We’ve all heard of the Sadie Hawkins dance, but then again, this is Cleveland and our knowledge of dances centers on homecoming. Once upon a time, Cleveland hosted multiple dances yearly, including a Sadie Hawkins, when the girls ask the boys. We didn’t always call it Sadie Hawkins though; here at Cleveland there were years where we used an entirely different name for this particular dance. Four Clarion readers knew that in the year 1973, we called it a TWIRP dance. It wasn’t just in 1973 that we choose to call it that.

The Clarion posted the trivia quiz at its site online (clevelandclarion.com) and 18 people gave the question a shot. Out of the four correct responders, Clarion adviser Andy Sorensen picked sophomore Michael Lovett’s name out of a hat, making them the winner for this round.

Searching yearbooks from the ‘70s, Clarion reporters were able to identify at least four years including 1973 that Cleveland hosted a TWIRP dance.

The word TWIRP is actually an acronym for “The Woman Is Required to Pay.”

The TWIRP dances were put on by the Fall Girls’ League. Often they would put on a TWIRP week ending with the annual dance.

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In 1978 TWIRP week ended with a “Harvest Hoe Down” dance. The week started off with an assembly featuring a magician, a “Harvest Hoe Down” skit, and more.

There was also a new idea tried called “Send Someone a Kiss.” Fairies accompanied those who delivered the kisses. The fairies would dub the receiver of the kiss with a magic wand and would blow “love dust” on them.

In 1975, the TWIRP dance theme was the “Sweet Potato Mash.” This was the Fall Girls’ League only money making project that year.

”Turkey Trot” was the theme of the annual TWIRP dance in ‘74. The Fall Girls’ League raised about $300 that year, which is about twice as much as they earned the next year in ‘75.

Looking at the 1972 yearbook, we see they were still using the well known name for the dance: Sadie Hawkins. Their Sadie Hawkins week included an assembly, the girl-ask-boy dance, and other fun activities. During the ‘72 dance, they “featured a marriage booth for those couples who wished to be ‘married for the evening,’” as described within the yearbook.

Today, we do not host something like the Sadie Hawkins dance. It could be because nowadays, girls will ask girls, guys will ask guys, and sometimes the girl will be the one to ask the guy. Gender roles are being reexamined by our generation, and a lot of ideas are changing.

Looking back at Cleveland’s old traditions is always an enlightenment, as we get, for one moment, to experience a window back in time to when those who are now adults were walking these halls.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this round as well the previous rounds before this. We thank you for celebrating our beloved school’s 100th year anniversary with us and hope you had just as much fun as we did.