Some memories posted on Facebook or sent via email.
Below are some remembrances from folks were not able to attend the celebration (and some who did..). We had intended to read these at the event, but there wasn't enough time. Some of them were printed out and placed on the memorabilia tables.
There were other folks we were unsuccessful in contacting (i.e. all we had were defunct emails or an inactive Facebook profile). We would have loved to hear from Peggy Duesenberry, Stan Kramer, Laurie Buchanan, and dozens of dancers who have left the scene (and in many cases left the area). If you have email addresses for them, please let us know, or let them know that we would love to hear from them - if they are on Facebook, they might want to contribute to this page.
From Paul Machlis
I don't quite remember how my path crossed with Kirston's, but I'm so grateful that it did. I'd played piano for Scottish country dance for some years and happily found myself joining with Peter Persoff, on concertina and accordion, and Peggy Duesenberry on fiddle, at many a dance with Kirston at the lovely Hearst Gymnasium at UCB. We drew on Peter's rich Irish repertoire and Peggy's growing Scottish one, and Kirston loved all of it. "Peter, Paul, and Peggy," as we called ourselves, had a warm rapport with Kirston, whom I recall as being gifted at spreading his infectious enthusiasm to new and experienced dancers. Through Kirston I first experienced playing for contradance and working with a caller, and I couldn't have had a better guide. Thank you, Kirston!
> David: did you start at Hearst Gym, or did you ever play at First Congregational Church (Milvia & Channing)?
Quite a peripatetic dance! But then, that's the story of all such dances.
I started at Hearst Gym, so 1983-86 or so. My times playing at John Muir were more likely when it returned there 1991-94, and that would have been with Moving Cloud Orchestra (with Paul Kotapish and Sara Hiebert or even in pickup bands, as I played occasionally with Cathie Whitesides and others whose names escape me. It's all such a long, long time ago. My mother should know.
From Sara Hiebert Burch
Thank you, David and Rhonda, for organizing this event for our dear friend Kirston. Below is a memory from those long-ago days. You're welcome to read it to the group and to include my name.
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Kirston and his Berkeley dance bring back so many fond memories from the early 90's when I lived in the Bay Area. What a beautiful hall that was. And what a brainy guy Kirston was! Something we all remember is Kirston's delight in words, especially long ones with roots in ancient languages. Kirston always announced the name of the dance he was about to call (not so unusual), but he also liked to tell the dancers the names of the tunes we were going to play to go with the dance (that's a lot less usual in my experience). It didn't take us long to notice how especially happy it made him when the name of the tune we had chosen was somehow connected with the name of the dance. The problem is that a tune whose name perfectly matches the name of the dance often isn't a good match for the structure of the actual dance. I don't know which of us started this little tradition, but when Kirston asked us what we were going to play, we would sometimes make up names for the tunes so they would go better with the name of the dance—just because we knew it tickled that part of his brain. Please forgive us, Kirston!
I wish I could be there to celebrate Kirston with you, and to join you in expressing our collective Triskaidekaphilia!
Sara Hiebert Burch
Moving Cloud Orchestra
From Todd Silverstein
Having started contra dancing when it first arrived in the Bay Area in the late 1970s, I was a regular at Kirston’s dances. He was an assured, calm, affable caller, and his dances were always lots of fun.
I also have great memories of the pub singing sessions at the Hofbrau on Telegraph that invariably followed his dances, stretching into the wee hours of the morning. Kirston joined us for many a rollicking sea shanty or drinking song. Many’s the tankard and merry voice was raised! Kirston was our elder statesman, and taught us much through the years. We will miss him sorely.
From Sharyn Peterson
Hi David --
I just saw Peter Kasin's posting of Riggy singing "All the Good People" and it brought me to tears thinking of Kirston.
Any chance of asking Riggy to sing this at Kirston's memorial? It seems very appropriate and beautiful to me.
SharYn
(and indeed Riggy sang this as we stood in a big circle and shared memories before the break)
From Nick Cuccia
I was the dance manager for the second Friday Berkeley/El Cerrito/North Oakland dance that Kirston and, later, Lynn Ackerson, programmed from 1998 or 1999 until the series ended sometime in the mid-2000's; if I recall correctly, a combination of neighbor complaints (a problem at Finn Hall, as well) and poor attendance ultimately did it in.
Unfortunately, I don't have any recordings of Kirston calling. I can't remember who did sound before Marty (It may well have been Kirston), but Marty did the bulk of the sound for that series during my tenure. I think that I spelled him once in each location.
I count my lucky stars that I've never had to do sound at Finn Hall -- the high school gym that the dance moved to before Lynn took it over was paradise in comparison -- but I learned a lot vicariously about sound in challenging halls there. My understanding is that that Finn Hall's days are limited - it is going on the auction block soon, due to delinquent taxes; it may soon be the site of more infill housing in Berkeley, about which I have Feelings. (I've been to and worked sound for dances in the other Finn Hall, east of San Pablo Ave; that hall was, if you could imagine such a thing, even worse in terms of acoustics)
(in regard to the dancers in the photos from Finn Hall that Nick contributed):
There were a handful of folks that were part of "my cohort" -- folks who found BACDS in the late '90s and who are still around -- in those dance photos. I encountered contra dancing in '97, and I believe that folks like Lynn Ackerson, Marty Brenneis, and Dick and Mavis, found BACDS in '98. Tom Van Deusen, who also found BACDS around that time, is in the long lines photo; he moved back to his home in Minnesota around 2005 or so. Lynn, Tom, and I all caught the calling bug at Sierra Swing in '98. You know about Lynn and I; Tom is, I believe, still calling in the Minneapolis area on occasion, as well.
Andrea thinks that Kirston was at our wedding. I'm not so sure, but it has been almost 18 years. Anyways, I still have a hoard of photos taken by David Green and others ; I'll scan those and forward any that I can find before I hit the road this afternoon.