Rod & Lois Ford

Rod Ford began square dancing in 1960 with the Tri-Town Twirlers which was a club composed of members from three Ellis County towns. Estel Hopson from Waynoka, Oklahoma was the caller/ instructor for this club which was based in Gage, Oklahoma dancing in the American Legion Building. Thirty years later Rod and Lois Ford took square dance lessons from Don and Bonnie Main in the same building with the Red Carpet Squares. Rod and Lois started calling in 1994 and are privileged to have been able to receive help with their calling endeavors from several local callers including Toots Richardson, Don Main, Jim Woolsey and numerous visiting instructors sponsored by the Oklahoma State Callers and Teachers Association. They were honored to call at Red River, N.M. for several years with Toots Richardson and Skip Gates and later called at South Fork, Colorado for three years with the Mains.

Besides their square dancing activities, Rod and Lois have been very active in community affairs and have been members and officers of the Gage Chamber of Commerce, Gage Rotary Club, Gage Town Board, Great Plains Amateur Radio Club, American Legion and Auxiliary and other organizations.

In 1998 Rod retired from the Marine Corps Reserves after thirty years of active and reserve time and devoted all his working hours to the family feed manufacturing business. Approximately ten years later he was forced to retire and sell this business due to being diagnosed with a form of cancer. Since this retirement and after treatment the Fords have been able to devote much of their time to being club callers for the Enid Levis n Lace, and instructors for the Red Carpet Squares and Perryton, TX. Promenaders.