Doc Fuller in full action.

And the beat goes on—and on, and on, and on for Friday night dancing in the clubhouse of Kenilworth Apartments in Prairie Village.

Jim Sander and his band (Ray Smith, a strong supporter of the Friday night dances, likes to call them "the Kenilworth Band'') have been entertaining residents and their friends there since 1983. But the Friday night festivities began even before that.

In the late 1970s Marguerite Frazier, who played piano and sang in Kansas City bars and clubs, including the old Pla-Mor Ballroom, dating back to World War II, moved to Kenilworth in the twilight of her career and organized Friday night sing-alongs at the clubhouse.

Around 1980 Roland Blackmarr and some musicians from his band joined Marguerite and the dancing began.

"It started for me when a friend who had played trumpet in the Gene Krupa band suggested dropping by Kenilworth on a Friday night to join Marguerite for a jam session,'' said Blackmarr, whose band now plays for senior tea dances Friday afternoons at the Matt Ross Community Center in Overland Park. "Marguerite was a popular, well-known entertainer in Kansas City, playing in bars and lounges at the Ambassador Hotel and the Plaza Royal and other night spots of that era. She also sang on Kansas City radio.''

In 1983, enter Jim Sander. Blackmarr heard about Sander, who was playing with groups around Kansas City, and invited him to join his band on Fridays at Kenilworth.

"Marguerite could be a little cantankerous in those days," Sander said. "I think I'm the only one she didn't fire, including Roland.''

Frazier was in her 90s when she died in the late 1990s. Blackmarr had moved on, but Sander and his group continued playing for the seniors.

"We played for free, always did. We like playing together, and people were so nice and appreciative [that] we stayed around. We played there 19 years before anyone put anything in a tip jar!'' Sander said with a chuckle.

Nancy Baker, a 14-year Kenilworth resident, serves as unofficial coordinator for the dances.

"I keep in touch with Jim," Baker said. "They have to come a long way each week. We usually have 30 to 40 people, sometimes 60 or more. Everyone is welcome. It's 'bring your own.'"

Said Sander, "We don't play for the money. If you're playing for the money, you'd just as well hang it up. I used to play three or four times a week, sometimes more, with different groups. Musicians are like that. We're all friends and we like to play."

Sander, who got into music when he was 14, plays the electric bass guitar. He is a retiree from York International, where he worked for 42 years as a service engineer.

The size of his band varies from four to seven or eight musicians, depending on who's available. Regulars include Doc Fuller (another guitar player of whom Sander says, "I've never heard a better one,"); Dr. Will Adams on piano (he speaks five languages and teaches ballroom dancing); and John "Teddy" Bara on drums. Others who play frequently are Fino Androtti, a drummer; Dan Hamilton on guitar; and Gary Olson, trombone. Blackmarr, who sits in occasionally, plays the clarinet and saxophone.

Sander's folksy, easygoing personality plays well with Kenilworth seniors. His group plays tunes from the 1940s to the '60s.

"We play what they want to hear," Sander said. "One of us starts and the rest join in, kind of a jam session. We all sing a little, too."

In the words of Anita Guyton, a 14-year Kenilworth resident, "Jim's such a sweetheart. He's always in a good mood. The accessibility of the clubhouse makes it nice, too. I go nearly every Friday night."

Barbara King, who has lived at Kenilworth for 17 years, thinks Sander and his band are wonderful and points out that Sander lives at Weatherby Lake, Adams lives in Liberty, and the others live in Kansas City and Independence.

"They drive such a long way for such small donations," King said. "The dances are an important part of my entertainment. I don't drive anymore, so having it right here is a benefit for me."

Helen Liston, a retired Methodist minister from Overland Park, doesn't live at Kenilworth but is a Friday night regular. Sander often asks her to sing with the band.

"Several members of my congregation lived at Kenilworth and knew I sang, and invited me to join them," Liston said. "I love to sing and dance."

It's a compatible group, she notes.

"Everyone goes by first names, no one asks 'What do you do?' They just have a good time. I dance anytime I'm asked, and sing when Jim calls on me," she said.

Elliott Smith moved to Kenilworth in 1979.

"I'd be disappointed if we didn't have the dances," he said. "I enjoy the sociability. Jim and Doc and the others have been coming here for a long time. I hope we keep it going."
Kenilworth is at 4120 W. 94th Terrace in Prairie Village.

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