Racing For Love, Life, & Freedom?

Keys' Sadie Hawkins Day Race - UK Stoll Field (1951)
Source: 1952 Kentuckian, p. 278

Gals, grab your guys! Sadie Hawkins Day is upon us!

This pseduo-holiday debuted in Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip back in November 1937, and quickly caught on, in American pop culture for decades to follow. The story began when Sadie Hawkins, the "ugliest" female residing in the fictional Dogpatch, KY, tried to find her fella. So, her father set up a foot race for umarried girls to chase after the unclaimed bachelors of the town. Two years later, Life magazine reported that a couple hundred college campuses, including the University of Kentucky, picked up on this popular trend.

The tradition carried on for another 40 years or so, with young women chasing down young men; all dressed up in caricature or and stereotypical "hillbilly" outfits. Later, after the "Sally Mae"s caught their "Li'l Abner"s (both characters from the comic), a Sadie Hawkins Day dance typically ensued, where the best Sally Mae and Li'l Abner were chosen.

Though the exact date of Sadie Hawkins Day is often debated, it's generally around mid-November; most often either the Saturday after November 9th (unsure of this basis) or on November 15th (the anniversary of its 1st appearance in Al Capp's comic strip). Either way, it should NEVER be confused with another cited "Sadie Hawkins Day" date - February 29, or Leap Year - when women are "allowed" to propose marriage to men. The true Sadie Hawkins Day was set (though unintentionally) by Al Capp, in 1937, in his fictional little mountain town in KY.

Halloween Traditions

Barker Hall / Buell Armory, old gymnasium, Halloween party -- Nollau photographic print collection 1998ua0001:167_0008

Early students at UK were a rowdy bunch. "Town and Gown" relations often suffered in the wake of practical jokes or pranks which got a little out of hand. In the Board of Trustees minutes from December 11, 1906, President James K. Patterson recalls his surprise on November 1st to learn that "some of the students had endeavored to obstruct the street car service and had thus come into collision with the police, that a riotous demonstration had occurred on the grounds of Patterson Hall ... Six or eight of those participating in the riotous proceedings were arrested ... Their trial was postponed for ten days pending the recovery of a policeman said to have been seriously injured by stones thrown by the rioters."

However, it was not until the late 1920s that the school instituted a Halloween Dance in an effort to curb the annual displays of violence and destruction.

[DAS and JC]

Halloween Fun -- Underwood and Underwood photographic collection, 1913-1915 80PA103:0138

Couple in costume -- James Edwin "Ed" Weddle photographic collection, 1948-1981 1997AV27_0017