The Good Old Days - Jack Powelson
Jack Powelson wrote: "This was to have been Chapter 1 of a History of American Folk Dancing, but the other chapters were never written."
Larry Edelman writes: "I met Jack Powelson sometime in the fall of 2000. Jack had been calling square dances since the 1940’s. A mutual friend let me know that he and his wife Robin were moving from their home in Boulder, Colorado to a smaller living space and wanted to find a good home for his rich collection of 8 linear feet of records, books, and papers focused on square dancing and folk dancing. I was more than happy to take them off his hands.
"Years later, I donated the 78 RPM records that were then integrated into my larger collection to the Great 78 Project and they are freely available here: CLICK HERE
"Jack gave me a number of treasured books as well. I still have many of them and have given others to others to callers who I knew would appreciate them. Jack called dances at Quaker Work Camps in the 40’s and in New York City and other places on the east coast. Jack started to write a book titled, A History of American Folk Dancing. In 1950 he completed the first chapter, which he titled, The Good Old Days, but never completed the subsequent chapters.
"Jack gave me what I believe to be the only copy of this chapter. After the chapter is Jack’s obituary, which he wrote in advance for The Quaker Economist. I only spent a brief amount of time with Jack, but enjoyed it immensely. I feel privileged to be able to play a small part in sharing his work."
Larry Edelman
March 28, 2025
Editor's note: Viewers interested in learning more about Larry might enjoy looking at the collection of interviews that were recorded with him in 2011.
Tags: etiquette, history, Jack Powelson, Larry Edelman, New England Squares, New England Tradition, quadrille, Ralph Page
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: Larry Edelman Collection - 78 rpm recordings |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Larry Edelman 1: Social Context of Square Dancing |
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Larry Edelman writes: "I met Jack Powelson sometime in the fall of 2000. Jack had been calling square dances since the 1940’s. A mutual friend let me know that he and his wife Robin were moving from their home in Boulder, Colorado to a smaller living space and wanted to find a good home for his rich collection of 8 linear feet of records, books, and papers focused on square dancing and folk dancing. I was more than happy to take them off his hands.
"Years later, I donated the 78 RPM records that were then integrated into my larger collection to the Great 78 Project and they are freely available here: CLICK HERE
"Jack gave me a number of treasured books as well. I still have many of them and have given others to others to callers who I knew would appreciate them. Jack called dances at Quaker Work Camps in the 40’s and in New York City and other places on the east coast. Jack started to write a book titled, A History of American Folk Dancing. In 1950 he completed the first chapter, which he titled, The Good Old Days, but never completed the subsequent chapters.
"Jack gave me what I believe to be the only copy of this chapter. After the chapter is Jack’s obituary, which he wrote in advance for The Quaker Economist. I only spent a brief amount of time with Jack, but enjoyed it immensely. I feel privileged to be able to play a small part in sharing his work."
Larry Edelman
March 28, 2025
Editor's note: Viewers interested in learning more about Larry might enjoy looking at the collection of interviews that were recorded with him in 2011.