If anyone fits the bill as "country folk" it would be Bill Francisco (AKA Clogger Bill). Born in the middle of the Great Depression to immigrant Portuguese farmers, his first job was helping out in the garden. Later, in Junior High he delivered the Tulsa Daily World morning paper on horse back on what was then a two lane country road called Yale Ave. Bill realized his love for dancing at an carly age and has perused it ever since, interrupted only by the call of duty by Uncle Sam in 1953. After his military duty ended Bill returned to dance, and in the 1960s, while attending the International School of Dance, in New York City, he discoverd his true love, Western Clogging. After 13 years in New York he returned to Tulsa and continued attending clogging classes and workshops. In 1987 he saw a performance of the renowned "Bunkhouse Cloggers" at a fundraiser for OGRA, and was inspired to form a clogging group from Tulsa. Thus the "GREEN COUNTRY CLOGGERS" were formed in 1988. The Green Country Cloggers quickly became famous form the Mississippi west to Los Angeles, clogging to packed audiences and receiving standing ovations. Even after clogging began losing its popularity, Bill pushed forward and performed with various other groups and in competitions. At one point he was asked to play Santa for a children's Christmas party, where he performed a clogging routine in a full Santa outfit. "The children just loved it" he says, and thus "Santa Clog" was born. After that performance he created his own suit, and even grows his beard out (starting in July) and has since performed hundreds of Santa Clog benefits. ln 2009 Bill was given the "Life Time Achievement Award" from The Royal Barony of all Oklahoma for his contributions to the Tulsa community. Bill has taken his love for dance and turned it into a gift for all of us to enjoy. His open heart and true joy for life should be an inspiration for us ali. Thank you "Santa Clogger Bill" for all the blessing you have brought to our lives.