Saturday, February, 15, 1941
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Seven
If You Like This, Take A Look At 1891!
The World's First Hep Cat
When it comes to saints, too much
is being said these days about a cer-
tain one named St. Valentine. And
it's only right, because this is the
only time of year that he's mentioned
at all. But we'll be willing to bet that
not one person in Ann Arbor, wheth-
er he went to J-Hop or to an ex-
clusive dance, has given even a min-
ute's thought to the guy who really
made dancing what it is today. Of
course, the reference is to St. Vitus,
patron saint of the dance. So now
you know.
According to the latest encyclo-
pedias, the only informative sources
that bother with such trivia, Vitus
lived during the Roman period. That
of course leaves a lot of leeway for
purposes of adjusting your story to
the circumstances. In the second
place, anyone could have come to
that conclusion by simple deduction,
just by loking at the spelling of the
name.
That's all the encyclopedias say,
but there is quite a yarn about this
fellow in an old Roman publication,
"O Bromus Seltzus," which is well
known to jayhoppers. Here there is
a little more definite information
about this unusual person. His first
name wasn't Saint; he got that later.
In fact, nobody knows what his par-
ents called him. When other peo-
ple were around. So we'll have to call
him Vitus.
Now Vitus was an unusual kid.
That's why he didn't live very long.
Died at the age of 20. He began to
show signs of his dancing ability at
the age of 18 months, when he kicked
the slats out of his cradle laughing
at the joke that was on page 23 of last
month's Garg. From then on, he con-
centrated on his footwork. By the
time he was twelve, he had performed
in amateur shows, Sunday-school pic-
nics, beer palaces, and in the movies.
In short, he was terrific. But it didn't
last long. Styles in music were chang-
ing in those days too.
They Danced
All Night
In Ice Rink
Potted Plants Decorated
The Hall, But There Were
No Feminine Wall Flowers
Times may come and times may go,
but the J-Hop, it seems, goes on for-
ever. Although styles have changed
and the carriage now runs under its
own power, the J-Hop remains one
of the University of Michigan's most
faithfully carried out traditions.
The Junior Hop 50 years ago was
quite different from tonight's gala af-
fair, but the same spirit of gayety
was present, as can be observed from
the write-up it was given in the Daily
way back in 1891:
The boys of '92, having the prep-
arations for the Junior Hop in
Charge, early resolved to make the
Hop this year the most sucessful
ever held, and they suceeded most
admirably. Not only were the prep-
parations more elaborate, but ev-
erything was more carefully ar-
ranged and systematically carried
out than heretofore.
The decorations of the rink (the
old University skating rink) sur-
passed anything of the kind ever at-
tempted here. The work of decor-
ating was in the hands of a Detroit
firm. The background on the walls
was a dark red, relieved by groups
of fraternity emblems, and flags.
The overhead decorations were the
finest, yellow and blue being the
prevailing colors. While the aesthet-
ic taste displayed in the use of
some of the colors was not very
good, the general appearance of
the room was quite pleasing. The
south end was set apart for re-
freshment booths and the specta-
tors' space occupied a part of the
east side. Potted plants in different
portions of the rink added greatly
to the appearance of the room.
Gibson's art parlors were used
as reception rooms and a covered
passage admitted the guests to the
rink. The grand march started
shortly after 10 o'clock, and was led
by Mr. James Van Inwagen, Jr.,
and Miss Bertha Baker of Toledo.
The music for the evening was fur-
nished by Schremser's Society Or-
chestra, of Detroit. One orchestra
furnished the music for the dances,
the other for the promenaders. This
was the inovation that added
much to the pleasure of the eve-
FORfA
WEEK
FOR FINEST CHA&
2
(Q 29.
ning, the music throughout delight-
ing everybody.
There were on th program 24
regular dances, 12 extras and 4
extra extras. (Some of) the regular
dances were as follows:
Waltz, "Santiago," Corbin
Polka, "Pretty Gypsy," Wiegand
Galop, "On the Go," Weingarten
Schottische, "McGinty," Flynn
Waltz, "Sweet Dream," Eilenberg
Polka, "Little Gretto," Tobain
0
0
GNYEI
,-END
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GINGER ALE
Is Selected for the
Official Refreshment
At the 1941 f-Hop
for party service call Ann Arbor 8847