Sadie Hawkin's dance leads to lifetime of love

I was in high school and we were living in Fort Scott. My future husband, Bob and his family had just recently moved to Fort Scott from Dixon, Ill. He was the "new kid on the block" and I thought he was the "cats meow". I tried to get his attention ever which way, but to no avail. Hard to believe, but he was quite shy. Every time I saw him in the school hall, I would give him my biggest smile, but, nothing seemed to be working. So I decided I would just have to take the bull by the horns and ask him for a date.

Nowadays that doesn't seem like much, but back then, believe you me, it was quite risqué. After several tries, I finally just walked up to him and asked him if maybe we could get together and just "hang out". He looked at me as if I had just fallen out of the sky, but after a couple of minutes (which seemed like forever) he said, well yes, he guessed we could do that.

Dead silence, "well where would you like to go?" (I envisioned him saying, how 'bout a movie) he thought again for a couple of minutes and said, "how would you like to go duck hunting with me on Saturday?" I thought to myself duck hunting?

I didn't come from a hunting family, so knew nothing about hunting. But I did know what a duck was, I knew it flew and quacked. "I will pick you up at 5 a.m. sharp and we will be spending our time in my duck blind, all of my buddies have duck blinds." Duck blind? What in thunder was a duck blind. Probably some place where they kept blind ducks (just kiddin').

Now, my next problem was what was I going to wear. I asked my brother Gary if I could borrow a pair of his old boots, of course I had to promise him all sorts of things (like comic books). I found an old pair of pants, and again had to borrow one of Gary's old jackets and a cap.

I must have looked like a bag lady, but by golly I was ready and waiting at the door at 5 a.m. sharp. Bob took one look at me and had a hard time to keep from laughin'. Forgot to mention that I had to stuff old newspapers in the toes of the boots to keep my feet from sliding around in them.

It was fall and a pretty nippy morning, and we finally arrived out at Rock Creek Lake, about five miles from Fort Scott. Bob explained to me that all of the guys built their blinds. They were sort of on stilts out in the water and were covered with natural materials to fool the ducks, so they (the ducks) couldn't see them and wouldn't know they were there. They sure fooled me, so guess they could fool a duck. "Now" he said, "when we get in the blind, you can't talk or even whisper." Oh boy, that was just like asking the wind to stop blowing.

It was a long morning, I just about went to sleep several times. But, it seemed like every time I about dropped off, Bob or one of the hunters would shoot, and scare me right out of my wits. He said it was a very productive morning, they all got their limit. As for a date, it left a lot to be desired. Little did I know at the time that hunting would become a big part of my life forever.

I was sure that he would now ask me out on a "real" date, but glory be, the following week was Hobo/Sadie Hawkins Day and that as most know, is when the girl asks the boy for a date, so now I have to admit I asked him out for our second date.

Maybe some don't know what Sadie Hawkins Day is, so I will give a little back ground. Back in the 1930's Al Capp wrote a comic strip called Li'l Abner. He lived in a mythical town called Dogpatch, USA. It was inhabited by hillbillies. Besides Li'l Abner there was his mother, Mammy Yokum, Daisy Mae, Hekzebiah Hawkins who had a daughter named Sadie and lots of other characters.

Everyone read Li'l Abner. He was a strappin' big youth, very good lookin' and very shy. Daisy Mae was always chasin' him, but never seemed to catch him. Sadie was the homeliest gal in the hills, and her father was worried that he might have her on his hands for the rest of his "born" days, so he decided to have a foot race in which all of the unmarried gals lined up and when the whistle blew they took off runnin' after their feller, and when she caught him he had to marry her. That was in November of 1937. Soon after, high schools and colleges all over the country began having a Sadie Hawkins Day.

Every Nov. our high school decided to combine Hobo Day with Sadie Hawkins Day, it was a huge success. Everyone was encouraged to wear a Dogpatch outfit to school, even some of the teachers dressed up. There was a box where you could vote for the best costume, and also for the best Daisy Mae and Li'l Abner costume.

There wasn't much readin', writin' and 'rithmetic that day. It was a fun filled day. Everyone had their camera's to take pictures.

In the afternoon they had an assembly and a program, and then counted the votes to see who won.

I had dressed up like Mammy Yokum, with a corn cob pipe clenched between my teeth.

As soon as I got to school that morning I raced up to Bob and asked him if he would like to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me that night. Poor feller, what could he say. Everyone wore their costumes to the dance; they had a band that played good ole fashioned stompin' music, and that, ladies and gentlemen, culminated into a marriage that has lasted 59 years.