Page 20 - RSCDS Toronto Golden Jubilee Book

Social Groups
After renting space in several schools, we danced for ten years at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (which gave us
our name). Finances forced a move to Loafer’s Lake Recreation Centre and then (in September 1986) to our current location, Chris Gibson Recreation Centre.
Cathy McKeever, with her children
South Simcoe
Children's
The South Simcoe Children's Group
was born in September 2006, the offspring of the South Simcoe Group
in Alliston. We have twelve girls, ages
five to nine, including my two daughters, Holly and Sheena. We meet in the Village of Hockley on Saturday mornings. The girls were all beginners in September and have made great progress learning steps and formations, and most of all, having fun! Some of our favourite dances are The Cumberland Reel, Mamie's Jig, and a few of my own creation.
Five girls attended the Children's Gala Day in March and had a terrific time. They were inspired by the more experi- enced dancers and were not at all shy about joining in. We would welcome more girls (and boys!) to join us for our second season.
My first year of teaching has been
a rewarding one seeing the children progress - keeping our circles round, our lines straight and standing still as posts! Not to mention dancing down the middle and coming back!
. . . Cathy McKeever
St. Andrew’s of
Brampton
Marjorie Coulter (still dancing at ninety) brought Scottish Country Dancing to Brampton by placing an ad in a local newspaper to find out how many peo- ple were interested in learning Scottish Country Dancing. Our first night of dancing was November 7, 1966.
Clockwise: Kathleen Stokoe, Fran Gamme, Rita McQueen, Ann Campbell, Ena Watson, Marjorie Coulter, Rosalind Stokoe, Faye Simpson, Celia Stokoe
The first teacher was Margaret Dempster. The limited records for
our first ten years show that George Douglas was the teacher in 1972-1973, and that David Izatt taught the group from September 1975 to May 1981. James M. "Jim" Stephens and Jean C. Yeats taught from September 1981 to May 1983. Diana Hooper taught from September 1983 to May 1985. And Paul Maloney has been our teacher ever since.
Ann Campbell, a long-time member of our group and the Program Director
of the Toronto Association, has writ- ten over a hundred dances, including St. Andrew’s of Brampton (Book 37), Welcome to the Ball (West Toronto Ball Jigs), and, to commemorate the presen- tation to Jim Stephens on November 8, 1997, The Award of Scroll.
Between November 1986 and January 1999, we provided entertainment on thirty different occasions, for Burns Suppers, the British Show, seniors’ residences, a multicultural festival, and Canada Day festivities.
. . . Paul Maloney and Ann Campbell
St. Clement’s
I started the St. Clement’s Group on Saturday mornings in 1971, with a small number of Children together
with a very able assistant Maureen Richardson. The group became more established with much support from families of the Toronto Branch together with Scottish Country Dancing being promoted in the local Schools at both lunch hour and after four programs. In addition I spent much time and energy with numerous Brownie and Girl Guide companies in different areas.
The numbers grew during the 1970s and 1980s to between 150 and 170, ranging in age from five to eighteen years. Janet Millar and Isabel McMillan (two Senior Teens) both obtained their teaching certificates, and our own daughter Elizabeth taught the seven- to-nine-year-old advanced class for
a number of seasons. Over the years several other young adults helped with the kindergarten class. Meanwhile, Maureen continued throughout all the years with dedicated teaching and sup- port, for which I owe her a great debt of gratitude.
We had wonderful Christmas parties and took part in many events for both entertainment and competitive – far too many to list here!
The time came when I wished to spend more time with our family on week- ends and was fortunate to have a hall available at the church on Monday evenings. Over the years, the number of children declined so the class even-
Ann Campbell
Marjorie Coulter
St Andrew's of Brampton – Teacher, Paul Maloney 19