THE GRAND SQUARES OF PRINCE WILLIAM, VA
The Grand Squares of Prince William had its beginning in the mid 1980's by
Walt and Jean Peterman while dancing with church friends at First United Presbyterian
Church in Dale City. Organizational plans began in 1987 and with the graduating
class of 1988, the group decided upon the name. With encouragement from his
fellow dancers; Norman Tennant, one of the founding Members designed the badge
which depicts the movements in a Grand Square. Norman and his lovely wife
Barbara had become good dancers but for health reasons had to drop out of
square dancing and on May 31, 1998 Norman's life was snuffed out by Pancreatic
Cancer. (See Tribute to Norman) The club was initially organized as a
Mainstream Club. They now dance Mainstream and Plus, from 7:30 to 10:00 P.M.
every Saturday (click on SQUARE DANCE CALLER, below for further information).
Walt occasionally breaks up the square dancing with a variety of lines and
contra as well as mixers, and there are often easy rounds with a guest cuer.
Our numbers are small, but we always have a lot of fun.
TRIBUTE TO NORMAN TENNANT
Although we became acquainted at church, Norm, as I called him, was not a
church goer. Something had transpired in his life. We didn't talk about it.
Nevertheless, he didn't lack for good christian values. He loved his family and
he loved children. His wife Barbara and daughter Jean attended church
regularly. Norm seldom missed a "Men's Breakfast" at our church and
loved to show-off and talk about his newest knives he had added to his
collection. He was one of the early members of a square dance group called the
Grand Squares and he was the designer of our club badge. I have always worn my
badge proudly, perhaps from some selfish pride in knowing that I helped get the
group started, that I have been the club caller from its inception and that I
taught Norm to Square Dance. The badge now has new meaning to me, a remembrance
of a good friend. I shall cherish it the rest of my life and as I look at it, I
will once again be reminded of Norm. We shared a lot in common, Norm and I. He
was a simple man. We grew up as depression babies (I am only slightly older
than he) in the midwest. He grew up in Michigan and I grew up in Ohio. We often
shared childhood experiences which were so much alike that we could have grown
up together. One of the things was the love of knives. You see when we were
youngsters every boy carried a pocket knife. We used it for everything from
cutting strings on burlap bags, to paring and pealing apples, or skinning a
rabbit for Sunday dinner, or playing "Mumbly Peg", or just whittling.
Although I never got into the collection of knives, I still find myself lost
without one. Mine are well worn and have broken blades, but they still might
come in handy for cutting a string or something. We grew up to respect our
knives and guns and knew that the gun was used only for target practice or
killing wild game for a meal. It was never, ever to be pointed at another human
being. The knife was a trusted friend to do those things a boy had to do with
his knife. Although I knew Norm had experienced some medical problems, he never
dwelt on them and he was in good spirits the last time we shared breakfast
together a few months before his death. His death came as a shock to me as I am
sure it did to others. I will miss his company at our men's breakfasts.
Farewell good friend. I promise you that each time I call a Grand Square, it
will be for you and I hope you look down and savor every beat of the music and
every step of the Grand Square. Norman was a writer. A sort of modern Will
Rogers or Mark Twain, but more like Andy Rooney. I don't think Norm ever
published a book, but his wit was enjoyed by everyone who read his editorials
in the local Potomac News. He even wrote a tribute to this old gravel voiced
square dance caller one time. He may have been in search of a bigger story and
got caught with a deadline, I don't know; but, he always gave credit where
credit was due. His stories were the truth as he saw it.
NORMAN H. TENNANT FEBRUARY 17,
1931-MAY 31, 1998
His business card read "Norman H. Tennant - Renaissance Man - Reader,
Writer, Listener, Thinker, Whittler, Cutler, Doodler, Tinker.
~Slayer of Small Dragons~"
In a poem to his daughters he once wrote the following poem:
"And even if the time should come to be
When memory's all we share
You need a hand, just think of me
And somehow, I'll be there."
Expressions of sympathy and memorials may be made in Norman's name to:
Hospice of Northern Virginia
13168 Centerpointe Way
Suites 201 & 202
Woodbridge, VA 22193
COPYRIGHT: Information on these
pages is available for non-commercial use only and may not be reproduced in any
format for profit. Walter R. Peterman
Last updated 22:55 PM 11/05/2006