THE MICHIGAN DAILY - PAGE Michigras Celebrates 50 Gala Years * * * Wide Assortment of Displays Highlighted Early FairYears * . . By ALICE MENCHER A liberal sprinkling of the bi- zarre and a generous helping of color and noise has been the suc- cessful recipe for fifty years of Michigras. Early Michigras festivities were carried on under the title of the "County Fair," and were sponsored by the Union to raise money for such things as the Union swim- ming pool, and.a recreation club- room. The shows were presented in Barbour and Waterman gym- nasiums by men's groups on cam- pus. * A NOTABLE feature of the early carnivals was the special ef- fort made to lure women to the carnival. A Daily of 1924 vintage quotes the general chairman of the Fair as welcoming women, "by all means," in answer to a question that was bothering certain of the women students at the University. A booth was set up in which sorority women could compete to see which was the best group. Pictures of women representing each sorority were set up, and the one most often hit by the patrons' darts was deemed the winner, thus indicating the best sorority. One fair was notable for its col- lection of fantastic animals, in- cluding "The Great Egressum," a giant mammal from a dark and unknown corner of Africa; a Mi- chizapo, a zebra so named for its yellow and blue stripes; a collec- tion of wierd snakes, and several wildmen. * * * A ROMAN CIRCUS highlighted the fair one season, and slaves and dancing 'girls' took the center of the stage for a Christianity vs. Paper Stuff. 2"Cituff' Paper napkins came into their own during the construc- tion of floats and booths for this year's Michigras. Over 300,000 of the dinner time items were used by the various house groups in the making of their displays. Orig- inally 250,000 napkins were ordered but an overwhelming demand for them forced Mich- igras officials to send for an additional 50,000. The napkins are serving a variety of uses, ranging from substitutes for roses and Arb grass to birthday cakes. L u m b e r, a construction standby, also was given special emphasis by campus organiza- tions as they used more than two miles of the woodstuff to finish their entries. The newly-established Wendy Owen Blood Research Fund, the Union and the projected women's swimming pool have been named to benefit frpm this year's Michi- gras. Jack Hamer, '52, general co- chairman announced that the ex- pected receipts from the carnival will be split among the three groups half going to the Women's Athletic Association for the pool and the other half going to the Union. Part of the Union share will be given to the Wendy Owen Fund, and the rest will go towards the University Fresh Air Camp. The Wendy Owen Fund was set Carnival Will Aid Pool Union, Blood Research up after the death of a campus favorite this summer, and is also being supported by Generation, Gargoyle, Chi Omega, Wyvern, Mortarboard and The Daily, which donated money from its J-Hop issue to the fund. The money comes from the total intake of admission and concession tickets sold for the two nights of Michigras. Tickets may be pur- chased at the Field House at 7 p.m. The show runs from 7:30 p.m. until 1 a,m, on both nights. Diag Stunt BringsRift An unusual incident of the 196 Michigras occurred on the diag when demonstrators protesting Lecture Committee -ruling which banned Communists from speak ing on campus tried to interrupt a Michigras publicity stunt. The stunt featured a wild man chased by bloodhounds. The two groups clashed on the diag with wild man and his hounds finall: winning the day from the placard carrying demonstrators after a spirited melee. -Daily-Alan Reid LATEST-Dick Pinkerton, '55, gives the barkers announcement in Michigras latest wrinkle, a television show of several booths set up and operating from Barbour Gymnasium. _- --- __. i ,1I IDEAL MICHIGRAS I1 I SOUVENIRS - S PENNANTS - 20c and up ASH TRAYS -- $1.00 MICHIGAN GLASSES Set of Eight - $3.00 MICHIGAN BEER MUGS - $3.50 MICHIGAN ANIMALS - $1.50 and Paganism revival. The daughter of King Tut, a dancing mummy, also made an appearance, execut- ing an alluring 'sheet' dance. Sigma Alpha Epsilon came up with an interesting note when they operated a booth one year "For Men Only." Women were denied the privilege of the great mystery concealed within. It was heralded as "the thing that will show the men what the small things mean in life." -(?) Mimes, dramatic honorary, pre- sented a circus complete with barebackariders, tight-rope walk- ers and a museum of ,freaks, at a later Michigras. MOTORCYCLE races in a mot-' ordrome set up for the occasion were the thrill points of a Michi- gras that also witnessed the ap- pearance of Miss Barbara Lamarr of Hollywood fame as special guest. The "Union County Clarion," official newspaper of the fair, was a scandal sheet exposing professors and co-eds to ridicule, providing publicity for the fair while it poked fun. The carnival grew in size as the years went by, and by 1939 more than 50 floats were entered in the traditional parade. Theme of the Michigras was "The World of To- day and Tomorrow," a satirical take-off on the New York World's Fair and the San Francisco Gold- en Gate Exposition. * * * AN INTERESTING development during the advertising campaign and pre-carnival publicity was the filing of a suit in Ann Arbor court against the World's Fair and Ex- position on the grounds of "un- fair competition." An injunction was requested from the court that would prohibit the performance of those two, events on the two nights of Michigras. Despite the competition, more than 4,000 persons attended the opening night, and the carnival approached the proportions that eventually made it advisable to hold it bianually. Operations were suspended dur- ing the war, but resumed in full force in 1947 when the first of now-traditional 'apple polishing' booths was opened. Alexander Ruthven, then president of the University, was among those pol- ishing and selling the apples. " 1 lA ~ 0 O-V b dam, pla Plan for a gay summer in our wonderful new SHIP'n SHORE plaid blouses. Muted duo-tones. sophisticated harlequins... subtle window-panes...monotone squares with woven dots. Ever lovely, ever washable combed ginghams! An unusual selection of styles and colors, and sleeveless, too! I I 'p p'' ,;, . . o . ; a f p-° ° I up W~hr's University Bookstore *316 South State /. Put yourself on a lovely level.. .and discover the unbelievable softness and poise and comfort-in-action of these new and wonderful shoes! We show just one of a complete dawn-through-dusk collection. - --s lteA 9Pff4 e pecial.! " BLUE CALF * RED CALF $895 i J LE . BLACK SUEDE free introductory dancing lesson at your nearest ARTHUR MURRAY Studio, with every purchase of ARTHUR MURRAy Shoes. MAST'S The NAA R.LYN Shorre 529-531 E. Liberty St. 'Michigan Theatre Bldg. *r* : T , =n k . Y. ' a x Friday and Saturday A once-in-u- &~dS~l inthe s&llll Lifetime Offer! Y ;"S. w:. -65 in all. These include the rarest Includes our entire stock of Cashmeres koradenikwdair-ff of cloud soft, imported Cashmere .,. , knit on the finest gauge needles in the world. And now you can practically buy two for the price of one! wine - rust - green - beige - navy powder - yellow - white - black 'SHORT SLEEVE SLIPOVERS..... 4 original 16.00 . *,. sale price 11.80 LONG SLEEVE CARDIGANS. . . . . # original 20.00 * . sale price 14.80 LONG SLEEVE SLIPOVERS....... original 20.00 . . . sale price 14.80 r .4 II - .. /I 11 .tlx I