Our History

Portland Heights has a rich history, detailing as far back as 1900. The people of West Hills were eager to socialize and dance as much as possible, which remains as true then as it is now. The club remains thriving because we share a dance floor, food, beverages, community, and a good time. We get to be a part of something truly timeless.

Foreward

Author and date unknown

Dancing is the stars, the moon and sunshine all rolled into one! Add the captivating sound of big band dance music and things just get better. Now dress up in tuxedos and ball gowns and let an elegant night of warmth and friendship transport you out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.

The Portland Heights Dance Club has been offering just such an affair, six to eight evenings a year, for over a hundred years!

It all started back in 1898 when Ann Southerland shooed away the serving butler and announced to her husband, John, her desire to travel to Europe and see the sights. Explaining her feelings to John, she said, “I love living up here in Portland Heights, but I want to see some of the world. Please dear, can we?” Whereupon John, the area’s most prominent landowner, and a mover and shaker in Portland’s civic arena said, “Honey, you caught me at a good time, let’s plan on three months, say May through July of next year.” And so the trip came about in the summer of 1899.

John and Ann visited London, Paris, and Berlin. Having heard great things about Vienna, and it being the cultural high point of Europe, they arranged travel plans to arrive in Vienna in July 1899, with the intention of soaking up all of the culture available. At the museum, they heard about a ball being held on Saturday, in three days’ time. Invitations could be obtained from the American Embassy and the appropriate dress was available from their steamer trunk, so…… With all the excitement of two children in a new toy box, John and Ann went to their first-ever Viennese Grand Ball. And what a spectacle it was to behold. Hundreds of men in tuxedos and all of the ladies in the latest European formal fashion. Ann thought she had died and gone to heaven. John too was struck by the unreality of the scene – so entirely different from anything he had ever experienced. He immediately joined in the fun and danced as best he could, with total enthusiasm all evening long.

Coming back to the reality of Portland, Oregon, Ann knew that what she and John experienced was worth trying to re-create. And the Portland Heights Dance Club was born in the fall of 1899 and continues to this day.

Editor’s Note: This sweet story endeared me even more to the Portland Heights Dance Club, so I set out to get more information about it. Upon inquiry, I was directed to a prominent club member. After I asked him, he confessed, with his big laugh, that he was “Anonymous”, and he had made up the story! He had wanted to write a history of the club, but after searching and finding nothing, he decided that something was better than nothing. Thank you Anonymous, for a romantic beginning to our club! -JW

“There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.”

– Vicki Baum
Austrian Writer

A Detailed History

by Bruce and Dora Morrison, 1999 (edited in 2022)

In searching the available documents and ledgers, there is no indication that a history of the Portland Heights Dance Club has been written to date. The information herein is a combination of research from 1913 to 1931 ledger sheets, the information given to me by Claude and Helen Palmer, Cliff Powers, and other sources. A list of the club’s documents now available to the officers is given at the rear of this history.

The Portland Heights Dance Club was apparently started by a group of people who wished to enjoy more dancing and social activity than was available to them at the parties that might have been given in those Portland residences with a ballroom or large room that could handle a group of dancers.

The Club was formed in 1900 and a building was erected southwest of the Ainsworth School in the vicinity of Vista and St. Vincent’s Court. This building served as a community center for the area as indicated by the ledger sheets prior to 1929. The building contained three bowling alleys on the lower floor; and a kitchen, restrooms, and a large room for dancing and other uses were on the main floor. There were also a custodian’s quarters. This building served as a residence after 1930 until it was razed in 1994 to make room for additional classrooms for Ainsworth School.

Early ledger sheets show periodic payments of $60 to the Portland Heights Holding Corporation. It would be most interesting to know who put up the money for constructing the building and then received payments for it. Ledger sheets show general use of the building by different people, apparently for luncheons or meetings. These payments were allotted to “social” or “club”. Income from the bowling alleys also shows up in the ledger sheets. The club was also paying for repairs and utility bills. Reading between the lines, it appears that the usual number of dances in the early years was either eight or nine per season.

The ledger sheets show a shift to the Highlands Racquet Club for the 1929-30 dance season. The number of dances for the years 1920 to 1944 was ten per season with the last two dances being in March. The 1945-46 year was at the Laurelhurst Club, the 1946-47 year was at the Women’s Club, and in 1947-48 back to the Laurelhurst Club until the present time. In 1950, when Claude and Helen Palmer were the presidential couple, the 50th-anniversary dance was held. A program and pictures for the dance are still available.

As a rule, the dances were black-tie affairs with occasional departures to costume dances or less formal attire. The club has pictures of a “whoopee dance” held at the Highland Racquet Club. These dances featured all types of great costumes.

Over the years the club developed certain precedents and customs, such as inviting the members’ children to the January dance. A 1961 letter is in the files, written by Wilfred E. Josy, secretary, to the January dance committee, in which he expressed concern over children not quite of drinking age possibly being served alcohol. One interesting book is the report book for each dance showing the disbursements and giving shares to the members. The information as to the theme and guest couple is also included in this book, which is passed from chair couple to chair couple so that each may put a copy of their report in for future use in checking themes and possible material for dances.

Over the years, the club has certainly had its share of ups and downs with membership dropping from time to time, and rising to full membership with wait-listed and wait-wait-listed couples.

Our club celebrated its anniversaries in 1950, 1975, and 1990, and our 100th anniversary in 2000!

The covid-19 pandemic affected the Portland Heights Dance Club. Covid-19 arrived formally in March 2020, shutting down schools, businesses, and overwhelming hospitals. February 2020 was our last dance of the season. February 2022 was our first dance back with a covid protocol. The board polled the membership, and the majority voted for vaccinated members only. PHDC complied with the Multnomah county mask mandate while indoors. We changed to a table of six to distance ourselves better. We went to table service. Our membership dropped from 51 couples to 38 couples. The mask mandate dropped for the county in April 2022, and we followed. As covid became less deadly due to vaccines and better care, we returned to a buffet service at our last dance of the season in June 2022. We made available hand sanitizer at the buffet as well as calling individual tables to the buffet. The board of 2022-23 has decided not to require vaccinations, mask-wearing is optional, and we will continue with the buffet service. We will follow state and county mandates going forward.