Springfield dance studio founder celebrates 50 years as a U.S. citizen

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Before America was Maureen Davis Hamby’s home, it was a place she heard about from young soldiers sitting at her family’s dinner table.

Hamby, known to friends as “Mo,” was born in England in 1935. She lived through World War II, came to the United States in 1954, became an American citizen on the Fourth of July, and later spent decades teaching dance in Springfield.

This week, she is celebrating her 90th birthday. On Saturday, she marks another milestone: 50 years since becoming a U.S. citizen during America’s Bicentennial.

A little girl in wartime England

Hamby says her life feels like several different lives.

One began in England, where some of her earliest memories were shaped by World War II. She remembers the Blitz. She remembers her family losing their home. And she remembers American soldiers arriving near her village in the months before D-Day.

To a little girl, they were not history yet. They were guests.

“Every Sunday afternoon, two young GIs would come and have dinner, Sunday dinner, with my mom and dad and I,” Hamby said. “And every Sunday, it was a different two.”

They talked about the lives they had left behind. Home. Girlfriends. School. The country they missed.

That is how Hamby first came to know America.

“I’m just a kid sitting there listening,” Hamby said. “And hearing about America. America. And then one of these days, I just ended up being here.”

The morning the village went quiet

Before America became Hamby’s home, those soldiers left for war.

She remembers the morning they were suddenly gone. The village was quiet. The barracks were empty. A few days later, her family learned the men had gone to Normandy.

Some never returned.

“My mom and dad got letters that, you know, Bobby didn’t make it,” Hamby said. “And thank you for having him and being his friend.”

For Hamby, those memories never stayed in the past. They became part of how she understood the country she would one day call home.

The young men who once sat at her family’s table had told her about America. Years later, she would build a life there.

Finding Springfield through dance

Hamby married a U.S. airman in 1953 and came to the United States a year later.

Eventually, due to relocation because of her husband’s service, life brought her to Springfield. Dance helped her stay.

She opened a studio on the Plaza with a name that sounded almost like someone giving directions: That Place on the Plaza.

There, Hamby taught generations of students. To many in Springfield’s dance community, she became simply Mo.

“I brought my lesson teaching with me, my dance experience, and opened up a studio,” Hamby said. “And from then it just grew. Springfield’s my home in America.”

Becoming an American on the Fourth of July

On July 4, 1976, during America’s Bicentennial celebration, Hamby became a U.S. citizen.

Fifty years later, she says England will always be part of her story. But Springfield is home.

“This is my home,” Hamby said. “I was born in England. I’m proud to be British. I’m proud to be American.”

For Hamby, the anniversary is not just about a date on a certificate. It is about the long path from wartime England to the life she made in southwest Missouri.

“I’ve made it good”

At 90, Hamby looks back at that path with gratitude and a little amazement.

The little girl who once listened to American soldiers describe their homes grew up, crossed an ocean, became a citizen, opened a studio, and made Springfield her own.

“Wow. I’m surprised at me,” Hamby said. “I’m surprised at me. I’m very happy with me. I’m happy here. I just... I’ve made it good. America’s been good to me.”

From wartime England to an American dance floor, Hamby says she is grateful for every step.

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