Area singles group celebrates 20 years

Southeast Iowa Singles is sponsoring its 20th anniversary dance 7:30-11 p.m. Saturday at the Fairfield Eagles Club.

It is open to anyone in the community, including couples. Admission is $5.

Pizza Ranch is where S.I.S. members can meet for dinner at 6 p.m. prior to the dance.

Gary Cahill of Farmington is the dance coordinator.

?We?ll have Ned Francis playing live music,? he said. ?He?s popular with our dance crowd. He plays keyboard, banjo, guitar and harmonica. It?s mostly country music.?

Refreshments, such as candy and chips and drinks, will be available. Dress is casual.

People wear jeans, plaid shirts or whatever is comfortable, Cahill said.

Most of the people attending the dances know dance steps, so there?s no formal instruction, he said.

?Once in a while, we might have a few line dance numbers or something, but usually it?s couples? dances,? said Cahill. ?If someone wants help learning a dance, there are people who would help.?

The 1980s, with its high divorce rates because of the recession, were the heydays of singles? clubs, said Ron Fransen of Keosauqua and chairman of S.I.S,

?I lived up in northern Iowa then when I had my divorce,? he said. ?I moved down here in 1993, and S.I.S. had started in 1992. I believe there was an earlier club that folded.?

He said it didn?t take long for him to begin serving on the board.

?I?ve enjoyed it,? he said. ?I?ve given a lot of my time over the years to community events.?

S.I.S. is family-oriented; with children of singles also welcome at most events. The group has been the catalyst for new relationships throughout its 20 years.

?We?ve had about 30 marriages among people who met here,? said Fransen.

Cheryl Newman of Packwood handles publicity and mails the S.I.S. newsletter to members and also serves as treasurer.

?I?ve served on the board in some capacity since the first year S.I.S. started,? she said. ?I enjoy it. Everyone needs to belong to a community and get to meet people. We have people join us from Missouri, Iowa City, Fort Madison and Burlington. We?ve had a couple from Illinois, but they haven?t been for awhile.?

News of the club spreads by notices in the media and through word of mouth, said Newman.

?Most people come from out of the county to attend,? agrees Fransen. ?The bigger towns don?t have anything like this, It?s the smaller towns that have clubs, and it draws people from up in Washington, Mount Pleasant, Keokuk and Missouri,?

S.I.S. sends out 225 newsletters each month to members on its mailing list. Another 30 newsletters are mailed to area churches.

?Unfortunately, attendance has been dropping,? said Fransen. ?The price of gas has gotten too high for many people. We used to hold lots of programs in churches. The dances were initially held in churches, and people learned to dance there.

?We used to have monthly programs with speakers. That?s gone away, because of costs of driving or bringing speakers in. I?d like to work with some of the small colleges around here to have programs again. It?s important to keep positive events going.?

Cahill has been the dance organizer for seven or eight years, he said.

?I like to dance,? he said. ?I like socializing with the people. It can be a lot of work to get it all set up, for instance I never attend the dinners before the dances because I?m already at the Eagles helping get things ready. I take admission at the door. But all the work is worth it. It?s a fun evening.?

S.I.S. is sponsored by Fairfield?s First United Methodist Church, and holds weekly worship services, Alive at Five, at 5 p.m. Saturdays at the church. Dances at the Eagles are on the third Saturday each month.

Cahill has Scottie lined up for music at the Feb. 18 dance, and Ned Francis returns for the March 17 dance.

?The monthly dances are good for the individuals who attend, and it?s good for the community,? said Newman. ?It?s why some of us keep attending. I really hope we have a good turnout Saturday and that people will enjoy themselves.?