I will always remember Herman's enthusiasm, kindness and willingness to help out with most any task at any time. Herman was veryinstrumental in helping me get started as a folk dance leader, teacher and organizer in the Chicago International Folk Dance community.

The University of Chicago Folk Dance Group met for many years on on Sunday nights in the Cloister Club at Ida Noyes Hall. For the Summer Quarter, the group met on Friday Nights, outdoors in the parking lot between Ida Noyes and the women's' dormitory, Woodward Commons. I attended the Ida Noyes group as well as the Tuesday night International House group (just east of Ida Noyes on 59th Street) while in High School and continued dancing there when I went to college at the University of Chicago.

In the spring of 1966, the leader of the group, Steve Sachs, announced that he was going, to be out of town for that summer and he asked Herman and me to run the group in his absence. Several years before, Herman had run the Tuesday Night group at International House that was now being run by Hardy Freeman.

Steve left me his record collection for the summer and said that I could tape anything that I wanted - which I did. Steve was to return that fall and run the group for another year until finished his degree, then he would be gone for good.

I had several obstacles to overcome in leading a folk dance group at that time:

• I had very little experience in teaching a folk dance group. I had done a little bit of teaching and playing requests at Ida Noyes Hall. I had also been teaching and calling squares and contras for several years, but teaching a variety of ethnic dance styles was relatively unknown territory.
• I had some experience in organizing and running a group from my square/contra dance days, but I was to learn that managing a folk dance group was something different. There were many more issues to deal with as far as satisfying the needs of different constituencies - Balkan, Israeli, couple dance, non-partner dance, hardcore dancer, casual dancer, etc.
• I did not have a portable public address system with a record player.
• I had only a very small collection of folk dance records and a very few reels of taped music and one reel to reel tape recorder.
• I did not have a car or a driver's license so I had no means to transport music and sound equipment to and from the dance.

From just that summer's experience, I was to gain a lot of experience from working with Herman. He provided me with immeasurable material, logistical and moral support, along with plenty of encouragement and wisdom. While giving me rides to and from my parents house (9800 South, about 35 to 45 minutes out of his way), he and shared many of his life stories with me as we ran the outdoor folk dance group that summer.

Herman seemed prepared for every problem that we might encounter. He brought card tables from his place in Chesterton so we would not have to set the sound equipment and records on the grass or asphalt surfaces as we had been doing. He supplied an extra long extension cord so that we could obtain electrical power from the Ida Noyes Gym through an open window. He brought a series of light stands for the tables so that we could see what we were doing when it got dark. He brought plastic sheeting so that we could cover the equipment in the event of rain. He helped me understand how to deal with conflict when different factions wanted to have their way, often without considering what other people might or might not like.

Steve Sachs returned to run the group in the fall of 1966. When Steve left in the Spring of 1967, a committee was formed to continue running the dances at Ida Noyes Hall. With the experiences I gained in working with Herman in the summer of 1966, I helped transform that committee into the U of C Folk Dance Club (UC Folkdancers), which for many years continued to run dances at Ida Noyes Hall (on Sundays and Mondays) and to produce many campus events such as the International Folk Festival (November Festival).

I found Herman a fascinating person and considered him a role model and key mentor who helped shape my dance leadership career, among other mentors that included callers, leaders and dance teachers such as Sam Roberts (my first dance teacher), Johnny Brooks, Earl Davis, James Collins (my father), Julius "Jeep" Erwin, Larry Hawkins, Steve Sachs, Nate Lofton, Hardy Freeman, Frank Alsberg, Beth Fawkes, Edna Friedman and Bev & Ginny Wilder.

I returned to Chicago from a trip back in November of 1976. Dit Olshan called me up to break the news asking me, "Guess who just got married?". I had no idea and then she finally told me, Helen Pomerance got married. I took a wild guess and having absoultely no clue said, "Who did she marry, was it Herman Johnson"?. Little did I know,,,,

My wife Susan and I were out of town and unable to attend Herman's 90th birthday party in 1996. Upon our rerturn, we went by Herman and Helen's apartment in Hyde Park and spent a very pleasant afternoon.

I actually cried tears of joy when I saw Herman and Helen at my Father's funeral in August 2004. Helen told me that when she asked Herman if he wanted to go he said, "Of course we're going to go!".

Thank you Herman!

Paul Collins
(Chicago, Illinois)
(773) 463-2288 (w), (773)-506-8222 (h)