(This is the eighth in a large series of profile stories planned for 2023 to introduce the Chelsea community to the folks who keep it humming each day. We want you to learn more about Chelsea as a community — as told through the eyes, ears and voices of many different people.)
By Shawn Personke
You’ll recognize the last name since it’s been in the Chelsea history books since the 1830s. But you might not know Bob Dancer’s face. You should, though, since it’s one of the most friendly and helpful faces in town.
Dancer is the treasurer for the Chelsea Area Historical Society & Museum. He says that it’s because of the CAHS that he knows so much of his family’s history.
“I’d heard that the museum had a lot of Dancer family history,” Dancer recalled. “I’d grown up in Ann Arbor, and spent a lot of time at the family farm on Jackson Road, but I didn’t know much about our family’s roots.”
He jokes — which if you know Bob Dancer, it is his way — that “try as he might,” the opportunity to access the family info never presented itself. That is until he became a member of the museum.
When then President Cary Church asked him to become treasurer, it brought him to the front of the line. “As it turned out, I was the only one in line,” he laughs.
All joking aside, once Dancer began researching, he found that his great-great-grandfather James H. Dancer sailed from Liverpool in 1830, and arrived in New York two months later. After sailing to Detroit via Lake Erie, he headed to Lima Township by wagon to find and then purchase two quarter sections.
He adds that he found much of his family’s history via James H. Dancer’s journal, which now resides in the museum’s archives, carefully stored and digitized.
Dancer said that his family has been involved in the Chelsea area in many capacities through the decades. There’s Dancer Road, of course, but also Dancer’s Department Store and a Dancer’s Hardware. A Dancer has been on village council, farmed, and raised sheep for Chelsea’s renowned wool industry, and, somewhere along the line, ran a restaurant and sold cars.
Dancer considers himself — and his wife Sue — the caretakers for the family farm. His grand-uncle bought it in 1918. His grandfather worked the farm throughout the mid-20th century. It then came to Dancer’s father, who owned it until his death in 2000.
Dancer really enjoys his volunteer time with the historical society.
“It’s a great group of people, very willing and able to commit a great deal of time, effort, and money to a very worthwhile cause,” he said.
The CAHS board thinks as much of Dancer as he does of the museum.
He was named Volunteer of the Year in 2021, after helping to create a firehouse to garage the recently acquired 1881 fire wagon. In addition to his treasurer duties, Dancer, who retired from his job as a director of facilities and operations at a multi-national company, is a handy man and keeps the tech and archives functions running smoothly.
“Bob is a jack-of-all-trades,” said Jan Bernath, president of the museum. “He sees things that need to happen and is quick to either do it himself or recommend action. Bob is the glue to our success – we’d scramble without him.”
However, when discussing what needs to be done, Bernath said Dancer draws the line at color and design.
“‘I am not a decorator!” is his line,” Bernath laughs.
But he is a Renaissance man. “Bob bakes cookies for meetings and events. He’s a comedian making quips and pulling pranks whenever he can,” said Bernath.
Dancer’s affinity for Chelsea is more than his family ties and his work at the museum.
When asked what his favorite thing about Chelsea, he quickly knew the answer.
It’s the people. Not just the people on our board or those that I meet when they visit the museum. It’s anywhere in town,” he reflected.
“Most people will look you in the eye and greet you – on the street, in stores and in most business establishments. It’s what makes me want to shop locally, dine locally, and enjoy all the amenities Chelsea has to offer.”
“Chelsea is just a fun, friendly place to be.”
