Seniors at the Fair Show They Are Still in the Swing of Things

Some began with a slow shuffle, but it didn’t take long for the couples competing in the Ventura County Fair’s senior dance contest to get their mojos working.

Swing music cast a Glenn Miller spell as the 70-something set bounced, twirled and even threw in a few hip grinds. From the cha-cha to the fox trot, it was a generational lesson in getting down.

“For all those people in their 20s, this is what’s called dancing,” contest host Pat Lopez told a cheering crowd.

With three dances complete and a waltz to go, 78-year-old Chuck Sitton wiped his brow and pounded his chest as his 76-year-old wife, Ruth, grabbed his arm for a final whirl.

“That old woman is trying to kill me,” Sitton said. “Dancing is fun; it’s a good way to keep all the parts working.”

The Oak View couple took second place among eight entries.

“We’ve been married 57 years and dancing 60,” Sitton said. “But I just stand there and mama does all the jumping around.”

The Sittons--who won the event last year--lost to their friends, Edward and Margaret Loper of Goleta.

The first-place couple--he is 67 and she is 59--learned to dance from the Sittons.

“It’s nice to see them come along and beat the old-timers,” Chuck Sitton said.

Margaret Loper, just barely eligible for the 55-and-over contest, said the Sittons were good teachers and line-dancing partners.

“They’re pros,” she said. “And they encouraged us, saying, ‘Get up there, you can do it.’ ”

Barbara Gisler, 57, was one of the youngest contestants. She and dance partner Willie Duncan, 61, are both from Ventura.

“We’re beginning seniors, which is great,” Gisler said. “The family is raised and now there’s more time to have fun.”

The oldest dancer was 82-year-old Lloyd Ferguson of Ojai. He and his wife Elaine, 63, took third place.

But the boys in the band logged the most time on the dance floor.

Introduced by host Lopez as “the band that’s been around so long they played Moses’ bar mitzvah,” the Frank Umbro Swing Band foursome has an average age just shy of 80.

Leader and accordionist Umbro is 85; so is fiddler Marvin Johnson. Trumpeter Hershey Bell is 73 and guitarist and singer Buck Page is 74.

They got a kick out of watching their contemporaries cutting a rug.

“It’s great to see them swing like they did way back when swing first came out during the war,” Bell said.

The band members were not surprised their music has been rediscovered and popularized by their grandchildren’s generation.

“Kids are getting into big bands now,” Page said. “Everything just goes round and round like a circle.”

Although Page has been playing the genre for 50 years, he said today’s swing trend helps revitalize his music.

“It makes you feel young again,” he said. “It makes us feel worthwhile, that we can still play music that satisfies the kids.”

Ben Oriol, 22, was one of three judges. He likes swing and even asked some of the contestants if they would give lessons.

“I’m down on learning it,” Oriol said. “If they can bring back bell bottoms, why not old dances?”

Vanessa Webster-Smith, the fair’s entertainment coordinator, led the judging. Clipboard in hand, she roamed the stage, critiquing each couple.

“I look for technique, presentation--and stamina,” the 31-year-old said, laughing. “But some of them are in better shape than I am. They just dance and dance.”

Fair publicist Teri Raley also marveled at the ability and agility of the older contestants.

“They’re incredible; they can really move,” Raley said. “And those ladies are light on their feet and have some pretty good-looking legs.”

For fiddler Johnson, who has been playing for 75 years, the dance contest proves that age doesn’t have to get in the way of a good time.

“This shows we’re young seniors,” Johnson said. “As long as you have hopes and interests, it doesn’t matter how old you are.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today at the Fair

Here’s a look at what’s happening at the Ventura County Fair today:

* Carnival wristband: unlimited rides noon to 6 p.m. for $14

* Seaside Park opens 11 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12

11 a.m.: Seaside Park Opens

All Day: 4-H & FFA Market Swine judging Clark Pavilion

All Day: Dairy DayAgriculture

All Day: Andalusian Horse Show Morgan Arena

All Day: I Madonnari (Chalk Drawing) Youth Expo Ventura High School Art Dept.

11 a.m.: Grupo Folklorico de West LA Pepsi Community Stage

11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies

11 a.m.-7 p.m.: Floy Myers: Enameling Gems & Minerals

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Lois Bear: Bead Stringing Gems & Minerals

11:30 a.m.: Phil Shane (tribute singer) Star Stage

11:30 a.m.: Tim the Magic Guy Children’s Dell

11:30 a.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

11:30 a.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

Noon: Land O’ Lakes Best Butter Creative Living Cookies Contest

Noon: Duke & Dolly Dolphin Strolling

Noon: Moorpark Senior Center Golden Pepsi Community Stompers & Pipers Stage

12:30 p.m.: Gene West’s Wonderful Working Toys Youth Expo in Wood

12:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell

12:30 p.m.: Too Too Tomato Strolling

12:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Agriculture

1 p.m.: Phil Shane (tribute singer) Star Stage

1-3 p.m.: Lois Bear: Bead Stringing Gems & Minerals

1:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

1:30-5 p.m.: Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies

1:30 p.m.: Limbo & Hula Hoop Contest Pepsi Community (Jr. Fair Board) Stage

1:30 p.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

1:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Agriculture

1:30 p.m.: Exhibition Horse Shows Morgan Arena

1:30 p.m.: Tim the Magic Guy Children’s Dell

1:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

2 p.m.: Balloonacy Strolling

2 p.m.: Mime Mark Wenzel Strolling

2 p.m.: Yolie’s Best South of the Border Creative Living Entree Contest

2 p.m.: Andalusian Horse Show continues Morgan Arena

2:30 p.m.: Phil Shane (tribute singer) Star Stage

2:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Children’s Dell

2:30 p.m.: Mike & Joanna Hoffman: Story Time Uncle Leo’s Barn

3 p.m.: Kid Power (Top 40) Pepsi Community Stage

3 p.m.: Home Dairy Food demonstrations Agriculture

3 p.m.: Barn Talk Uncle Leo’s Barn

3:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

3:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Youth Expo

3:30 p.m.: Tom the Magic Guy Children’s Dell

3:30 p.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

4 p.m.: Phil Shane (tribute singer) Star Stage

4-7 p.m.: Floy Myers: Enameling Gems & Minerals

4:30 p.m.: Too Too Tomato Children’s Dell

5:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell

5:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

6 p.m.: Mackinnon Dance Studio Star Stage

6 p.m.: Santa Clara Valley Square Dancers Pepsi Community Stage

6 p.m.: Barn Talk: Ben McNary & Hank, Uncle Leo’s Barn his Racking Horse

6 p.m.: Adult Showmanship (Jr. Fair Board) Clark Pavilion

6:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Youth Expo

7 p.m.: Fangboy & The Ghouls (rock) Star Stage

7:30 p.m.: KBBY 95.1 FM welcomes Grandstand Arena Village People

8:30 p.m.: 4 Reel Entertainment (R&B;) Pepsi Community Stage

9 p.m.: Fangboy & The Ghouls (rock) Star Stage

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks

10 p.m.: Exhibit & Commercial Buildings close