Square dancing hooks seniors

Date: 11/10/2004

Edition: Wisconsin
Section: Tri-state
Page: A3
Story type: Current

Photo Caption: Members of Rose's Ramblers senior dance group square dance at the Salvation Army Senior Citizens Center.

Photo Credit: Deanna Fainelli


Square dancing hooks seniors
by MARY NEVANS-PEDERSON



Dubuque -- "Allemande left ..."Promenade your purty little doll ..." Nimble feet skipped across the floor to the country swing beat of "Drinking My Baby Good-bye" at the Salvation Army Senior Citizens Center.
Most of the square dancers were singing along to the catchy song and no one faltered in the complicated twirls, kicks, swings, turns and high-fives.
It was a regular Friday afternoon practice session of Rose's Ramblers, a senior square-dancing troupe.
Madonna and Vernon Gudenkauf, both in their 70s, had never square danced before attending their first session 11 years ago. It took a couple of weeks of tripping over each other's feet before they got the hang of it. Then they figured out the calls and steps and were hooked. Not only do they teach beginners on Tuesday mornings, they seldom miss a Friday afternoon advanced session.
Lavonne Hohnecker, 82, has been dancing with Rose's Ramblers for 14 years. She started after she retired and now she too helps teach beginners and is part of the troupe that visits area nursing homes to dance for the residents.
"I have met all sorts of nice people. I would really miss the senior center. Without it, I guess the (dance) group would have to fold," said Hohnecker, of Dubuque.
The Gudenkaufs are very involved with senior center activities and serve on its advisory board. The first week of each month they are at the center four days for dancing, board meetings and the monthly potluck lunch.
"We would be lost without it. There is something going on all the time.
For some of the seniors, I think it is the only time they get outside to do something," said Madonna Gudenkauf, of Dubuque.
The senior center is just one of many programs at the Salvation Army supported by funding from the United Way. This fiscal year, the agency will receive $43,350 from the United Way.
"We need that funding to run all-around programs here, especially the senior center and our welfare program," said Marlene Smothers, director of the senior center, which has been operated by the Salvation Army for 22 years.
Besides the square-dancing sessions, the senior center offers bus trips, hikes and walks, bingo, crafts, bridge, health clinics and other activities.
Both Gudenkauf and Hohnecker praise the benefits of square dancing.
Gudenkauf invited any seniors (age 50 and older) who would like to learn to either call the center at 563/556-1573 or show up on a Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. The center is located at 1099 Iowa St.
"It is good for you physically because of the exercise, and mentally because you have to learn the calls and remember them," said Hohnecker, who is also on the board. Rose's Ramblers was named for a now-deceased nun, "Sister Rose," who started the group, she said.


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