CIRCLE EIGHTS HISTORY
Circle Eights has been square dancing in northern NJ since 1960. Currently (2026) we dance one Sunday afternoon per month at the Maywood Senior Recreation Center, Maywood, NJ.
Circle Eights began as a club in the fall of 1960, when graduates of the NNJSDA-sponsored Tenafly class decided to form their own group rather than join an existing club. They began dancing at the Mackay School in Tenafly; by January 1962 the Grand Square reported ‘they were dancing 7 sets 2 Mondays a month’ with Marty Winter as club caller. They soon started their own beginner class: in 1964 they graduated 19 dancers. In 1965 monthly Round dance lessons were added, taught by Doc and Peg Tirrell. Over the years there were also workshops for line dancing, Country/Western Dancing, and Plus.
In 1970 Marty Winter moved to Florida and was replaced as Club Caller by Dick Maddocks and Hal Holmes, then by Bob Mitchell and Jules Pozsor; and finally Bill Heyman. In 1991 Circle Eights dispensed with a club caller altogether (probably after Bill Heyman moved out of the area) and used guest callers for all the dances.
By 1971 the club was dancing only on the 4th Friday of the month, although with many extra events – outdoor dances in the summer, an annual Dinner-dance, and in 1965 the first special dance for American Field Service foreign exchange students and their host families, which became International Friendship Night, an annual event for many years. In 1966 several couples spent a weekend at a retreat in the mountains, beginning a tradition of spring and fall dance weekends at various Catskills resorts.
In 1981 the club left the Mackay School and bounced between several area church halls until 1985, when they settled at the Community Church in Harrington Park for four years. Club highlights in the ’80s included the ‘reign’ of President Hank ‘Old King Kolb’ with his Queen, co-president Edith Kolb, and his royal court. Fortunately, the King abdicated peacefully at the end of his 2-year term. There was also an International year, with each dance dedicated to a different country, including (especially) the refreshments. Countries ‘visited’ were Italy, Israel, Poland, America, and England. In 1989 the club moved to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Haworth.
In the late ’80s and early ’90s Circle Eights and two other clubs sponsored a beginners group, the New Milford Tenderfeet, taught by various callers, including Bill Heyman and Andy Woerner. The graduates were then absorbed into the parent clubs. By 1994 Circle Eights was once again advertising its own beginner class on Monday nights, reporting 29 students with Andy Woerner teaching. It was also advertising that it danced Mainstream with a Plus tip, apparently no longer including Rounds. And the ads made a point to welcome single dancers, promising that ‘we substitute and let everyone dance’. This was a welcome change from the ‘couples only’ attitude of some of the earlier clubs.
Highlights of the ’90s included several October ‘Autumn Leaves’ dances at the Boy Scout Camp in Alpine; it was apparently quite an event as the club reported ‘14 squares dancing while still more people ate and shopped.’ In March 1996 Don Coy called a ‘Pre-Tax Bash’ where dancers were instructed to ‘wear red or black’. For many years Circle Eights and two other clubs co-hosted “Moonlight over the Hudson’, an evening dance on the banks of the Hudson River at the Alpine Boat Basin. And judging from the many references in club reports, Circle Eights was known for hosting very tasty potluck dinners and providing especially delicious refreshments at every dance.
In October 2000, Circle Eights celebrated its 40th anniversary with over 100 dancers at the Palisades Center in West Nyack, with Joe Landi calling. In September 2001 the club moved across town to a larger space in the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Haworth. They co-sponsored several dances with live Klezmer music called by Howard Richman and also provided several squares of dancers for the Oradell Fourth of July parade each year, organized and called by Andy Woerner. And beginning in 2008 the club co- sponsored a New Year’s Eve Dinner-dance with Western Wheelers, celebrated by over 100 dancers.
In 2005 the NJPAC Director of Marketing contacted the Circle Eights president to see if some of the club members would be interested in dancing outside the theater before the opening night performance of “Oklahoma”. They ended up with 28 squares! The dancers got a BBQ dinner and discount tickets for the show; and the ‘square dance before the show’ turned into a popular annual event at the NJPAC.
Despite the fact that Circle Eights only officially danced once a month, it had an active raid program, regularly sending multiple squares to visit other clubs. And as a 2005 graduate of Andy Woerner’s beginner class at Eastbrook School in Paramus, the writer of this history can attest that the beginner classes were almost as well attended as the regular dances, with many club member ‘angels’ making it a fun social occasion. You definitely felt like a ‘Circle Eighter’ by the time you graduated!
The end of 2011 brought major changes. The club moved its dances to the VFW hall in Elmwood Park; and long-time teacher Andy Woerner retired, to be followed by caller Paul Ingis. In 2015 the dance format was changed so that the first two hours were exclusively mainstream, with a half hour of plus concluding the evening, and dance days were changed from fourth to third Fridays each month. In 2016 the beginner class night was changed to Tuesday rather than Monday to accommodate Fran Wadel, who took over for Paul Ingis.
Popular dances during this period included the annual June ice cream social and the ‘PI’ dance, when dancers ate pie, danced to PI (Paul Ingis), and received a ‘PI’ dangle. Seven Circle Eights members were among those at the 2017 National Square Dance Convention in Cincinnati who took part in breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest Square Dance.
In 2017 Circle Eights ‘hit the road’ again, when the Elmwood Park VFW stopped renting to outside groups. The club relocated to the ‘cozy’ (i.e. small) American Legion Hall in Fairlawn for the one season; in the fall of 2018 they moved to the Hillsdale United Methodist Church; and in 2022 moved most of the club dances to the Maywood Senior Recreation Center, where they are still dancing today (2025).
Since the Circle Eights 50th Anniversary passed without any special celebration, plans were made for a 60th Anniversary party with a catered meal and dancing called by Jay Silva. Preparations were all but finished for the April 2020 event when Covid shut everything down for a year and a half. Everyone learned how to use zoom, and there were several zoom get-togethers and on-line lessons, but as with most other groups the membership numbers were greatly reduced by the time dancing resumed in August 2021.
More changes came as dancing restarted. To help dancers who were having trouble with night driving, club dances were changed to Sunday afternoons once a month, allowing members to drive both ways in daylight. The format was changed again, to alternating Mainstream and Plus tips. Circle Eights brought back its beginner class, taught by Fran Wadel in Hillsdale, in the fall of 2023. The 2024/25 dance season re-introduced themes for each dance, including Grandparents Day and National Meatball Day (with samples.) Members continue to be avid raiders, meeting for meals beforehand and providing a square or more of dancers to the visited clubs. Since the 60th Anniversary party in 2020 was cancelled, a 65th Anniversary Dinner-dance was planned for September 28, 2025 at the Brownstone in Paterson, with International Caller Bill Harrison.
Coincidentally, Circle Eights held it’s 25th Anniversary Dinner-dance at the Brownstone in 1985. Lets hope we can all meet there again in ten years for the 75th!
Written by Ann Cavanaugh. The information in this history came from back issues of the NNJSDA ‘Grand Square’ magazine, which have all been digitized and are available on the NNJSDA website. They’re a wonderful resource and a fun read – have a look at them.