Dianne Rogal: I picked up a ukulele out of the blue one day. I walked into a music store, bought a ukulele and a book on how to teach yourself to play, and I started playing. About a month later, someone said, “Have you ever heard of the Hummers and Strummers in Deerfield?” Of course, I hadn’t. They said, “They play at the senior center, but they’re old, and you’re going to be way too young.” I didn’t care. I wanted someone to play with. I was in my 60s then. Everybody else besides Linda was pushing 80 and going up into their mid-90s. They were just the most wonderful, warm, and friendly bunch of people ever.

Cyndi Buckles: I sort of fought playing the ukulele. I played the tambourine, and then I started getting halfway good on the ukulele.

Carol Wiemer: I retired six years ago from nursing, and I was afraid my mind would go to mush if I didn't have something challenging in my life. So I went online and looked around at the local senior centers. And when I brought up Deerfield, it said “Hummers and Strummers,” and I thought, Wow, that sounds like a fun group. When I walked in, everybody was smiling and happy. They handed me a uke, gave me some lessons, and I practiced and fell in love with the ukulele. And the four of us just kind of glued together. Our friendship blossomed, and the four of us now go out and do a lot of little gigs. We are now the Shenanigans, starting with s-h-e. You get it, right?

Beck: Yes. How did you end up breaking off from the Hummers and Strummers to form the Shenanigans?

Linda: The Hummers and Strummers are about 20 people. We play at senior residences, farmers’ markets, preschools, and camps. A lot of local places. The reason that the Shenanigans got started is that Dianne and Cyndi have a wonderful friend named Ruby, who was going to [a day care for adults with memory problems]. Dianne asked Carol and I, “Would you be interested in forming a quartet with me and Cyndi, so that we can go and play once a month for our friend Ruby”? We said, “We’re in; that sounds like fun!”

When people have memory issues, you may not always get a response from an audience. We were warned that we might not, but we had a wonderful experience with the folks at [this center]. They were smiling and happy to see us, and clapping and tapping. So [the] Shenanigans was born, and we were on our way.

Beck: What are the Shenanigans’ performances like? What songs do you play?

Dianne: We sing the old standbys. “When You're Smiling,” “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue”: lots of 1920s songs, which is when the ukulele was really huge the first time. But when we go to places where people are sharper, we do songs from the ’50s and ’60s. We do lots of show tunes. We try and get a laugh. We’ll do a whole series of cowboy songs, and we’ll crack a whip, and wear our cowboy hats. We have a lot of costumes.