HANNIBAL — They're just like family.
They eat together.
They tease each other.
They talk about hopes, desires, memories and problems.
But the only home they share is a concrete slab inside one of Hannibal's oldest gathering spots.
For the last 35 years, music lovers have been getting together from noon to 3 p.m. every Wednesday at the Admiral Coontz Recreation Center.
Betty Parsons Miller is one of two founders of the weekly dances, and still presides as the "Bishop of the Backbeat" for the Uptown Strings band.
"I think it's good ministry," said Miller, the drummer. "Music lifts your spirits and makes you feel good."
The dancers come from all over.
Some are married, some are widowed.
A few are as slow as molasses, while others could outlast a teenager.
Regardless of ability, it would take a disaster to keep them from the dance floor.
Ronald Reagan was president when Martha Williams attended her first Coontz dance.
"After I retired, I wasn't going to sit on my fanny and watch TV," said Williams, 90, of New Canton, Ill. "You look forward to this. You want to know who died, who's sick and who's had surgery. This is the highlight of your week."
Weldon Calvert, 83, of Hannibal goes to dances around the area, but always keeps the Hannibal gig on his calendar. He and his dance partner, Manon White of Quincy, Ill., are both retired teachers.
"I love to dance," Calvert said. "At this stage of the game, dancing is an important part of our lives."
Admission is $3 and everyone brings a dish for the potluck.
Don't have a partner? Don't worry. There's always someone with whom you can drift around the floor.
Jean Carroz has attended Coontz dances since 1996.
"I met my sweetie down here," the 82-year-old Hannibal woman says as she points to 79-year-old Jerry Thompson of Liberty, Ill., who is dutifully sitting next to her.
"It's a cheap date," Carroz continues. "It gets you out of the house. You meet a lot of friends down here."
Carroz has waltzed all her life, but Thompson claims he was never a dancer.
"I'm not now, either," he said with a smile.
Wenzel and Freda Bradley travel from Newark each week. The couple didn't dance at their wedding or even at high school class reunions.
They finally found their rhythm a decade ago during a celebration for their 40th anniversary, and haven't slowed down since.
"You can go down the basement and get on one of those exercise bikes, but this is something you can enjoy with one another," Wenzel Bradley said.
"We're going to keep doing it as long as we can," Freda Bradley added. "It gets you going."
Though they're all determined to keep the dances going and the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department has continued to sponsor the events, Betty Miller is worried.
"We used to have big crowds in here," she recalled. "One time, we had 300."
Attendance now averages 35 to 40 people a week. While everyone gets a chance to bebop around the floor, all agree they'd like to see more faces and feet.
"We're all dying off," Carroz said. "I wish some younger people would come. If they did, they'd really like it."