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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1973)
in concert Phot by Marc Bowen A member of "Little Ricki and the Groovers” at the Gay-Straight Sock Hop last weekend. The Gay Straight Hop: a pleasant surprise I was a little bit unsure of what to expect when I was asked to M-C the Gay People’s “Sock Hop” last Friday night in the EMU Ballroom. As Friday rolled around I was pretty sure that it was going to be a pain in the ass and a complete ruination of my Friday night. Not so—it turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time. This was the eighth or ninth sock hop that I have hosted, so it has become something of a science. I know what records to take and it’s just a matter of getting them together. As usual, I was late and behind schedule, but it didn’t matter, the sock hop got off to a usual slow start. I don’t know why, but it always takes at least half an hour before anyone arrives and starts dancing. Sure enough, by about 9 p.m. people were starting to find their way to the dance floor and the “hop” was under way. As the crowd began to dance, it was apparent that this was going to be like no other dance ever held at this University. There were men dancing with other men and women with other women and there were men dancing with women. And there didn’t seem to be any problems. Everyone was having a good time. As strange as it might have seemed two or three years ago, no-one seemed to be giving it any thought. It was right. The whole evening went along just as if there was nothing dif ferent going on. And the happiest thing about it was just that: there was nothing different going on. Gays and straights together dancfng and having a good time. Probably a new experience for most everyone in attendance. There were some fears that the evening might have trouble in store for it, but they were totally unfounded. And I must admit that I took a second glance now and then, but I guess that’s part of being human. Maybe I should have concentrated this note as being just another review of a sock hop, with comments about the dance contests, the decorations (there weren’t any) or the song mimes, Little Ricki and the Grovers. But to me, the Gay People’s “Sock Hop” was just a little bit more than that. I have never left the Ballroom with a feeling inside of me that said we really have come a long ways, and maybe there is hope. It may sound cornballish, but I was proud that I had been a part of the evening. It was a damned good feeling. I hope there are more gatherings like this. We need to be able to crawl out of our shells now and then. See you at the next one. Bruce Micklus TRADE IN YER OLD RECORDS THE SUN SHOP WILL TRADE IN YOUR OLD RECORDS ON THE NEW ONES YOU WANT Photo by Peter Clay ■mbs 'bm Tom Scribner s back Saw player Tom Scribner returned to the University this week as a fill-in performer at the Cultural Forum’s free Fish bowl Follies program. Scribner visited the campus last year with his familiar whining yet beautiful saw wound. -Oregon Gk' frail , THE OREGON TRAIL by Ingvard Henry Eide, author-photographer of the prize winning book, AMERICAN ODYSSEY With over 200 monochrome photographs by the author Introduction by Ernest S. Osgood, noted Western historian A splendid portrayal of the Oregon Trail and its effect on the huge, questing diversity of men and women on the move along the route the Indians named the “great white medicine road,” to a new future on the other side of the western mountains. The text shows the human side of this truly unique migration. And Eide has photographed the land as it must have appeared at the time, with no signs of today’s civilization. Together, the words and pictures effectively illustrate the impact that the protagonist, the land, had on those who traveled the Oregon Trail! For history or photography buffs, or for just browsing, THE OREGON TRAIL is an ideal selection. no. 81811-2 224 pages 9Vi X 1144 214.95 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BOOKSTORE. 13th & Kincaid INC.