EVERETT – Chip Hunter came to learn disco dancing as a teenager in the 1970s. But the aura of Mike Jordan became addictive.
Soon, it was tap, jazz and even ballet for the now 44-year-old Everett area resident.
“I came here six days a week when I was 18,” said Hunter, who returned to the Betty Spooner School of the Dance on Friday for one last weekend.
As he has done through the years, Hunter came back as a volunteer, this time to help liquidate Jordan’s estate. The longtime dance teacher died in May at age 69.
Hunter was not alone in his devotion to Jordan and the Betty Spooner Creative Arts Foundation, which recently closed after 78 years of operation. Jordan, a Snohomish County arts icon and an Everett treasure, operated the school for nearly 40 years after Betty Spooner, his mother, died.
The liquidation took the form of a huge garage sale in the basement of the building at 2821 Rockefeller Ave. Two dozen people were lined up when the doors opened on Friday. The sale continues 8 a.m.-4 p.m. today and Sunday.
Through the day Friday, people streamed in. Some came to find bargains. Some came out of nostalgia to grab a small piece of Everett history.
“It’s not just the dance school stuff. It’s Mike’s life,” said Debbie Galuska, one of about 10 of Jordan’s cousins who came to help with the sale.
Proceeds will help settle Jordan’s estate. The family plans to sell the building later.
The decision to close the school, where thousands of youngsters learned to dance, was enormous for the family, Galuska said. Betty Spooner started the studio in 1925, and Jordan took it over after her death in 1967.
“We agonized over closing it. We’re sorry to see it end, but 78 years is pretty remarkable for anymore,” said Galuska, 53. “Losing the studio is like the loss of another person. Gosh, every little girl in Everett came through here in my generation.”
On Friday, the patrons pored over tools, housewares, Christmas decorations, skis, sound equipment, easels, power floor cleaners and bar stools that had been used in tap-dance routines.
Jordan never married, though he raised three foster sons. And he was close to hundreds of people who at one time or another benefited from his tutelage.
When he quit dancing, Hunter kept coming back to volunteer. He helped set up sound and lights for performances, videotaped the shows and photographed the young dancers afterward.
“I’m a volunteer for life,” said Hunter, who thinks of Jordan as another father. “Mike used to say I signed a contract in blood.”
When not teaching dance, Jordan liked to ride in his boat. His main interest, however, was people. He kept a regular schedule, visiting nursing homes and talking with former students. “He loved people,” Hunter said.
He called Jordan an amazing teacher.
“He was friendly but strict,” Hunter said. “He was the kind of guy who demanded respect. You could tell that he loved what he was doing, and he loved kids.”
Is this the end of an era?
Yes, said Hunter. “It’s the end of a legend. Mike was a legend in this town.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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