Wagon Train Squares

Square Dance Club

How Cowtown Dance Center Originated by Roy Henderson
The First Five Years
Cowtown was first conceived as an idea of John Davis. At the time, John was the caller for the Wagon Train Squares club. He envisioned a dance facility that would be owned and managed by square dancers. The intent was to keep the cost of dancing as reasonable as possible and make square dancing the primary function of the facility. An important part of his idea was that the facility would be for all dancers and that no one single person or club would have a controlling interest. At this point, several members of the Wagon Train Squares began a search for a building to use for dancing. One of the Wagon Train members, Albert Price, worked for a man named Morris Turtletaub who was a square dancer himself. Morris had just purchased a building that had been used as a bar. The name of the bar was Cowtown. Morris was a realtor who intended to use the building as a real estate office. The bar business had been closed for a long period of time. Most people called the bar "Moma Burillo" and it had a reputation as a very rough place. Albert and another Wagon Train member, Roy Henderson, approached Morris to discuss the possible purchase of Cowtown for use as a square dance center. Being a square dancer who had an active interest in dancing, Morris agreed to sell the facility. The selling price was to be $35,200.00. This amount was to be in the form of a mortgage contract in the summ of $31,200 and Morris accepted a promissory note for the $4,000 down payment. This deal was taken to John Davis and the other members of the Wagon Train Squares for approval. It was approved and the deal was made. After the purchase, a board of directors was formed. The original board consisted of seven members, Clem Bendeniste (President), Albert Van Calligan (Vice President), and four directors, Wayne Bargary, Roy A. Henderson, Joseph Barich, Alert Price and Danny Walsh. The secretary was Tracine Duran. This board decided to use the existing name of Cowtown and add "Square Dance Center, Inc." to the name. This is the name that appears on the deed. The memers of the original board were all members of the Wagon Train Squares. The zoning of Cowtown at the time did not allow the building to be used as a dance club. The board gathered signatures from neighbors and petitioned for a zoning change. They were successful in this effort and "Cowtown Dance Center" was born. Wagon Train Squares was the first club to dance at Cowtown Dance Center in 1972. Initially, the hall was supported by rent from the Wagon Train Squares and donations from the board of directors. At this time, Wayne (Buck) Bargary and Roy A. Henderson went to the law office of Butterwick and Associates to establish Cowtown as a corporation so that shares could be sold. In order to form a corporation, the state required $6,000 to be held in a bank account to show the stability of the corporation. The board began to search for ways to raise the necessary funds. Shares were sold for ten dollars each and the board members agreed to purchase one share per month each. Buck Bargary graduated from the Wagon Train Squares Dance class in 1972. After dancing with John Davis as the club caller, Buck became interested in becoming a caller himself. He received part of his training from John, and being a professional auctioneer, learned quickly. Buck called for his first class at Country Village Apartments in Mira Loma. Buck and Roy set htis up, as Roy libved there at the time. Bucks' second class was held at Cowtown Square Dance Center with Buck waiving his normal callers' fee. Cowtown Dance Center held square dance "after parties" each fifth Saturday night after the C.C.H.A. Hedowns. These "after parties" often lasted from 11:00 PM until 2:00 AM and featured Buck and other guest callers. Two Wagon Train members, Bob and Doris Cordova, lived in Norco and owned horses. They suggested holding horse shows as a means of generating operating funds for Cowtown. Bob suggested holding horse shows at Diamond Bar Equestrian Center in Diamond Bar, however, the shows had to be sponsored by a non-profit organization. The shows were held under the sponsorship of "J Bar 8", a former square dance cjub of John Davis. In all, four annual shows were held from 1973 through 1976. The board and other volunterrs worked at night to do the necessary paperwork and distribute 5000 fliers to generate interest. June Bargary was the Secretary, Buck was the Show Manager, Ken Mickesell the Ring Steward, and Roy and Lena Henderson and Cap and Grace Horne were in charge of the snack bar. Coffee and donuts had to be ready for the horse people at 6:00 am. There were several helpers that volunteered their time to accomplish all this. Roy and Lena brought their camping trailer to the Equestrian Center and stayed there from Friday until Sunday night to insure the readiness of the coffee and donuts. All employees (helpers) donated their wages to Cowtown to help pay expenses. "J Bar 8" also donated the proceeds of the show to Cowtown. As president of Cowtown, Clem Beneviste and other board members visited other square dance clubs in an attempt to sell them on the idea of dancing at Cowtown. Initially, they had vary little success. Even so, the $4,000 promissory note was paid off. The club had reduced the amount still owing on the note to $3,000. Morris agreed to reduce the balance owed by one dollar for every dollar put up by the club to pay off the balance immediately. The officers of the club co-signed a loan for $1,500 and Morris descounted the note by an equal balance. This paid off the note and saved the club a total of $1,500. Dances were held at Cowtown on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. Dance classes were held weekly. Buck Bargary was the caller at both of these events. The dancers from the classes that were held at Country Village along with some of the dancers from the Cowtown classes wanted to start their own square dance club. The Western Stars Square Dance club was formed and Buck was elected to be their caller. The revenue generated by this new club helped to support Cowtown. With the help of the Wagon Train Squares, other clubs and the classes at Cowtown, The Western Stars were off to a good start. The Western Stars last dance was in 2010. Other clubs that started dancing at Cowtown in the following years included The Cowtown Singles, The Gingham Bells, The Country Cut-Ups and others. There have been many events held at Cowtown including Sunday church services, Jazzercise, yard sales, round dances, advanced classes, craft fairs, paper drives, weddings, anniversary parties, funerals, etc. These events all contributed to the success of Cowtown. A lot of things have happened in the past years. In September of 1983, a fire partially destroyed the Cowtown building. The clubs were forced to find alternate facilities at which to dance. The Tyson Construction Company was contracted to rebuild the hall and work began immediately. While the contractor was working on the reconstruction, an arsonist set a second fire which burned a portion of the new framing. The Tyson Company started the rebuilding effort for a second time. The hall was rebuilt and improved quickly and dancing was able to resume in February of 1984. Another outstanding burning event happened in November of 1992. This was when a dance was held in celcbration of the BURINING OF THE COPIES OF THE MORTGAGE. The mortgage was paid off in September of 1992. I have read many accounts of the origin of Cowtown Dance Center, however, I have not read one that has accurately stated the facts. This article is intended to prvide the true facts of Cowtowns' origin and to share the visions of John Davis. Although the founding members were all associated with The Wagon Train Squares, the club remains true to John Davis' vision and has no claim on Cowtown other than a lot of pride and hard work. Cowtown has privided many days of enjoyment and great memories to many folks over the years. I would hope that John Davis' vision of a dance hall that is not controlled by any one person or club remains intact so that the hall can be enjoyed by all dancers for many years to come. This desire, I'm sure, is shared by the original Corporate Officers and Directors who worked so hard to found Cowtown Square Dance Center and to make it the success that it is today. I have documentation of many good memories in my files, along with contracts, progress reports, flyers from the horse shows, etc. If anyone would like to see any of these, I would be glad to share them. "Thank You" to all of our fellow Square Dancers for your participation. Roy and Lena Henderson

How Cowtown Dance Center Originated
by Roy Henderson

The First Five Years

Cowtown was first conceived as an idea of John Davis. At the time, John was the caller for the Wagon Train Squares club. He envisioned a dance facility that would be owned and managed by square dancers. The intent was to keep the cost of dancing as reasonable as possible and make square dancing the primary function of the facility. An important part of his idea was that the facility would be for all dancers and that no one single person or club would have a controlling interest.

At this point, several members of the Wagon Train Squares began a search for a building to use for dancing. One of the Wagon Train members, Albert Price, worked for a man named Morris Turtletaub who was a square dancer himself. Morris had just purchased a building that had been used as a bar. The name of the bar was Cowtown. Morris was a realtor who intended to use the building as a real estate office. The bar business had been closed for a long period of time. Most people called the bar "Moma Burillo" and it had a reputation as a very rough place. Albert and another Wagon Train member, Roy Henderson, approached Morris to discuss the possible purchase of Cowtown for use as a square dance center. Being a square dancer who had an active interest in dancing, Morris agreed to sell the facility. The selling price was to be $35,200.00. This amount was to be in the form of a mortgage contract in the summ of $31,200 and Morris accepted a promissory note for the $4,000 down payment. This deal was taken to John Davis and the other members of the Wagon Train Squares for approval. It was approved and the deal was made.

After the purchase, a board of directors was formed. The original board consisted of seven members, Clem Bendeniste (President), Albert Van Calligan (Vice President), and four directors, Wayne Bargary, Roy A. Henderson, Joseph Barich, Alert Price and Danny Walsh. The secretary was Tracine Duran. This board decided to use the existing name of Cowtown and add "Square Dance Center, Inc." to the name. This is the name that appears on the deed. The memers of the original board were all members of the Wagon Train Squares. The zoning of Cowtown at the time did not allow the building to be used as a dance club. The board gathered signatures from neighbors and petitioned for a zoning change. They were successful in this effort and "Cowtown Dance Center" was born.

Wagon Train Squares was the first club to dance at Cowtown Dance Center in 1972. Initially, the hall was supported by rent from the Wagon Train Squares and donations from the board of directors. At this time, Wayne (Buck) Bargary and Roy A. Henderson went to the law office of Butterwick and Associates to establish Cowtown as a corporation so that shares could be sold. In order to form a corporation, the state required $6,000 to be held in a bank account to show the stability of the corporation. The board began to search for ways to raise the necessary funds. Shares were sold for ten dollars each and the board members agreed to purchase one share per month each.

Buck Bargary graduated from the Wagon Train Squares Dance class in 1972. After dancing with John Davis as the club caller, Buck became interested in becoming a caller himself. He received part of his training from John, and being a professional auctioneer, learned quickly. Buck called for his first class at Country Village Apartments in Mira Loma. Buck and Roy set htis up, as Roy libved there at the time. Bucks' second class was held at Cowtown Square Dance Center with Buck waiving his normal callers' fee. Cowtown Dance Center held square dance "after parties" each fifth Saturday night after the C.C.H.A. Hedowns. These "after parties" often lasted from 11:00 PM until 2:00 AM and featured Buck and other guest callers.

Two Wagon Train members, Bob and Doris Cordova, lived in Norco and owned horses. They suggested holding horse shows as a means of generating operating funds for Cowtown. Bob suggested holding horse shows at Diamond Bar Equestrian Center in Diamond Bar, however, the shows had to be sponsored by a non-profit organization. The shows were held under the sponsorship of "J Bar 8", a former square dance cjub of John Davis. In all, four annual shows were held from 1973 through 1976. The board and other volunterrs worked at night to do the necessary paperwork and distribute 5000 fliers to generate interest. June Bargary was the Secretary, Buck was the Show Manager, Ken Mickesell the Ring Steward, and Roy and Lena Henderson and Cap and Grace Horne were in charge of the snack bar. Coffee and donuts had to be ready for the horse people at 6:00 am. There were several helpers that volunteered their time to accomplish all this. Roy and Lena brought their camping trailer to the Equestrian Center and stayed there from Friday until Sunday night to insure the readiness of the coffee and donuts. All employees (helpers) donated their wages to Cowtown to help pay expenses. "J Bar 8" also donated the proceeds of the show to Cowtown.

As president of Cowtown, Clem Beneviste and other board members visited other square dance clubs in an attempt to sell them on the idea of dancing at Cowtown. Initially, they had vary little success. Even so, the $4,000 promissory note was paid off. The club had reduced the amount still owing on the note to $3,000. Morris agreed to reduce the balance owed by one dollar for every dollar put up by the club to pay off the balance immediately. The officers of the club co-signed a loan for $1,500 and Morris descounted the note by an equal balance. This paid off the note and saved the club a total of $1,500.

Dances were held at Cowtown on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. Dance classes were held weekly. Buck Bargary was the caller at both of these events. The dancers from the classes that were held at Country Village along with some of the dancers from the Cowtown classes wanted to start their own square dance club. The Western Stars Square Dance club was formed and Buck was elected to be their caller. The revenue generated by this new club helped to support Cowtown. With the help of the Wagon Train Squares, other clubs and the classes at Cowtown, The Western Stars were off to a good start. The Western Stars last dance was in 2010. Other clubs that started dancing at Cowtown in the following years included The Cowtown Singles, The Gingham Bells, The Country Cut-Ups and others.

There have been many events held at Cowtown including Sunday church services, Jazzercise, yard sales, round dances, advanced classes, craft fairs, paper drives, weddings, anniversary parties, funerals, etc. These events all contributed to the success of Cowtown.

A lot of things have happened in the past years. In September of 1983, a fire partially destroyed the Cowtown building. The clubs were forced to find alternate facilities at which to dance. The Tyson Construction Company was contracted to rebuild the hall and work began immediately. While the contractor was working on the reconstruction, an arsonist set a second fire which burned a portion of the new framing. The Tyson Company started the rebuilding effort for a second time. The hall was rebuilt and improved quickly and dancing was able to resume in February of 1984. Another outstanding burning event happened in November of 1992. This was when a dance was held in celcbration of the BURINING OF THE COPIES OF THE MORTGAGE. The mortgage was paid off in September of 1992.

I have read many accounts of the origin of Cowtown Dance Center, however, I have not read one that has accurately stated the facts. This article is intended to prvide the true facts of Cowtowns' origin and to share the visions of John Davis. Although the founding members were all associated with The Wagon Train Squares, the club remains true to John Davis' vision and has no claim on Cowtown other than a lot of pride and hard work. Cowtown has privided many days of enjoyment and great memories to many folks over the years. I would hope that John Davis' vision of a dance hall that is not controlled by any one person or club remains intact so that the hall can be enjoyed by all dancers for many years to come. This desire, I'm sure, is shared by the original Corporate Officers and Directors who worked so hard to found Cowtown Square Dance Center and to make it the success that it is today. I have documentation of many good memories in my files, along with contracts, progress reports, flyers from the horse shows, etc. If anyone would like to see any of these, I would be glad to share them.

"Thank You" to all of our fellow Square Dancers for your participation.

Roy and Lena Henderson

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