CAROL SHETLER/Muncy Luminary Left to right: Linda and Rudy Moyer; Linda and Gerald Gordner, all of Muncy; and Caller Glenn Stuck, of Kratzerville, enjoy western square dancing at Jelly Stone Park, Milton.

MUNCY –  Longtime Square Dance enthusiasts Linda and Gerald Gordner, and Linda and Rudy Moyer, all of Muncy, are members of the Country Twirlers Square Dance Club. Recently, we caught up with the couples dancing in the pavilion at Jelly Stone Park, Milton.

Muncy residents for 47 years, Linda Moyer said of the ladies, “We have lots of dresses and several costumes. Usually the men wear something to compliment their partners attire. Sometimes, all eight people in the square will dress in the same color, other times, we look like a rainbow.”

The group also incorporates round dance and line dance in their repertoires. Mrs. Moyer said, “I prefer round dancing for it I make a mistake it’s just me, in square dancing, we’d mix up eight people. Her thoughts on dancing as a whole was, “its a good, wholesome exercise, people are helpful and we’ve made a lot of friends.”

  The Moyer’s have been with the ‘Twirlers’ for 16 years. Rudy said, “My brother got us to join and soon after he quit.” With this group, the Moyer’s have moved around to various sites for dancing with caller Glenn Stuck of Kratzerville.

The Gordner’s have been dancing for about 30 years in fact, their first date was dancing at Stamm’s dance hall at Milton. They have been with the twirlers for ten years. This type of dancing is done is several countries across the world. Always called in English, so you can dance in any country as the group did one year in England and Wales. Linda said that “this type of dancing is almost a lost art . We’ve met lots wonderful  people, many are Christians.

A clinical study had determined that a 70% chance of not getting Alzheimer’s, it’s a good exercise for mind and body.

Earlier this month, the Club celebrated its 41st year with a reunion attended by 200 past and current dances who enjoyed the evening. Now numbering 37, the group holds monthly theme dances, performs at the state farm show, in nursing facilities, and occasionally in other states and countries.

Club members are from a large area and in addition to our subjects and those of the Union/Northumberland County area, others hail from State College, Lock Haven, Avis, Danville, Catawissa, and Nescopeck.

Against a background of recorded music, Glenn Stuck calls dance moves for the “Western Square Dance,” one of two American types of square dancing, along with the traditional square dance. As a dance form, ‘modern western square dance’ grew out of traditional square dance in the American west, the official dance of the US from 1982-1993. US military servicemen spread ‘modern western square dancing’ during the 1950s through 1980s. Modern square dancing is found in countries such as Japan, Denmark, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Taiwan, Spain, Germany and Australia. The Callerlab organization has standardized dance calls so that dancers may dance anywhere in the world.  

The Country Twirlers Square Dance Club will be sponsoring free square and line dances each Tuesday in September beginning at 7:00 in the pavilion of Jellystone Park, 670 Hidden Paradise Road, Milton.  Couples, singles and families are welcome.  Dancing is one of the best forms of exercise and is a fun social activity.  For more information on the Country Twirlers see their facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/CountryTwirlers/.  Please include our upcoming free dances in your paper.  For more information contact: Glenn Stuck, 5715 Route 204, Selinsgrove, Pa.  17870, (570) 374-2722, countrytwirlers@verizon.net.