NOTES ON THE HISTORY
OF THE
PALOMAR SQUARE DANCE ASSOCIATION

Compiled by Marion Wetter (2000)
Updated by Pat Herndon (2006)

The history of the Palomar Square Dance Association (PSDA) may have had its beginning with a brother and sister couple from Valley Center. Bob & Eleanore Carruthers gathered a group of friends and neighbors in their Valley Center home for the purpose of learning the basic square dance movements. The year was 1943. Those informal gatherings continued in various homes until 1947 when a formal club was established with the name Do-C-Do. About 40 people were present for the Do-C-Do Club’s first dance in the Valley Center Community Center. By 1949 there were ten square and round dance clubs in North San Diego County. The officers of those clubs decided an association of clubs would be beneficial for the promotion of their pastime. Officers of those ten clubs, Walt and Betty Clopine, Fred and Fran Williams, Doc McCrary, Bill Meadors, Frank Brotzman, and Bob Jennings, had a meeting which resulted in the formation of the "North San Diego County Square Dance Association". That meeting was held at the end of 1949 and the Association was launched in January of 1950. There were ten charter member square and round dance clubs in the new Association: American Legion Auxiliary, Boots And Bonnets, Circle Eights, Do-C-Do, Eight Hands Around, Sally Goodin, Swing Your Partner, Silver Dollar, Thirty Two Club, and Village Squares (Not the present Village Squares).

Commander Bob Jennings was elected as the first president of the Association, other officers were: Vice President-Doc McCrary; Secretary-Dave Moore; Treasurer-Mrs. Herbert Quick; Directors-John Silke, Everett Garlow, Robert Kolb; Committees-Delno Green, E.F. Squire, Jr., Walter Clopine. During the Association’s second year the name was changed to "Palomar Square Dance Association" as we know it today. The name Palomar was selected due to the Association’s proximity to the two hundred inch telescope and observatory on Palomar Mountain. Chosen as the Association logo was a depiction of the domed edifice which houses the huge telescope. This logo has been used on badges and banners for many years. Other clubs joined the PSDA over the years. Some are still active while others have fallen by the way-side for various reasons. Unfortunately, none of the charter member clubs are still in existence. When these notes were first compiled in 1989 the Association consisted of eighteen square dance clubs, three round dance clubs, and an affiliate exhibition group, "Heritage Dancers". The oldest active PSDA club at this time (2006) is the Double SDs which formed in 1948.

The area covered by the Palomar Square Dance Association extends from the Pacific Ocean on the west; Borrego Springs to the east; Encinitas, Rancho Bernardo, and Poway on the south; San Clemente and Temecula on the north. Over the years PSDA dances have been held at various places in North County: Oceanside Beach Community Center, Oceanside Boy’s Club, Vista Carpenter’s Hall, Escondido Central School, Oceanside Mission Bowl, Escondido Vineyard Shopping Center (Gazebo), Williams Square Dance Barn in San Marcos, and undoubtedly many other places the locations of which have not been documented. Likewise, Association meetings have been conducted in diverse locations: Williams Square Dance Barn, Oceanside Boy’s Club, Beach Community Center, Carpenter’s Hall, Glendale Federal Bank (Escondido Vineyard), Escondido Coast Federal Bank, Escondido Del Dios School, Escondido Central School, Glendale Federal Bank in Vista, North County Fair Shopping Center, Vista Senior Center, Brengle Terrace Nutrition Center, and several Mobile Home Parks.

The names Fred and Fran Williams appear quite often in the history of square dancing in North County, not only for their early participation as callers and cuers, and as founding members of the Association, but also as builders, and for many years, operators of the Square Dance Barn in San Marcos. Many thousands of dancers have enjoyed dancing in the rustic barn, which saw nightly square and round dance action over the years. Many early day callers, from near and far, felt they had not arrived in the Square Dance World until they had called at the "Barn". Unfortunately for square dancing, the barn came into the possession of the City of San Marcos a few years ago. The décor has become less rustic, and the multitude of uses by the City has curtailed its use by square and round dancers to a few times each month.

The same year that the Palomar Square Dance Association was formed (1950), Bob Osgood, publisher of "Sets In Order" magazine, gathered a committee of seven local square dance association presidents for a meeting. The purpose of that meeting was to plan a huge square dance for the city of Santa Monica’s Diamond Jubilee. That dance was held with 15,000 dancers in attendance. This writer has been unable to ascertain if PSDA had a part in organizing that dance, but the Palomar Association did participate in future informal meetings of the group which evolved from that first meeting. That group assumed the name "Council Of Square Dance Associations of Southern California". Palomar hosted that informal group, which had a secretary as its only officer, in May 1956. The meeting was held at Williams Square Dance Barn. PSDA has been an active participant in Council affairs since that time. By 1971 the informal Council, which now included associations from Northern California, needed to become more organized. In that year the name was changed to "California Square Dance Council", and the Council was incorporated under the laws of the State of California, with a full slate of officers. Several Past Presidents of Palomar have served the Council as Southern Area Vice Presidents or other offices, and PSDA has hosted the Council on many occasions. PSDA Past Presidents Ken & Audrey Parker and Pat & Ave’ Herndon have served as Council President.

The Council’s bid for the 1976 National Square Dance Convention was accepted by the National Executive Board. Past Palomar Association Presidents, Ken and Audrey Parker, were chosen as General Chairmen of that event. Nearly 40,000 dancers attended that Convention held in Anaheim, California.

One of the first tasks confronting the officers of the new Palomar Association was the planning of what was to become and annual Anniversary Jamboree. Early Jamborees were one day affairs—dancing from one PM to 5 PM on a Sunday, followed by a potluck dinner. The first PSDA Jamboree was held in March of 1950 at the Oceanside-Carlsbad High School gymnasium in Oceanside. The Jamboree proved to be a success, and after the second year was moved to the larger Oceanside Beach Community Center. The same Sunday afternoon format was continued through 1973. February 1974 marked the first full weekend PSDA Jamboree. Caller, Wil Eades, after much discussion with the Palomar Presidents, Norm and Eleanor Paddock, convinced the Paddocks and the Palomar Executive Board, that a weekend Jamboree could be successful. Not only was that longer Festival well attended, but it was soon evident that many dancers were appearing by Friday evening. To accommodate those early arrivals a kick-off dance on Friday evening was initiated. Various Association clubs were selected or volunteered to host those first kick-off dances. By 1979 the Jamboree had succeeded to the point where the Oceanside Beach Center could not contain all the dancers. School auditoriums throughout the city were added to the facilities for the Jamboree. This required the use of shuttle buses to allow dancers to participate in all the activities. 1980 marked the adoption of a lighthouse logo and the name "Jamboree By The Sea". Due to logistical problems and crowded facilities, the Jamboree was moved in 1988 to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the official title enhanced to become, "Jamboree By The Sea Where the Turf Meets The Surf".

In the early years of San Diego County square dancing the Heartland Square Dance Federation established a blood bank program with the San Diego Blood Bank. The agreement allowed blood donors to designate the Federation as the recipient of blood units. The accumulated units could then be used by Federation club members in need of blood replacement. The program proved to be a good thing, so Palomar and San Diego Associations were invited to participate. Heartland continued to administer the program for the three Associations. This cooperative blood bank continued for many years until 1980 when problems within the Heartland Federation made it necessary for Palomar and San Diego Associations to establish their own blood banks.

From its beginning the PSDA has published a newsletter for its members, and some of the early editions bore the title "Palogram". In 1964 Bill and Ellie Hiltbrand accepted the job of publishing the newsletter. They changed the name to "Palostar" and the format to that of a magazine. This name and format has been retained to the present time. Distribution in 1989 was approximately six hundred copies per month, but regretfully that number has decreased over the years.

Since its early history the PSDA has sponsored a dance in the months which have a fifth Saturday. Before the advent of the successful Jamborees those fifth Saturday dances were the primary source of Association operating funds. In those early years the fifth Saturday dances were the only dances which brought in callers from other areas. The clubs used their own local club callers for all dances. Each month, following the Association meetings on second Sundays of the month, the PSDA holds a dance which has become known as the "Roundup". Those popular dances are called at a level which is consistent with the level of square dance classes in progress. At one time any callers, who are teaching a class, were invited to call at those dances. This provided new dancers an opportunity to hear the calling of numerous callers. This dance format has been changed recently and only a single caller is hired to call each Roundup dance.

For many years a companion organization, "Palomar Caller’s Association" worked with the PSDA to promote square dancing. The members of the Caller’s Association donated calling time for benefits and Roundup dances, plus any other means of promoting this great pastime. The caller’s association has disbanded and reformed on several occasions, but is not in existence at the present time.

Through the years of the Association’s existence there have been many club callers, and it might be interesting to see the names of some of the early callers, some of whom are still in the area and calling. There are others who have taken their talents elsewhere, while still others have gone to the "Great Square Dance In The Sky". Here they are: Bob Biddlecome, Kenny Young, Bob Crannell, Sherm Barth, Mick Sheehan, Ray Columbe, Vic Biewener, Bob Baker, Fred Williams, Bill Keller, Bob Finley, Eddie Gaut, Lee Hensel, Don Miller, Judd Jones, Lee McCormack, Tommy Stoye, Bill Hughes, Fred Whitford, Bill Hanzel, Kirby Humble, Gary Weston, Bill Julian, Jerry Hamilton, Kenn Reid, Dick Norris, Ken Lint, Lee Boeger, B.K. Smith, Nelson Watkins, Ted Huckabone, Jess Lunsford, Mike Woods, Norm Kersh, Alan Carpenter, Bill Peffer, Peggy Thompson, Mike Robinson and Clark Elliot. It was recently learned that Clark Elliot was the caller for the first PSDA fifth Saturday dance.

Another group which has added immeasurably to our pastime are the round dance cuers who are have been PSDA club cuers: Fran Williams, Camilla Ackley, Dan Marland, Helen Jones, Howard Hockstra, Bill Julian, Kenn Reid, Dallas Tinling, Florence Kaplan, Doug Hooper, Bob Smithwick and others from the San Diego area. Bob Smithwick deserves special recognition for having been closely associated with many of the early Palomar Jamborees as featured workshop teacher and round dance cuer.

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