Woman works to 'save the square dance'

A Potter County woman finds herself at the heart of an effort to preserve one of the Appalachia's most colorful and timeless traditions: square dancing.

What started as a personal quest to learn more about the rich history and technical aspects of that rural custom took on a sense of mission for Natalie Phelps. She discovered that many of the best callers and dancers have retired and, in an alarming number of cases, have died without passing along their skills and techniques.

With a financial boost from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, Phelps set about to rescue the tradition. Working out of farmsteads in Potter County and Tennessee, she sought out callers, instrumentalists and dancers to document their knowledge so it can be passed on to future generations.

Phelps will share what she has learned over the past year on Saturday night, May 24, as part of the first "Waterwheel Barn Dance" in Colesburg. The event will be held in the barn on the old Lewis Lent farm along Rt. 49, between Coudersport and Gold.

It's open to the public for a $3.00 admission fee. Those attending are encouraged to bring a dish to pass as part of a "moveable feast pot luck." The program starts at 7:30.

Waterwheel Barn Dance is tied in with the celebration of the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance Year of the Barn and the Food Matrix.

Additional information is available from Natalie Phelps at 274-7605.