In June 1977, Jack and Dorothy McCulloch went to Atlantic City where they saw their first clogging demonstration, presented by Gloria and Wade Driver.

 

In January 1978, they went to Houston, Texas where the Drivers had their main club called the Texas Rhythm Cloggers. This gave Dorothy the idea for the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers name. They spent two weeks with the Drivers learning all they could about clogging.

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When Dorothy and Jack returned from Texas, they put some demos together for some of the square dancing groups in their hometown of London in order to generate some interest in clogging. Once they had enough members, they started a group and called it the London Ontario Rhythm Cloggers.

Due to the interest expressed in the Kitchener/Cambridge area, Dorothy agreed to teach a class.  After a practice hall was found, classes began on October 24, 1978 in Cambridge with 36 members. Over the next 17 years, the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers blossomed, making their mark nationwide through festivals, TV appearances, workshops, and demonstrations.

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During this time, Dorothy was instrumental in forming the following groups in Canada:

 

• Toronto Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Dorothy's sister, Sylvia Hunka

• Saskatchewan Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Dorothy's sister, Marlene Jerred

• Alberta Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Hope Penic

• Nova Scotia Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Linda Quinn    

 

The name, Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, was retired in December 1995 upon Jack and Dorothy's retirement from teaching. The club was taken over by Art Murphy in January 1996. Art led the club under the name Swift Kickin' Cloggers until he retired in the spring of 2001.

The following September, Colleen Zurbrigg, who began dancing with the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers in 1979, established a new group called the Kitcheloo Kloggers in Kitchener.
 
In September 2002, the Kitcheloo Kloggers hosted the 25th Anniversary of Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, where Dorothy passed down the banner for the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers to Colleen and announced that the name was once again alive and well under her leadership.  In 2005, Colleen took over the reigns of the Stars in Motion Cloggers in Brantford.  The Kitcheloo Kloggers and the Stars in Motion Cloggers are proud to carry on the long history of the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers.