聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Long before digital devices made the transition from science fiction into our daily reality, some聽 folks in this community got together and decided to create a unique 鈥渟ite.鈥� It became an opportunity for friends and neighbors to 鈥渟hare鈥� their common interests and spend some 鈥渜uality time鈥� together.聽 For those who chose to make it a regular part of their lives; there is no form of 鈥渟ocial media鈥� that can rival it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Their 鈥減latform鈥� - a dance floor.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Thirty years ago, Kipling's Winter Dance Club was formed. Club members: Cliff and Ivy Johnson, Terry Ovans and Ron Sostorics say that the Winter Dance Club proved to be a 鈥済ood fit鈥� for this community from the beginning.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he Winter Dance Club started with seven couples that were members of the Kenosee Lake Dance Club,鈥� remembers Cliff. 鈥淭here are some other Dance Clubs in the area that run during the summer. But, there was nothing during the winter. And, a lot of the people that wanted to come out to dances had more time in the winter than in the summer. So, we thought 'Why not start up a club in Kipling?'鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat's right,鈥� agrees Sostorics. 鈥淭he dancers wanted to keep on dancing! For farmers, winter is our 'slack time'. So, a Winter Dance Club made sense for us.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e were all young,鈥� adds Ovans. 鈥淲e wanted to be able to get together and have fun, and get out to dances. A winter Dance Club gave us the opportunity to do that.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ivy remembers that these seven couples managed to get the news out about the new club very quickly.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e got together and formed a committee. And we decided that if we could get about 50 people to join, that we would have enough people to make a Dance Club work,鈥� she notes. 鈥淪o, each of the committee members sat down with the phone book and started calling people that they thought might be interested in joining.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t worked out well,鈥� Cliff says with a chuckle. 鈥淲e had our first dance on October 22, 1988. There were 175 people there!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e had 216 people come out for our dance on December 9, 1988,鈥� Ovans observes as he pages through the club's records. 鈥淪o, I guess you could say that we had a 'positive response!鈥欌��
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Sostorics notes that even though the number of people coming out for dances has declined somewhat, interest in the Dance Club remains strong.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎t this point, we have about 35 active members. But, when the weather is nice, we might still see about 50 鈥� 80 people coming out to dance.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although the purpose of the club has always been 鈥渟trictly recreational鈥�, the members note that the Dance Club has had a very positive impact on the community.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ver the years, the club has contributed with the money that was paid for things like Hall Rental,鈥� notes Cliff. 鈥淲hen we've sold lunch, we made sure that we bought our supplies for those lunches at local stores. And, the Lions Club has had the opportunity to raise some funds, because they've been the ones running the bar from the beginning.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've also donated towards some improvements to the Hall,鈥� adds Ovans. 鈥淢oney from the Dance Club went towards things like the drapes that are on the stage and the chair bumpers. And, the Dance Club bought a bed for the Care Home too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Sostorics says that the Winter Dance Club has also been a good opportunity for local bands to become better known.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've always had live bands - that was one rule that we had. Most of the bands come from the Melville area. But we did have some bands like the Olsons from Wawota. One fellow told me that our club was the first one to give him a chance as a One-Man Band.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Over the years, the Dance Club has continued to provide a way for members to get together and socialize.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t started out as an adult's club, although there were occasions when people would bring their kids along,鈥� Cliff points out. 鈥淣ow, most of the members are seniors because we've gotten older.聽 But, there aren't really a lot of opportunities for seniors to get together and have fun. So, the Dance Club is a good thing for seniors in this community to have.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 On Oct. 15, the Kipling Dance Club will host a special dance to celebrate its 30th Anniversary.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t will be a free dance and anyone who would like to come out is welcome to join us,鈥� says Sostorics. 鈥淗opefully, we'll have a lot of people coming out to help us celebrate!鈥� 聽
