For decades, Purdue students’ weekend social calendars were dotted with formal dances and balls. Dozens of dances were held by various fraternities and sororities, residence halls, and student organizations each semester.
According to the 1941 Debris yearbook, “For a number of years the Military Ball has held the limelight in the social season as it ushers in the series of winter formal dances.”
For decades, Purdue students’ weekend social calendars were dotted with formal dances and balls. Dozens of dances were held by various fraternities and sororities, residence halls, and student organizations each semester.
According to the 1941 Debris yearbook, “For a number of years the Military Ball has held the limelight in the social season as it ushers in the series of winter formal dances.”
The first mention of the Military Ball in the Debris appears in the 1896 edition, which notes, “The military ball was a brilliant social feature, and many will be the years before the memory of it dies out.”
The Military Ball is indeed one of the last dance traditions still holding out on campus. In November 2024, seniors in Navy ROTC attended a traditional dinner and cocktail hour, followed by a formal Navy and Marine Corps Birthday Ball for all Navy and Marine Corps ROTC students.
It’s doubtful that any of today’s attendees spent the evening with a dance card dangling from the wrist, but that was the practice 100 years ago. Dance cards, popularized in 19th-century Vienna, were part evening itinerary and part commemorative souvenir.
These small booklets with dainty cords were given to women at the door to track that evening’s dance partners and provide information on the hosts, chaperones, dinner, band, and styles of dances planned.
The colors and designs of dance cards often followed the theme of the dance, highlighting whimsical names such as Rose Rhapsody, Starlight and Roses, Autumn Leaves, Winter Melody, Snowflake Rendezvous, and Symphony in Snow.
Although dance cards largely fell out of fashion in the 1930s, many college campuses kept the tradition alive until the 1960s, when dances became less formal affairs. Modern expressions such as “Pencil me in” and “My dance card is full” hearken back to the days of this bygone ballroom accessory.
Three dance card collections donated to the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections help trace the history of these ephemera on campus from the 1920s to the 1950s.
The first mention of the Military Ball in the Debris appears in the 1896 edition, which notes, “The military ball was a brilliant social feature, and many will be the years before the memory of it dies out.”
The Military Ball is indeed one of the last dance traditions still holding out on campus. In November 2024, seniors in Navy ROTC attended a traditional dinner and cocktail hour, followed by a formal Navy and Marine Corps Birthday Ball for all Navy and Marine Corps ROTC students.
It’s doubtful that any of today’s attendees spent the evening with a dance card dangling from the wrist, but that was the practice 100 years ago. Dance cards, popularized in 19th-century Vienna, were part evening itinerary and part commemorative souvenir.
These small booklets with dainty cords were given to women at the door to track that evening’s dance partners and provide information on the hosts, chaperones, dinner, band, and styles of dances planned.
The colors and designs of dance cards often followed the theme of the dance, highlighting whimsical names such as Rose Rhapsody, Starlight and Roses, Autumn Leaves, Winter Melody, Snowflake Rendezvous, and Symphony in Snow.
Although dance cards largely fell out of fashion in the 1930s, many college campuses kept the tradition alive until the 1960s, when dances became less formal affairs. Modern expressions such as “Pencil me in” and “My dance card is full” hearken back to the days of this bygone ballroom accessory.
Three dance card collections donated to the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections help trace the history of these ephemera on campus from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Helen Gould was enrolled as a student from 1922 to 1926. She studied family housing and equipment, and the 1923 Debris lists her hometown as Marion, Indiana. Although she didn’t graduate, she was a life member of the Purdue Alumni Association. She became a librarian, historian, columnist, and author, residing in Henry, Illinois.
The 41 dance cards in Gould’s collection include some from Lafayette Jefferson High School.
Helen Gould was enrolled as a student from 1922 to 1926. She studied family housing and equipment, and the 1923 Debris lists her hometown as Marion, Indiana. Although she didn’t graduate, she was a life member of the Purdue Alumni Association. She became a librarian, historian, columnist, and author, residing in Henry, Illinois.
The 41 dance cards in Gould’s collection include some from Lafayette Jefferson High School.
The elaborate 1923 House Party hosted by Alpha Tau Omega boasted an eight-act revue spanning three days.
Among the festivities:
- “Act 3. Friday, 1 to 6 P.M. Happy Hollow is very pretty this time of year. Let your conscience be your guide, but don’t forget we eat at six.”
- “Act 8. Sunday, 1 P.M. Farewell dinner at the House. Don’t take the silverware for souvenirs, we need it for ourselves.”
Thomas Fitzgerald Hildebrand (ECE’24, MS ECE’32) makes an appearance in Gould’s collection on this dance card from the 1922 Pi Kappa Alpha Pledge Dance. Also from Marion, Indiana, Hildebrand was a charter member of the Beta Phi chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
One wonders whether Gould was smitten with Hildebrand as he is often listed multiple times on a single dance card, which could have been considered a breach of etiquette at the time. The purpose of the dance card was to facilitate mixing and mingling and encourage attendees to socialize with different dance partners throughout the evening.
Perhaps aware of how multiple dances with the same partner might look, Gould invents variations on Hildebrand’s name, including Tom, TomH, Tommy, Thomas, Fitz, ΠKA, and Taw-um. Sweetly, the final dance of the evening is often labeled “Ours.”
The dance card from the 1924 Beta Theta Pi Annual Houseparty Dance includes tongue-in-cheek instructions for a good time, including “B.Y.O.L!” and “Don’t forget your Mad Money”—an old-fashioned term for money carried by women to pay for their own way home after a bad date.
Evy Schuber earned her bachelor of science in home economics in 1942 “at a time when women were discouraged from majoring in chemistry but could take the courses as part of a degree in a related major,” according to her obituary. “Despite this, she became a chemist, first working for G.D. Searle, followed by 38 years working for Abbott Laboratories. She was a member of the American Chemical Society.” Schuber died in 2007 at age 88.
Evy Schuber earned her bachelor of science in home economics in 1942 “at a time when women were discouraged from majoring in chemistry but could take the courses as part of a degree in a related major,” according to her obituary. “Despite this, she became a chemist, first working for G.D. Searle, followed by 38 years working for Abbott Laboratories. She was a member of the American Chemical Society.” Schuber died in 2007 at age 88.
The 1938 Debris mentions Cary Club hosting four dances throughout the year, including a winter dinner dance and a spring formal. Cary Club is the official student organization of Cary Quadrangle Residence Hall. It is the university’s oldest residence hall club, founded in December of 1928.
The list of patrons and patronesses in the 1938 Skull and Crescent dance card reads like a veritable who’s who of Purdue at the time:
- Edward C. Elliott (HDR E’47), university president (1922–45)
- Andrey Abraham Potter (HDR E’55), dean of engineering (1920–53)
- Martin Luther Fisher (A’1903), dean of men (1927–41)
- Dorothy Stratton (HDR E’58), dean of women (1933–42)
- Gilbert A. Young (ME’1899), head of the School of Mechanical Engineering (1912–41)
- Charles Doan, math professor and freshman baseball coach
- James McKee, professor of English (1921–58)
- E.C. Miller (A’37), professor of agriculture
- William Bodden, assistant controller and chief accountant (1928–45)
- Lloyd Vallely, general manager of the Purdue Memorial Union
This dance card was distributed during the 1941 Varsity Lettermen “P” Men’s Blanket Hop. An article that appears in the March 5, 1915, Purdue Exponent describes plans for the first “P” Men’s Blanket Hop, held in the Memorial Gymnasium, now called Felix Haas Hall.
“The purpose of the dance is to make enough money to present each ‘P’ man with a ‘P’ blanket. If successful, a similar hop will be given each year.”
It was sponsored by the student union, and tickets cost $1 per couple. By the 1940s, the varsity lettermen had formed a P Men’s Club on campus, which took over sponsorship of the annual Blanket Hop. At the event, senior athletes received blankets, and athletics donors were awarded honorary “P” letters.
Marty Bemis graduated from Purdue in 1957 with a bachelor of science in home economics. As a student, she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, the Association of Women Students, University Choir, and the Women’s Recreational Association. Her collection of 32 dance cards documents the dances she attended from 1953 to 1957.
Marty Bemis graduated from Purdue in 1957 with a bachelor of science in home economics. As a student, she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, the Association of Women Students, University Choir, and the Women’s Recreational Association. Her collection of 32 dance cards documents the dances she attended from 1953 to 1957.
The Cary Club teamed up with the Excalibur Club to host the 1954 Winter Formal. Although Wiley Hall is now home to the Excalibur Club, it was originally formed as the social activities club for Men’s Residence Hall X, now known as Meredith Hall.
The Billy May Orchestra performed under the direction of jazz trumpeter and saxophonist Sam Donahue. Only members of the two clubs and invited guests were permitted to attend.
The 1956 Greek Week kicked off with a penny carnival held in the Armory. Organized by the Interfraternity Council, the weeklong festivities were capped with a masquerade-themed Greek Week Ball held in the Union ballrooms and featuring Eddie Grady and the Commanders, a Decca Records recording and touring band.
A performance by the Barbara Carroll Trio was staged in the Union cafeteria during the dance. An article in the March 2, 1956, Purdue Exponent described Carroll as one of the most important figures in the field of modern jazz, stating, “There is nothing ‘lady like’ about Barbara’s playing. Her pianistics have force, gusto, and fireworks that few male pianists can match.”
The annual Golddigger’s Ball, hosted by the Association of Women Students, featured men performing skits as part of the competition for Golddigger’s King. The 1957 winner received a traveling crown engraved with his name and the name of his housing unit. Along with the ball, a reception was held to honor all women deans at the university as well as all house mothers.
The final mention of the Golddigger’s Ball appears in the March 10, 1969, Purdue Exponent, heralding Fred Kellams (A’72) from Evans Scholars Fraternity as Golddigger’s King. Kellams’s skit portraying the cartoon insect superhero Fearless Fly won him the crown over seven other contestants.
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