Reading the recent post about Mrs Forelich's "Junior Catillion" classes certainly brought back some distinct memories. I went to the classes during my years at Del Mar Junior High in the mid 1960s. There was always a teenage couple at the classes who would beautifully demonstrate the fox trot, the box step, the grapevine, the waltz, and other popular dances before t he kids took the floor to give it a try themselves. I have to admit that I got the benefit out of those classes because in later years, I would know how to do some of the slow dances with girls. I remember I had the worst crush those years on a pretty blonde girl named Connie Stong, and whenever I used to get a chance to dance with her, I got very nervous and would mumble something to her such as "May I have this dance," when the boys were directed across the room to ask the girls, with a bow, for a spin on the floor. The girls would get up, curtsey, and then, with their white loved hands, take our hands and we would go out into the middle of the dance floor for a glide. The sessions took place at the meeting hall at St Stevens Church on Belvedere Island, and I remember the parents would come and watch the last few dances before picking us up and taking us home.
Mrs Froelich was one of those women who grew up in a much different era and I'm afraid there are very few like her around anymore these days. She firmly believed in trying to help transform rough and tumble boys into perfect little gentlemen, while emphasizing to the girls that it was important to act like proper little ladies. This was certainly one of those activities in Marin that has long since disappeared, along with many of our other innocent memories of those long since vanished days!
Bruce Macgowan 57 years old native of Tiburon, now living in Fairfax
I remember at the end of the season, we had a dinner dance at the Alta Mira in Sausalito! I lived in San Rafael and our classes were held at the Women's Improvement Club on 5th St near Forbes.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s my mom made me attend ballroom dance lessons at the Tamalpias Women's Club in Kentfield. Kids from all over the county (Terra Linda, Fairfax, San Rafael, and so on,) came to the weekly classes taught by Mrs. Frolich, a stern character. Boys sat on one side of the room and girls on the other. The parents sat in the back and painfully watched. The boys had to properly ask the girls to dance for each lesson and practice. For 5th through 8th graders the whole experience was stressful since we were all awkward. Unfortunately, I was avoided as a dance partner as I had the habit of falling down a lot.
I have to admit those dance classes helped me later in life at social events. I could actually dance instead of just swaying back and forth. I also outgrew falling down, for the most part.
