The December 9, 2009 issue of the Davidsonian reported on plans for reviving Mid-Winter with a Winter Fest. The original mid-winters were organized by the Pan-Hellenic Council (later renamed the Interfraternity Council) and featured dances.
When the dances began in the 1930s, dances were banned on campus so the students used spaces in Charlotte. These tickets come from the scrapbook of William Rule, class of 1932). As the tickets indicate, the two dances were held over a weekend, with the Saturday dance ending earlier, no doubt to keep church attendance easier on Sunday mornings.
The first mention we’ve found so far of a mid-winter dance is the January 31, 1929 Davidsonian in an article on Pan-Hellenic week.
The next mention is in January of 1932. The week of activities has been replaced by the weekend dances.
The dances were held during the Depression years, but the state of the economy may explain why the organizers described the 1935 dances as the “best and least expensive” dance ever.
Mid-winters moved to the Davidson campus once dancing was approved in the 1940s.
Decorating Johnston Gymnasium was a challenge but as this photograph of the 1946 dance shows, students were up to the challenge.
The invitation styles tended to be formal, the 1956 invitation provides the only variation in format in our collections.
While Johnston Gym made a convenient location for dances, occasionally students returned to Charlotte. In 1947, the dances were held at the Hotel Charlotte and the Charlotte Armory.
This photograph shows the members of Phi Gamma Delta and their dates in 1947. In 1965, students used Cotswold Mall for a Mid-Winters’ site.
What are your Mid-Winter’s memories? Did you dance in Charlotte or Davidson? Did you move out of your dorm room to provide housing for women? We’d love to hear your stories and gather up any other tickets, programs or invitations.
Speak Your Mind