Campus Ready for Junior Weekend:
How and When Did It All Start?
By Marjorie Bush
When Junior weekend dawns on
the Oregon campus May 6, it will
be celebrating its 59th anniver
sary. With it will be revided the
annual traditions of helloing on
Hellow walk, no smoking on the
old campus, a new coat of yellow
for the O on Skinner’s butte, green
ribbons for freshman girls, and
those other time-honored activi
ties of which any senior can tell
you.
Sorority row and the dorms will
be buzzing with the construction
of floats and ideas on 1001 Nights,
to the tune of the house song for
the All-Campus sing. Order of the
O men will be standing by to see
that traditions are properly re
garded, and if not to take the nec
essary action—spats for the boys
and dunking for the girls. Of
course there will be a beautiful
queen to reign over the make-be
lieve kingdof and lend its glamour,
and proverbial Jupe Pluvius will
be begged not to visit the U. of O.
with showers May 6-8.
How and when did all these tra
ditions begin ? After digging
through ancient Emerald files, it
appears that 1890 was the year the
forefather of Junior weekend was
born. Then it was called Junior
day. Following a program and
speeches, the juniors attempted to
raise their class flag over Villard.
With the sophomore class valiant
ly trying to prevent this, the ac
tion got so rough, that in 1903 it
was changed to a campus cleanup
and construction day, with lunch
served by the girls at noon. 1908
was the first year the event was
called Junior weekend. In that year
the O on Skinner’s butte was made
and high school students were spe
cial guests.
One of the favorite and out
standing parts of past Junior week
ends was the canoe fete on the
millrace. First suggested in 1910,
the original fete was not held until
1915. The first queen of the fete
was chosen in 1916 and finally in
1931 she became queen of both the
fete and the prom. By that year
Junior weekend had evolved into
its present form. Mothers’ day was
combined with it and sp ecial ac
tivities were planned for visiting
mothers.
The canoe fete became more
elaborate each year. The “canoes”
had really become floats, carrying
out a theme such as “Melody in
Spring,” 1935, “Springtime in Vi
enna,” 1940, and “Arabian Nights,”
1941. The war and cancellation of
the canoe fete due to a ruined mill
race wall came to the Oregon cam
pus in the same year. The fete
made a short-lived return in 1944,
but since then has not been held.
In its place, the former canoes took
to wheels and the float parade was
the result.
With the theme, “Gay Nineties,”
two years ago, Les Brown and His
Band of Renown, first name band
here since the war, was brought for
the pjrom. There the theme was
carried out with the can-can girls
and a huge Diamond Horseshoe.
Floats in the parade followed the
line of the “Brewery,” and “By the
Sea.”
Last year’s “Storybook Wonder
land” featured “Cinderella’s Ball”
and such prize winning floats as
Susan Campbell and the Sig Ep’p
first-place “Hansel and Gretel.”
Queen was Nancy Swem, who was
crowned by Governor John Hall.
The 1948 Junior weekend made his
tory, in that the sophomores, for
the first time, won the annual tug
of-war with the freshmen.
All these are only a few of the
activities of Junior weekend. There
are ball games, the all-campus
Plan now for
your dinner
before the
Junior Prom
Try the best
chicken at the
REX CAFE
92 8th Ave. W. Phone 1182
Air Corps
FLIGHT GLASSES
Ground & Polished Lens
Gold Plated
Pearl Sweat Box
Lifetime Guarantee
$2.50
"Your War Surplus Store"
Cascade Mercantile Co.
694 E. 15th Ph. 1285-W
sing, the Sunlight Serenade, the
terrace dance, campus picnic, and
more. Even in 1910 they were say
ing “this year’s Junior weekend
will set a record” and that still
goes for 1949!
Ambassador
VICE ADMIRAL Alrfh G. Kirk
will succeed Lt. Walter Bedell
Smith as ambassador to Mos
cow. General Smith was re
lieved of the Moscow post re
cently to take command of the
First army in New York. (AP
Wirephoto)
I
7America's Best-loved Greeting Cords'
! NORCRQSS
VALLEY
Stationery Co.
76 West Broadway
f
Oreganas to Be
Sent in Moil
Oreganans will be mailed out
to students this year unless the
Portland labor strike ends with
in the week, Dick Williams re
ported yesterday.
Tentative plans include ship
ping the yearbooks by Railroad
Express collect to points outside
of Eugene and Portland. Central
distribution points where the
books can be picked up will be
arranged in these two cities.
“We are all sorry that this
might have to be done, but none
of us has any control over the la
bor situation in Portland,” Wil
liams commented.
An •investigation is always a se
rious piece of business because it’s
a rare person who can stand one
A fine selection
of
Mother's Day
CARDS
at
LEMON O
“Doc” Ireland, Prop.
Corner 13th and Alder
fytVi Mom
Don’t forget to bring Mom in
on Mother’s Day Weekend
The Gift Shop
Phone 1937-J
“The little house of treasures next to Rex Theatre”
Your last chance to save
Subscribe crt the Special Senior Rate
Sign up today with
Unicersity of Oregon Co-op
3 SHORT COMIC
OPERAS
NIGHTLY
“THERE AND BACK’
“THE TELEPHONE”
“THE MAID AS
MISTRESS”
Tickets: $1.20
Co-op 9-1 :00
Millers 11-2:00
Tickets exchanged
\ Ac<
I I l
Music School Auditorium
May 3,4,5
Performances begin at 8:15 p. m.
Presented by University Music Students
CHAMBER
CONCERT pERIES