What started as a class at the library blossomed into the T-County Ukulele Squad

DOVER ‒ The ukulele, an instrument long associated with Hawaii, has found a special place in Tuscarawas County in recent months with the formation of the T-County Ukulele Squad.

The group, made up mostly of retirees, recently performed at the Tuscarawas County Senior Center in Dover as part of the Dover Public Library's Lunch & Learn program.

Members of the squad gave an enthusiastic performance, strumming their ukuleles and singing old country and pop songs. A large number of senior center patrons attended the event, singing along with many of the familiar tunes.

As part of the performance, the group invited three members of the audience to join them in playing ukuleles on one song.

More on local musicians: Tuscarawas County in song: Dover teacher release album recounting area's history

'It was very entertaining'

Kathy Burrier-Vaughn of Dover, one of the people who played with the group, owns the instrument but hasn't played it much. "I've had one for four years, but I really haven't played it except for maybe C chord and a G. That's it," she said.

As for performing with the Ukulele Squad, she said, "It was fun. I just kept strumming and had the C chord and that was it."

She plans on joining the group.

Janis Stover of New Philadelphia enjoyed the performance.

"It was very entertaining. It was rhythmic, and very musical, because we all could sing along," she said.

Stover, organist at the First Presbyterian Church of New Philadelphia, also has a ukulele at home, but she hasn't played it. She said she thought it might be easy to learn, since she played the viola in high school when she was in the school orchestra.

How the group began

The T-County Ukulele Squad grew out of a class offered by the Dover Public Library in January 2023. It was intended to be a one-time thing.

"At the end of it, the woman who was teaching it said, 'Would you be interested in continuing this?' And we said, 'Yes, absolutely,'" said Paula Hostetler of Strasburg, who leads the group. "We kept playing, the group kept growing. By Christmas time, the library asked us if we would be interested in playing a Christmas concert. Up until then, we had just been playing for ourselves. We said, OK, so we gave the Christmas concert. Since January, we've added 14 new beginners to the group, and we've been starting to get contacts for coming out to play in public. So, it's just been quite a whirlwind."

There are 15 to 16 members of the performing group, mostly in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

A ukulele purchased in Hawaii

Hostetler's first experience with playing the ukulele came in 2019, when the Dover library offered a class on playing the instrument. She and her husband had purchased a ukulele for her late father-in-law when they went to Hawaii on their honeymoon in 1987. Hostetler used that instrument when she took the class.

"Liz Strauss from the library taught us how to hold it, strum it, tune it, finger pick," Hostetler said. "We learned nine chords, and we played eight Christmas carols, all in an hour. So, I went home from that, and found that there were some YouTube tutorials you could go on.

"Then, all of the sudden it was March 2020, and COVID hit. The lockdown hit. So I wasn't going anywhere. I was sitting at home playing. I played for about a year, and then I put it aside. I didn't bring it out again until January 2023 when they were advertising this class. I thought, you know you need to pick that up again because you were enjoying it when you did it."

Hostetler still plays her father-in-law's ukulele. She recently replaced the strings on it.

Upcoming performances

The T-County Ukulele Squad will play May 5, during the Art on the Alley event in downtown New Philadelphia. They will be performing at Alley Cats Marketplace, 115 Allen Lane SW, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

People can learn more about the T-County Ukulele Squad by visiting their Facebook page.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: T-County Ukulele Squad finds a home and audience in Dover