lead,
Lady 'round the lady, gent solo,
Lady 'round the gent, but the gent don't go.
Ring-up four as you come around
Circle four with your feet on the ground.
Break and swing that pretty little thing,
and
On you go to the next in the ring,
On to the next, lady in the lead,
Lady 'round the lady, gent solo,
Lady 'round the gent, but the gent don't go |
Ring up four in a pretty little ring,
Once around and everybody
Swing,
And we'll Promenade around the ring.
Chorus
Promenade your Partner 'round,
Make
that big foot jar the ground,
Take
those pretty girls right on around,
When
you get home just settle down, and
Swing
your Partners one and all,
Swing
them all around the hall.
Balance
to your Partners all,
Squares
your sets, and listen to the call........*
* Source:
American Square Dances of the West &
Southwest - Author:
Lee Owens, 1949
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Most of the time there was a potluck supper to keep the
energy alive. The playing of "Home Sweet Home"
signaled that the dance was coming to a close. No
matter how late folks got to bed, the family was up
early the next morning tending to the necessary chores
as neither roosters nor cows allowed extra time for
sleeping in..
Most homes had a piano and every community had its share
of musicians. Playing an instrument was considered
by some a necessary avocation. One such person was my
daddy, Taylor James "T.J." Van Zandt.
He was raised on an 160 acre farm at Ft. Chadbourne in
Coke County, but he lived most of his life at Blackwell
and Maryneal in Nolan County. He could play any
instrument; however, he did not like the Jew's Harp as
it made his mouth sore. Self-taught like most
local musicians, he could not read music yet he had all
the music theory in his head.
The instrumental "Ft. Chadbourne Blues" was
created in the late 1930's by the Bronte Yellowjackets,
a band whose members wore white pants/shirts with
yellow jackets. Daddy played sax and trombone for the
group while his brother Jodie played sax.. Daddy
was also a substitute piano player for Milton
Brown and the Musical Brownies prior to Brown's death in
1936. . His style at the piano emulated that of
Brown's regular piano player, "Papa" Calhoun, who was a
classically trained jazz pianist. When I hear the
riffs of "Papa" Calhoun on Brown's now released CD's, I
immediately think of Daddy.
During the '30's and the '40's he made most of his wages
by playing music---but working for the WPA and
McDonald's Gin helped put food on the table, too. Later,
when he was working for Lone Star Cement plus gauging
oil wells and tending the pump jacks, time for playing
dances was precious. Yet after he retired, he and his
pals from the '30's regrouped for regular jam sessions.
They would be playing an old tune and the rest would
stop but Daddy would keep on playing the piano.
"T.J., what's that?"
"It's the bridge, Jack," all the while not
missing a note.
"Well, hell, I had plumb forgot that..."
Feeling for the forgotten notes, pretty soon all
had reached back into their memory and the instrumental
was revived with gusto!
At Blackwell, I remember two outstanding fiddle players:
Bill Green and Harve McPeeters. When Bill played
"breakdowns" like "Eighth of January", the rosin powder
left by his bow formed a cloud above the fiddle strings.
He was left-handed and thus held the fiddle in his right
hand and the bow with his left hand. It always
seemed that he really enjoyed such hard work "playing
backwards". In contrast, Harve had a laid-back,
smooth style with his bow---whatever the tempo.
Harve also strung his bows with hair from the tails of
his horses. Although rosin did have a whitening effect,
his bow strings were always a mixture of gray and black
hairs. With his fiddle, Daddy liked to play
harmony to Harve's lead fiddle.
The invention of the television brought the world of
entertainment into the living room. Time once set aside
for a country dance diminished as Liberace and Lawrence
Welk entered the living room. . And wall-to-wall
carpeting surely added to the demise of those
dances---but the memories still remain..
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Tad Richards held a Birthday Party each year.
He had a huge two story barn where he held a
BarBQ and had a dance each year. This was
in Coke County, but folks from Nolan County were
always in attendance. Saunders men helped
with the BarBQ and T.J. Van Zandt was in charge
of furnishing the musicians.
Tad Richards
Birthday Party
Submitted by: Glenda
Van Zandt Stroud
When Tad Richards built the large new house
on his ranch near Bronte, he also built a huge two story barn. The
upper floor was finished hardwood because he was tired of moving
furniture to have a good dance. This is in Coke County but
people from Blackwell who lived in Nolan County were always in
attendance.
Tad held a big BarBQ and dance there every
year on his birthday. My Saunders uncles usually helped with the
BarBQ and my daddy, T. J. Van Zandt, was in charge of gathering up
the musicians--he usually played piano. So it could be called a
real barn dance!
In this picture of the square dance, that is Tad in front with
the tie, but his swinging partner is Mrs. Charlie (Eulah)
Copeland. From L-R the "swinging" couples are Mr. Charlie Copeland
[back], Tad's dtg, Ardith (I think)], my mother Florine Van Zandt
[back], Delas Alsup, Sarah Alsup [back], my grandfather Harvie
Saunders --white hair.
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