Recently, I was encouraged to write about my earlier years of promoting dancing and why it is important for a community. My thoughts can be applied to many different community activities, whether it is pickle ball or disc golf, but dancing is one of my passions so the focus will be on that.
My enthusiasm can be summed up in three reasons:
Dancing brings people together.
It provides healthy exercise.
It provides a positive enjoyment of music in a fun atmosphere.
All of that leads up to one more reason why dancing or many other events and activities are important: when people get together, they visit and sometimes get ideas about their community. And we need more of those opportunities to come up with new ideas.
I can easily recount from my past many good experiences that include people thinking about how they could make their communities better, which then become a reality.
These include promoting a creation of a new hospital in Cambridge in the 1950s, a new swimming pool at Curtis in the 1970s, a medical clinic in Indianola in the 1980s, a major renovation at Hillcrest Nursing Home in the 1990s and the major idea to form the McCook Community Foundation Fund in the early 2000s.
I mentioned Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook, which has been my passion since 1987. Soon after taking over as director, I learned that a higher power was involved there, from the kind and attentive employees to caring for a generation in their new home.
Fortunately, the facility was able to grow with the addition of two new wings a few decades ago because some families provided the funds to make it happen. Additionally, the Hillcrest Foundation was formed in the 1980s with gifts continuing to help with projects.
I am also thankful for the people who work there. I learned from them that a nursing home is like a beautiful flower garden that requires constant, tender loving care for its residents.
Yet another passion of mine is personal giving. I devote my time and energy and funds as a way to give back after all that has been given to me. As I observe other foundations, it has been a blessing to see that many other donors feel the same way by giving back.
My comments go out to all communities in appreciation for the citizens who give back and pay forward to the next generation.
The bottom line is that we need to revive dancing opportunities or the social gathering that will bring people together and get the ideas flowing, whether it is building the next community asset or providing the funds to make those projects happen. Speaking for myself, my reformed buddy and alter-ego Scrooge and his good friend, Tiny Tim: May your life and our communities get a boost from a good dance.
***
On a side note: Dancing has not disappeared from our community. In fact, a public dance can be found on the third Sunday every month from 6-9 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall in McCook, 309 East 9th.
And if there happens to be a fifth Sunday, there is a bonus dance that month.
Dance volunteer and coordinator Sheri Rothemeyer notes that those in attendance come from the tri-state area and include all ages. More importantly, it is open to all abilities, from those who are stepping onto the dance floor for the first time to those who have been at it for decades.
The evening includes a live band playing music of all genres, free snacks, a cash bar and even a split-the-pot raffle. All for $10 per person.
For more information, contact Bob Burns at 308.340.8837 or Sherri Rothemeyer at 308.340.0563.
***
Don Harpst has been a member of the McCook Community Foundation Fund several times during its past two decades and can still dance circles around all of us, whether in the community or on the dance floor.
