Information: Raymond Smith, author of books about square dance.

Ray Smith did his first dancing in 1939, and started his calling for physical education classes in the Boude Storey Junior High School in Dallas where he was a teacher of Texas History.

Ray has served on the faculty of many camps and ran several of his own. When the reputedly sedate English Country Dance Society wanted an instructor to bring in the true flavor of the Western Cowboy style of square dancing their very discriminating choice was the Smith man.

Raymond says the biggest turning point in his square dancing life was when he attended the Shaw Institutes. "We have many fine callers now," says Ray, "but I am thinking how much better they could have been if they had had the opportunity to listen to those morning lectures of Pappy's. He just put things into your heart that others don't seem to have today.'" Ray always had a beginners' class going for the Dallas Parks Department. The smallest class was 15 squares, the largest 60 squares.

Ray's two comments about today's dancers, "I still believe that a smooth dancer will stay in the activity the longest," and, "I think that you should be able to see a good dancer – not hear him."