Put On Your Dancing Shoes

Every Saturday night there was a dance and food at someones house. Each family took its turn. The ladies usually brought sandwiches, salads, and deserts to be served at midnight. The music they danced to was a violin and a guitar. I do not remember about other peoples homes, but when it was our turn, the furniture in the living room was moved out onto the front porch and the rug was rolled up. I do remember one family held theirs in an old chicken coop. That one is very clear in my mind as there was a very large lady there who sat me on her lap. Oh my goodness, that lady was so soft and comfy, just like a feather bed. I loved sitting on her lap. The dance usually broke up at 2:00 A.M. except when they were at our house and it went on until the wee hours of the morning. It finally got so big, with more and more families joining in that they had to hire a hall and charge a fee for getting in just to pay for the hall rental. The music crew got larger and became a band, which included a piano, violin, guitar and drums. The first hall they rented was in Pleasant Hill, just west of Sebastopol ( a small town west of Santa Rosa). More people and a bigger hall was needed. They moved to Monroe Clubhouse in Santa Rosa. I got to attend all these function, but due to my age, I was made to lay down on one of the benches and covered over with someones coat. It was not long before I was asleep. I remember one time this very tall man and thin as could be came and got me to dance with him. Boy, I thought I was important out there dancing with the grown ups. They tell me that he got a big laugh out of saying to me that it had not rained in a while and was indeed rather warm, to which I responded, "Yes, and we farmers need rain!" There were two or three times when a fight erupted between guys, but they were quickly handled. It always scared me t0 death when ever that happened. I remember one night my brother and some guy got into it over a girl, (Of course!) and they were too close to the bank's edge and my brother tumbled over and down into the ditch. Dad broke that one up although he was one who loved to get into it himself. I guess that is why I was so scared. It involved my dad sometimes. There was one time when trying to keep order in the dance hall, my dad had to face off with a guy who was at least six foot four. My dad was five foot seven, but he was determined to keep peace. Well, unless it involved him, that is. He faced off with this guy. Dad pulled off his glasses and with his tongue clenched between his teeth, and his fists up, he invited the guy to a fight. However the man realized that dad was so much shorter than he was and he would not fight him. Someone said, Joe, that guy is a lot bigger than you!" My dad replied, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" All this time I was hiding behind the curtain on the stage. I was so terribly frightened.The man was so impressed with dad's moxie, that he came to our home the next day and brought a big sack of apples from his ranch and remarked how he admired dad. Well from that dance hall we moved on to a hall on Sebastopol Road to a place called Midway. My folks ran that one until it became too much and some one else took over. It was by then open to the public and we eventually quit going at all. It was there a long time and I attended when I was in high school and even beyond. It was years later when it ceased to be.