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Border City Square Dance Club through the Ages

Border City Square Dance Club of Nashua, New Hampshire was founded in 1958. The founding members joined together to have fun and make friends. This principal holds true today where the present members dance not only for the physical exercise, but for the mental exercise, the friendship and, of course, the fun. The club’s present members are teens, singles, couples, and families.

Jim Mayo became interested in starting a square dance club in Nashua after seeing the founding of the Allemande 8’s Club in Manchester, NH. The first organizational meeting was held in March 1958. Shortly after that the name Border City Squares was adopted. In August of that year Jim and Kenneth Mayo attended a Square Dance Workshop in West Point, NY in preparation for forming a club and holding dance lessons. In September 1958 the first class lessons were held with Jim Mayo as the caller. The lessons at this time were only for ten weeks and consisted of twelve lessons. The first class of six couples graduated in January 1959. The club’s membership grew and through the 1960’s nearly everyone who came to take lessons stayed to complete the course. In September 1968 the official emblem for the Border City Squares was adopted.

Ed Ross Smith became the club caller in 1961, and he was soon followed by Mal "Yikes" Cameron. As the club grew it also expanded to include round dancing. In March/April of 1967 the Smoothies Round Dance Club was sponsored. Also in this year round dancing was included at club dances. In time the club also expanded to include the younger generation. In 1974 32 teens who recently graduated started their own club, The Fun Luvin’ Teens. In September 1974 this new teen club, sponsored by Border City Squares, started lessons with Walter Shumway as their club caller.

The club continued to grow during the 1970’s. In April 1976 the club dress of blue and white gingham was adopted. In July of 1976 the club participated in the Nashua Bicentennial Parade. On May 13, 1978 the club celebrated its Twentieth Anniversary! The club also very active in supporting the Twentieth New England Square Dance Convention in Manchester, NH in 1979.

In the 1980’s the club changed with the times and more actively encouraged singles to join. In June 1980 Eddie Mayall, the club caller, celebrated calling for the Border City Squares for fifteen years. In 1982 the club dress was redesigned with a more modern look but still retained the blue and white colors. On May 14, 1983 the club celebrated its Thirtieth Anniversary.

In 1991 Ray Aubut became the club caller, and remained with the club until 1995 when Ed Renauld became the club caller. Ed’s wife Corinne became the club cuer, and round dance lessons became a regular part of the Monday night lessons. Since none of the teen clubs that were founded when dancing was more popular were still active, the Border City bylaws were revised to encourage teens to rejoin the club, and an effort was made to bring families into the club.

In the spring of 2000, Ed and Corinne decided to take a year off from giving lessons, and Jerry Maurice filled in as the club caller. Ed and Corinne rejoined as club caller and cuer in the spring of 2001. In the fall of 2000 the club also began experimenting with a multi cycle lesson program with lessons starting in September and again in January 2001. The club was active in support of the New England Square and Round Dance Association’s convention in Manchester, NH in both 2000 and 2001. As of the 2003-2004 dance season, the club is completing its 46^th year, and looks forward to many more years of friendship and fun.

Historical Highlights