The Dancing Couple

Nick Nichols was a shy fifteen-year old when he learned to dance the towel twist to Chubby Checker’s music. He hasn’t stopped dancing since. Emma Burchell was raised in the country, loved taking care of family and animals and became a labor and delivery nurse at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

One steamy summer evening, Nick and Emma met by chance at a Hardee’s on Princess Anne Street and life was never the same after that.

Nick was also into sports, excelled in football, track and field in school. More importantly, he recognized potential in young people’s athletic abilities and helped them to hone their skills. Some were winners and set records; all made strides.

Dancing was Nick and Emma’s enjoyment and every week they were on the dance floor, moving to the rhythm of the bands, swinging and dipping to the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll. People began to look for them and no person, sports figure entertainer or musician was a stranger.

Share their fifty years of living life to the fullest, loving passionately and caring about everyone.

Outstanding book! You did a wonderful job of helping to tell Nick and Emma’s story. I was coached by Nick and they “parented” me also from 1975 to now. Even though I was in a slightly different part of track and field as a sprinter and not a traditional weightlifter, Nick still gave me encouragement in place of technical guidance. He transported me to competitions across Virginia. Nick and Ron Gosper from Stafford High School helped me compete on the national level in Atlanta in 1978 as part of the D. C. Striders Running Club. I went on to run as a scholarship athlete and had a great college career at James Madison University. I retired from Virginia state government last fall as an administrator, and none of it may have happened without Nick and Emma. I am grateful for your ability to tell the whole story that many of us could only share in pieces! Blessings! ~ (Rev.) Malcolm L. Taylor

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I’ve Still Got Sand In My Shoes

Steve Jarrell was born into a family of musicians and by the age of ten, decided he wanted to be in a band. He taught himself how to play the saxophone and learned to sing. By the age of fifteen he was a music veteran having played in four bands. He didn’t stop there. Wherever he went he found musicians looking for one more participant. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, it was The Prophets who went on to compete in the 1965 Lambertville, New Jersey Battle of the Bands. In the Air Force, he and Salt & Pepper were the first American band to record in Southeast Asia. There was also Dick Dale and the Deltones, the national show group Our House and Donna Fargo to name a few. Finally, it was Steve Jarrell and the Sons of the Beach. They have performed up and down the East Coast, the Treasure Island Resort in the Caymans, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Cancun. Radio broadcasting, movies, television, commercials even The Alabama Theater, Steve has performed in them all. Carolina Beach music, rhythm and blues are his beat. Singing and playing in big concerts, little gigs, fundraisers, and duos, his passion. Enjoy this humorous and touching conversation with a man who has done it all.

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