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Staff Writer WESTFIELD A comfort for many citizens of Westfield during the Great Depression is now in the form of a collection at the Athaneum, the Thelma Chambers Dance Collection. "In the days of the Great Depression if you were lucky enough to attend the Thelma Shelburne Chambers School of Dance, the recital was the culmination of a year of dance lessons and practice, practice, practice," Linda (Del Meico) Elder, a former student of the school, said. The Collection is a gift from Chambers' daughter and son-in-law, Thelma and Richard Green. It highlights some of Westfield's dance talent including Dorothy Liptak, Betty Brown, John Henchy, Chick Bennett and more. "It [dancing] was a lot more personal years ago," Thelma Green said. "Everyone kind of knew everybody and it was great comraderie. Everyone was like friends and family and there wasn't competition among the students. They were there to have a good time. They made their own costumes." Chambers, a Westfield native, operated a dance studio on Elm Street from the 1930s through the 1960s. The Collection contains many publicity photographs, newspaper articles and sheet music from that time. "We are contemplating a move and felt it was time to give it to Westfield," Thelma Green said to Reminder Publications. "Unfortunately in the [Westfield] 1955 Flood she [Chambers] lost most of her theatrical things from New York City. Both my mother and father loved Westfield." Chambers was born to Anna Sherburne and Roy Chambers on April 29, 1903. Her father was a superintendent of the Springfield Railways. Chambers was the oldest of four girls and the children were known as the "Fair Chambers Girls." After graduating from Westfield High School, Chambers' interest in dance led her to New York where she studied with the same teachers and in the same classes as Ray Bolger, best known for his role of the Scarecrow in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz." She met her husband Westfield native, Alexander Thomas, and moved back to Westfield and opened her dance studio. She kept the business going until the early 1960's. "My mother was a stickler she had a real passion for ballet. She was a stickler for proper techniques," Thelma Green said. "She would get annoyed with teachers who pushed students before they were ready for toe shoes and certain acrobats like splits. If someone couldn't afford a costume or dance lessons she would pay for them. She loved people and dance," Green added. The dance studio was located at 168 Elm St., then moved to 33 Broad St. and then moved to EastHampton. Each year Chambers would put on a recital at Westfield High School (now Westfield Vocational School). Thelma Green said once she was old enough she danced in all of the recitals and became a student teacher. "My mother had comradarie with the public," Thelma Green said. "She could relate to anyone and any situation." "Thelma Chambers was not only a talented dance instructor; she was also a very clever choreographer, a voice teacher, costume designer and a gifted piano player," Elder said. "Her pupils were taught dance routines accompanied by music she played on the piano. She did not use recordings as they do nowadays." According to Elders, Chambers designed the dance costumes and they were hand made by mothers. If a mother could not sew the costumes they could be made by a seamstress for a small fee. "Times were hard and the recitals offered a pleasurable evening away from the worries of the Great Depression," Elders said. Anyone interested in seeing the Thelma Chambers Dance Collection is welcome to visit the Reference and Information Services Desk at the Athenaeum or call the Athenaeum at 562-0716. | ||||||
