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Jim Hayes began his calling career in
Wichita, Kansas in April, 1961 and was soon calling for four clubs,
two in Wichita and two in nearby towns. He continued to call in
Kansas until 1966 when he and Shirley moved to New Braunfels, Texas
where he called for the Happy Souls in Sequin and the Trailing
Squares in New Braunfels.
They later moved back to Kansas and
Jim called for his four Kansas clubs again plus two new clubs which
included the first singles club and the first advanced level club in
Kansas. Jim was an early member of Callerlab and served on the
board of directors. In 1981 Jim and Shirley bought an old high
school building in Aurora, Kansas which they converted to a dance
hall for square dancing and a school for square dance callers.
In addition to calling for local
clubs in Texas and Kansas, Jim has called in 42 states and in
several foreign countries including Germany, Austria, Mexico, and
Aruba. Over the years he made recordings for Mustang, Longhorn, and
Chicago Country record companies.
In 1989 Jim and Shirley moved back
to New Braunfels and Jim called for several clubs in New Braunfels,
College Station, and Austin. In 1991 he became the regular club
caller for Shirts’n’Skirts in Georgetown. He still guest calls at
many Texas clubs including Waterloo Squares and Killeen Kickers.
Jim estimates he has taught over 300 squares of new dancers through
the years and has just started a class in New Braunfels where he had
32 students on the first night!
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