01
Last-Friday dance social
A live band from Iola, a dance floor and punch. Families welcome.
MonthlyAdult day club · Chanute, Kansas
The best dance floor in Neosho County opens at 7:30.
Jitterbug is an adult day club in a 1940s dance hall across from Santa Fe Park: music all day, a nurse on site, a hot lunch, therapy and a van that knows every road in the county.
How we started
Gloria's mother still knew every step.
Gloria Delacroix was a home health nurse for eighteen years. When her mother, Ruby, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Gloria noticed something: Ruby couldn't remember lunch, but put on Glenn Miller and she'd jitterbug across the kitchen.
In 2012 Gloria bought the old Highland dance hall, where her parents met in 1958, put in a kitchen, a nurse's station and a shower room, and kept the maple floor. Ruby was the first member. Today almost fifty members come through, and the radio hasn't been turned off since.
— Gloria Delacroix, RN, founder
Sample family reviews
Fan mail
My dad doesn't always know what year it is. He always knows the words to 'In the Mood.' Jitterbug figured that out on day one.
My parents met on that dance floor in 1961. Mom goes there four days a week now and tells everyone about it.
The van comes out to our farm by Thayer. Dennis has the members singing by the time they hit the highway.
Becky called me because Mom's blood sugar was running high every afternoon. Her doctor changed one pill and it settled down.
Lena got my husband walking without his walker on the dance floor. He was a little too proud of himself.
I bring my kids to the last-Friday social. Grandpa dances with my daughter. I don't have words for what that means.
Kayla got Dad's VA benefit sorted in a month. We'd been stuck for a year.
Mom was a church pianist for fifty years. She plays for the choir now. She calls it her comeback tour.
Wednesday fried chicken. I don't need to say more.
I can work my full shift at the hospital again. And Mom is happier than she's been in years.
- 1946the year the dance hall opened
- 48members on a typical day
- 30songs on the morning playlist
- 5towns the van covers
Photo tour
The dance card
What sets us apart
Where we shine
02
Nursing checks and noon medications
Blood pressure, blood sugar and a note home every day.
Included
03
Hot lunch and two snacks
Fried chicken Wednesdays, and pie every Friday.
Included
Music finds people that memory can't. A song from 1955 can bring back a dance step, a name, a laugh. That's why the radio is always on here.
Rooms & suites
Inside the hall
A maple dance floor, and rooms for everything that happens off it.
01
The dance floor
The original 1946 maple floor, with tables around the edge, a bandstand and a jukebox that still works.
- Maple floor
- Bandstand
- Jukebox
02
The studio
A quieter room for members living with dementia, with soft chairs, headphones and a window onto the park.
- Headphones
- Dementia-friendly
03
The craft room
Painting, crafts and the baking club's counter, in the old coat check.
- Painting table
- Baking counter
04
The patio
Raised garden beds and shade umbrellas, facing Santa Fe Park.
- Raised beds
- Shade
05
The shower room
A roll-in shower and a trained aide, so bath day is one less job at home.
- Roll-in shower
- Grab bars
Our team
The band
Gloria Delacroix, RN
Founder and director
Becky Strickland, LPN
Nurse
Jamal Turner
Activities director
Dr. Lena Park, PT
Visiting physical therapist
Ratings & recognition · sample
- Readers' Choice · Best Senior Program
- County Chamber · Small Business of the Year
- Area Agency on Aging · Community Partner
- Alzheimer's Support Group · Partner Site
- Historic Preservation Society · Building Award
- Regional Hospital · Preferred Day Program
- Arts Council · Community Partner
- Veterans Coalition · Community Partner
Now hiring
Good people make Jitterbug Day Club. We are hiring for every shift.
Visit
Find the dance hall
- 15 N Highland Avenue
Chanute, KS
Park in front of the old dance hall or in the lot by the park. Our ramp is under the purple awning. - (620) 555-0119
- Text us
- hello@jitterbugdayclub.example
- JitterbugDayClubChanute
Tour & office hours
- Club days, Mon – Fri7:30a – 5:30p
- Tours, Mon – Fri9:30a – 3p
- Dance socialsLast Friday, 1 – 3p
- Families drop inAny time we are open
Last Friday of the month. Wear your dancing shoes.
Come to a dance social, or bring your parent for a free day with lunch and the van. Call, text or book online.