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Comments:
Laura - 2004-10-26 20:37:25 I recall that the auditorium/gymnasium/natatoriun extension at the rear of the building had "Girls" carved above the door on one side and "Boys" above the other. In the good ol' days our designation was made for us and there was no changin' it.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-27 09:24:49 Yes, that's clear-cut, and no mistake, isn't it? I couldn't not notice that all the athlete types were guys and wondered if any sports at all aside from flirting were available to women back then. * * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-10-27 10:12:22 There was a girls scouts/rotc torch thingy too. And women runners. I think some were destroyed. Seems most of the saved ones were men sports, but originally there were just as many women. Somewhere in my storage I have photos when they were all in place. I'll try to find them. At the bus stop on Adams just south of the parking lot entrance was the wood/metal/art shop part of the building. That stuff is all still above the door. (Which is now their mechanical/boiler building. Carved triangle, t-square, dividers, saw and hammers. Somewhere around the building are the happy/sad acting faces too. The building sat vacant for the first few years I woned my house. One night I came home from a weekend trip and heard what sounded like a crakling fire coming from the building. When I got up close I saw water pouring out of an uper window splashing down into the old parking lot. I called YUCA.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-27 10:26:19 Oh, that's interesting--I kind of assumed that women's sports weren't really around much back then, but of course those carvings are from the flapper era, when women would be getting out & doung all sorts of things. I've seen those other carvings you mention, on the Adams side. They're quite nicely done. Have glimpsed the theater masks, too, but can't recall offhand where they are on the building. Thank you for offering to look up the photos, YD--that is kind of you.* * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2004-10-27 13:42:31 Women's and girl's sports have been around a lot longer than a lot of people realize, but it was not until the early 1970s (and the latter day feminist movement) that they really began to gain more serious visibility and respect. Even now things are not nearly what they should be, but at least some improvement has been made. For example, the University of Michigan and most other colleges and universities did not offer varsity level sports for women until 1973, after the passage of the "Title Nine" federal law that mandated gender equity in programs offered by public educational institutions. I have learned much of this while researching and writing about the history of women's sports at the U of M and also of the women's pro basketball team the Detroit Shock.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-27 13:47:21 Well, that's interesting--sounds like you know quite a bit about the subject. I think the Shock is awesome. Nothing like them around when I was a kid. They're quite an inspiration to young girls, I imagine. * * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2004-10-27 14:17:13 That is one of the things I love the most when I go to women's games...seeing the little girls who now have "she"roes of their own to root for. At the Shock's games, during one of the timeouts they invite three young girls to step on to the court. A child sized basket is set up and the girls get to slam dunk the ball and do a victory dance. Both the Shock and the U of M women's team go out of their way to reach out to the girls who will be the next generation of players, and it is a great thing to see.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-10-27 14:42:35 It's great just to read about it from your description. If that had happened to me when I was a young girl, I'd always remember it. And I'm glad those girls are seeing whole teams of successful sports women.* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |