Foot 'N' Fiddle's History

The first mention of the "Hoop de Doo Square Dance Club" is in the "Footnotes" of May 1961 The caller was Doc Driver, and the dances were held at Toney Valley Elementary school in DeKalb County, Georgia. In April of 1962, some of the members chartered a bus to attend the "Alabama Jubilee" in Birmingham.

In the February 1966 "Footnotes" it was stated that although Belvedere Civic Center was the site for regular club dances, a benefit dance to be sponsored by the Hoop De Doos would be at Knollwood School in DeKab County. Doc Driver was still listed as calling, but in March 1966 Herb Hill was listed as the caller. It was not until the August issue that Herb was listed as welcomed by the club.

"Services" were held for the name "Hoop de Doo" on March 15, 1968. By unanimous vote, the member decided a change of name was in order. In April 1968 the "Hoop de Doo Square Dance Club" became the "Foot 'n' Fiddle Square Dance Club." The dance night was changed from the second and fourth Fridays to the first and third Fridays.

Herb Hill left Foot 'n' Fiddle in May 1972, and Bernie Whitaker became the temporary caller. By July 1972, Bernie had been engaged to call regularly.

The club news in the "Footnotes" of March 1973, commented that Rip Wyatt and Jerry Shipp's (West, then Lefever) "rounds add a lot to our dances." However, it was not clear from the "Footnotes" how long they may have been responsible for the rounds.

In early 1973, the Foot 'n' Fiddle offered to compile a directory containing directions to all the square dance clubs in the Atlanta area. There is no evidence that this specific directory was ever published.

A "life membership" was awarded to Jack and Willie Mae Pickett in September 1973 for securing a new "home" for the club. The location was the Hillside Presbyterian Church on Columbia Drive in Decatur. This must have been a good move, for by May 1974 the club had 100 members.

The next year another move was to Rockbridge Elementary School in Stone Mountain where the first dance was held on April 4, 1975.

In November 1975, Geogia Williams was engaged to cue the rounds. Then in May 1976, the Foot 'n' Fiddle was excited to have Harold Kelley become the caller.

When Georgia Williams decided to move to Hawaii in 1978, Harold and Sadie Roden became the club's cuers.

The next move for the club was to Doraville's Northwoods Presbyterian Church (later known as the Church of the New Covenant) in February 1986.

Through the years the Foot 'n' Fiddle was a club that enjoyed visiting other clubs in the Atlanta area and in joining with dancers from other clubs to travel to out of town festivals.

The last dance at the Church of the New Covenant was October 6, 1995, and the first dance at the Briarcliff Methodist Church was on November 3, 1995.