El Camino Reelers
Web Site: http://www.reelers.org
Started: 1985
Admitted to IAGSDC: 22 Aug 1986 as Full Member
Status: Active
Classes: A combined Mainstream-Plus class is taught once yearly, generally starting in late August or early September, and finishing up the following April or May. Advanced classes are taught periodically. ECR graduated its first Challenge (C1) class in June, 2013.
Club Caller[s]: Rich Reel, Dave Decot, Kurt Gollhardt
Past Club Caller[s]: Bill Hanzel, Mike Luna, Vicki Woods, Harlan Kerr, Andy Shore
Levels: Plus, Advanced, Challenge-1
Dance Location[s]: St. Andrews United Methodist Church / 4111 Alma Street / Palo Alto, CA (map)
Fly-Ins Hosted:
Conventions Hosted:
- 1986 | Star Thru The Golden Gate co-host
- 1996 | Stars, Thars and Cable Cars co-host
- 2005 | Star Thru The Silicon Galaxy
- 2013 | Weave Your Heart in San Francisco co-host
Notables:
- Marilyn Martinyak, IAGSDC Chair, ??-??
- Mary Rorabaugh, IAGSDC Treasurer 1991-2?
- Randy Clarke, IAGSDC Vice Chair, 1994-5
- Andy Shore, Gay Callers Association President, ??-??
- Mary Gold and The Big Boned Girls, Honky Tonk Queen, 2001
- Andy Shore, Golden Boot Award Golden Boot 2002
- Gypsum Rock Lee, Honky Tonk Queen, 2003
- Julie Dubbs, ECR club administrator - 19??, named plaintiff in landmark gay rights case [1]
- Diamond Lane, Honky Tonk Queen, 2017
- Allan Hurst, Golden Boot Award Golden Boot 2019 IAGSDC History Project, Committee Member for both the 2021 and 2022 IAGSDC Conventions.
Spin-Off Clubs:
- Sequoia Ocean Waves co-founded by ECR member Lyn Platten
- Santa Cruz Squares founded by ECR member Neil Heather
Media Features:
- Early ECR by Bob Kanefsky
- An Uninvited Guest by Kim Harris
- The 'reel' deal: : Meet the Peninsula’s longtime LGBTQ square dance club [1]
History: Started by Marilyn Martinyak and Pat Dixon as an alternative to the gay square dance clubs located an hour away in San Francisco. Due to its location, the club is well-known as a "geek repository", boasting members employed by Adobe, Sun, Google, and Yahoo.
- From the Program Book of the 3rd IAGSDC Convention, held in San Francisco in 1986:
- El Camino Reelers (ECR) was founded by two members of Western Star Dancers,Patricia Dixon and Marilyn Martinyak. Planning took place throughout the summer of 1985 and included a great deal of help and encouragement from Western Star. Our first class began in September followed by another class in January 1986.
Clippings:
![Article (San Francisco Chronicle)[2]](https://mywikis-wiki-media.s3.us-central-1.wasabisys.com/iagsdchistory/thumb/1996.10.11_San_Francisco_Chronicle_p.P3_ECR.jpg/120px-1996.10.11_San_Francisco_Chronicle_p.P3_ECR.jpg)
Article (San Francisco Chronicle)[2]
![Article (San Francisco Chronicle)[2]](/wiki/File:1996.10.11_San_Francisco_Chronicle_p.P3_ECR.jpg)
Photos
At Star Thru The Golden Gate, 1986
At Explode The Rose, 1987
At Cross Trails In The Desert, 1988
At Northstar Promenade, 1990
At Northstar Promenade, 1990
At Diamonds In The Desert, 1992
At Remake The Circle, 1993
At Stars and Squares Forever, 1994
At Track 2 Chicago. 1995
At Stars, Thars and Cable Cars, 1996
At Wheel & Deal, 1997
At Weave The Rose, 1998
At Lights, Camera, Linear Action, 1999
At Crack The Crab, 2000
At Make Magic, 2001
At Cloverleafs & Maple Leafs, 2002
At Anchors Aweigh With a Half-Sashay, 2003
At Remake The Heatwave, 2004
At Star Thru The Silicon Galaxy, 2005
At Wish Upon A Thar, 2006
At Red Rocks and Purple Mountains, 2007
At Touch A Quarter Century, 2008
At DC Diamond Circulate, 2009
At Chi-Town Shakedown, 2010
At Gone With The Windmill, 2011
At Dance Up A Storm, 2012
At Weave Your Heart in San Francisco, 2013
At Squeeze The Hive, 2014
At Swing Me in St. Louis, 2015
At Maple Leafs Regroup, 2016
At Palm Springs Swing & Mix 2017, 2017
At Circle Back to Seattle, 2018
At Belles Run Philadelphia 2019, 2019
At Twin City Spin, 2022
At Follow Your Northern Neighbour, 2023
Videos:
- Appearance on Square Dance Live, Comcast community channel 15, Aug 2010
On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 2:31 PM, Ed Wilson <edwilson@cruzio.com> wrote:
A couple of years ago, a group of El Camino Reelers had the opportunity to dance on “Square Dance Live”, a program on that airs on several local community cable channels. The caller was Mike Luna, one of ECR’s earliest callers. Mike produces the show with his buddy Charlie Class, the announcer. They recorded us for two segments, close to an hour altogether. For us it was totally unscripted; we just went in and did it.
We were promised copies of the show and they finally arrived this week. Fooling around with the DVD this morning, I decided to see if I could take one singing call and upload it to YouTube.
