All photos © Erica Houskeeper
On stage with a guitarist, fiddler, and pianist, Don Elder glances at his notes before calling out to the dance floor.
“First couple lead to the right, circle four hands around,” he directs in tune with “Wabash Cannonball”, a 19th-century folk song.
Elder, of Lyme, NH, is a regular at the West Newbury Hall country dances. For 25 years, he and his wife, Julia, have been traveling to this tiny unincorporated village to dance on the last Saturday of the month.
While he’s on stage behind the microphone, Julia is do-si-doing, mingling, or watching a promenade from the sidelines. “Country dances are our retirement hobby,” Elder tells me later offstage, adjusting his blue nylon cap with I’d Rather Be Square Dancing splashed across the front. “It’s something Julia and I can do together.”
Being together is the whole point of the West Newbury Hall.
The hall is where you’ll find turkey suppers, variety shows, concerts, country dances, pancake breakfasts, open mic nights, and a summer festival with an outdoor parade. “People are drawn to West Newbury Hall because something happens there that feeds their soul,” says Susan Goodell, who moved to the area in 1995 and has volunteered at the hall ever since.
Don Elder of Lyme, NH calls out dance steps at the West Newbury Hall.
‘The spirit of West Newbury’
It’s hard to say where the village of West Newbury begins and ends. Located west of Interstate 91, the village is geographically closer to the Bradford Golf Club than the Newbury Village Store.
The town of Newbury is home to several villages, including Wells River, Newbury Village, Peach Four Corners, Boltonville, South Newbury, and West Newbury. A few clues reveal you’re in West Newbury, like a sign on the tiny post office building on Snake Road. Nearby on Tyler Farm Road is the West Newbury Congregational Church, which stands directly across from the West Newbury Hall. Blink and you’ll miss it, even though it’s the heart of the village.
West Newbury also has its own zip code. But people who don’t live in the village still call it home.
“West Newbury is a place that’s loosely defined,” Goodell says. “I’m a mile-and-a-half from West Newbury. But it’s a badge of honor to be from West Newbury, so I declared that I am.”
Goodell is helping organize this year’s West Newbury Turkey Supper on Oct. 11, which attracts about 450 diners for sit-down meals and up to 200 take-out orders. People from across the region attend the supper year after year, a reflection of how the hall—with its tin-clad walls, high ceiling, and wood floors—is the cornerstone of the community.
“If you say you’re from West Newbury, then you are,” says West Newbury resident Catherine Kidder. “Maybe not geographically, but if you’re part of the spirit of West Newbury, you’re considered part of the community.”
At center, Robert Bartlett at last month’s country dance at West Newbury Hall. Robert began attending the dances several years ago.
As an example, Kidder recounts how a woman who lived in Pike, N.H., traveled to West Newbury to attend church every week and regularly participated and volunteered at the hall. “We made her an honorary West Newbury citizen,” Kidder says. “She was even the queen of the parade one year.”
A legacy of community building
Built around the turn of the 20th century and originally called the Ladies Aid Hall, the West Newbury Hall—and the surrounding village—are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Local historians say by the early 1930s, the Ladies Aid membership dwindled and the hall’s ownership was turned over to the Ladies Circle, which later became the Women’s Fellowship.
Now the hall is owned by the West Newbury Congregational Church and managed by an independent group of local volunteers. While the church and the hall remain closely connected, West Newbury Hall is a secular community space.
“We don’t say grace at the turkey supper,” says Tom Kidder, a longtime West Newbury resident and volunteer married to Catherine Kidder.
Generations of volunteers and tradition
The turkey supper, an annual event for over 60 years, is a flagship community gathering that involves countless volunteers and extensive planning.
“I love the way things have been handed down, and how the women from the Ladies Aid got together to build the hall and somehow passed that energy on to the next generation,” Catherine Kidder says. Many events are fundraisers to help with building improvements. Community members are currently raising money for a new elevator. (An upcoming fundraiser on Sept. 19 will feature a concert by the aptly named Elevator Boys.)
Bonnie Tucker of Essex plays the fiddle at last month’s country dance at West Newbury Hall. The dances are held the last Saturday of the month.
‘There wouldn't be a village without the hall’
At a country dance in late August, about 15 people showed up from towns like Lyndonville, Corinth, and Lyme.
Robert Bartlett arrived at the dance with his girlfriend, Nancy. He started attending the West Newbury Hall dances some years ago. Attendance for the dance has declined, but Bartlett is committed to keeping it going by promoting the event and helping pay for musicians and callers.
He began dancing as a college student in California and says dancing at the hall is something he looks forward to every month. “Dancing helps you feel like you can get away from other things in life,” he says.
The hall offers a throwback to days gone by. Goodell acknowledges that without the hall, the community would be a different place. “There wouldn't be a village without the hall,” Goodell says. “I think the hall is a place where the past still exists. It gives us a feeling that we are part of the same place—and that we care about each other.”
Country dances are at 7:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of every month. Free admission, but a tip jar is on the stage if you want to contribute. Bring refreshments if you like.
The West Newbury Turkey Supper is Oct. 11. Dinner seating times are at 5, 6:15, and 7:15 p.m. Tickets $18 for adults. Order tickets by calling Carolyn Marsh at 703-608-1827. Take-out is also available. This event typically sells out.
Follow the West Newbury Hall Facebook page for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.
Erica Houskeeper is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Burlington, Vermont. She publishes Happy Vermont, a website, newsletter, and podcast about exploring the Green Mountain State.