Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-02-26
Joseph B. Bowles.)

The first thing necessary in getting
ready for a dance is to clear the room
for the dancing. AS the kitchen is al
most always the biggest room in a
farm house, this necessitates the TAX
Ing away Of the stove and the stove
pipe, and removing any tables and
chairs In the room. The ones who are
not dancing stay in the other rooms
until their names are called for the
sets" and only the fiddler, king ~of
the ceremonies, is allowed to sit in
the room where the dancing IL going
on. This rule is broken sometimes,
but no well-regulated dance cares to
have the floor, interfered with by in.
vadfng chairs Of spectators. Dresses
are too apt to catch in a chair, or the
sweep of Swing your partners" be
interfered with when there is any.
thing in the way of chairs or seats
In the room. The fiddler, of course,
must be comfortable, for the stress OF
saving away on, "Arkansaw Travel.
ler," "The Goose-Kick," "Whar Did
You Come From" Don't Wish
I Was Out of the Wilderness 'The
DEVILS Dream" Prairie Queen
"Speed the Plow,'' "The Cuckoo"
Money Musk Turkeys in the Straw
"The Irish Washerwoman," "Joe-Dad's
Hornpipe," and dozens of other tunes
with and without names, for hours at
stretch, requires lots of muscle and
good staying lung power for the "call-
ing" besides.
The boys who "get up the Dance -
as it is termed, usually select the
names of the men or boys who are to
occupy places in the ''sets," and they
announce these names, and the par
ties selected begin at once to get
busy in hunting up partners. When
the "sets'' of four couples are all fill
ed, the 'set" for the dance is then
ready and the 'caller" commences on
his work, as the fiddle gives the sig
nal for hostilities. First four for
ward and back" drones the caller, ri
tiddy, UNI tiddy, e, tee, tee," goes the
fiddle; "cross over" shouts the call
Ter, "tiddy UNI, tiddy UNI, tiddy ee, tee,
tee," continues the music. Second
couple forward, cries the caller, It'd
die iddle UNI tum, tee, ee, ee," follow
the piercing notes of the violin. All
is now ''bustle and confusion" as the
chronicles would say. Plenty of bus
tie, however, and no confusion to
speak of. It is rhythmic, shutting,
measured and inspiriting. Ladies
change" tiddy UNI tum, tum," Swing
your partners" and sudden swirl of
skirts and figures follows the COM
mand. Salute your pardners," and
the men bow to the girls. Ri, ri, It'd
dy,-tiddy UNI, tee, tee," and figure
follows figure and "set" follows ''set,"
the "calls" being given at regular in
tervals, marking the end of the pre-
vious figure.
The picture, as an entirety, is typi-
cally American; the accessories as
plain as possible. Merely country
kitchen, devoid of ornament, low-ceil-
inged and bare of wall, and lighted
with usually two or three bracket
lamps against the walls. If the night
is warm, the male dancers may be in
shirt-sleeves and be quite within the
proprieties. Everyone is dressed in
their best, and for the most part, the
men are fine physical specimens of
manhood. The pretty girls are not al
ways so eagerly sought out as they
might be, unless they are good dane
ers. To be able to intuitively grasp
the intricacies of new figure" to
be on the alert, to keep perfect time,
to the calls and the music, is some
thing more of a desirability than a
mere pretty face in these country
dances.
The lights wink on the wall, and
the steady pounding of the dancers
feet makes weakened window-fast-
enings creak and jar to the time kept
by the violin and the dancers. In the
other room gossip among the women
folks, crops and neighboring affairs
among the men, fill in the time until
the next "set". is called. Sometimes
the girls and boys wander out into the
yard and watch the dancers through
the windows, or sit on the porches
waiting until their time comes to join
the "sets."
AS rule, and good one, babies are
barred from the dances, although it is
no uncommon sight to see baby
placidly sleeping in some inner room
while it's mother trips the light, fan
tastic toe in the kitchen adjoining.
But wherever possible infants are left
at home with the rest of the family;
as it is no *tchild's play" to start in
at nine in the evening and keep it up
persistently until say five o'clock the
next morning. I did see woman at
one dance years ago on the prairies,
dance the "sets" out with a wide.eyed
baby staring at the other dancers.
She was graceful girl. at that, and
manipulated her goggleeyed infant
from arm to arm and from "set" to
"set" with determination not to let
little thing like maternity prevent
her from enjoying herself.
Outside of farmhouse, on these
occasions, are dozens of rigs" single
and double, and a saddle-horse or two,
hitched to the fences, the hitching-
posts, or perhaps long pole which
will accommodate several buggies.
Here the horses stand with heads
dropped, listening to the faint sounds
of the fiddle, or, If they are "ad-
vanced'' horses, possibly talking It
over among themselves" It is easy
to tell where q dance is being held in
the country, for as one comes near q