VIOLA GORHAM, '41: THINGS SHE KEPT
In June 1999 Ms Jane Schiralli wrote: "My dad just passed away and as I was going through my mom's things" [Viola Edith Gorham, who passed away in 1990] "I found her yearbook from Jamaica High School..." with a prom dance card, a team letter, two patches, a post card and a snapshot which she had kept among her dear memories for 49 years.
Ms Schiralli was kind enough to send us these items. The yearbook had been carefully covered in a protective red oilcloth. It was added to our collection. The other items are shown here.
This Dance Card booklet, with attached tassle and pencil, shows that this old tradition of the dance card had not quite passed at Jamaica in 1941. The pencil was to be used to write the names of young men who were promised dances during the evening party. Each young lady was also equipped with a "return check" card that she could use to invite certain young men to return for another dance.
By 1941 the custom at proms was already beginning to reflect young people's preference for "going steady" and so most young ladies danced only with the "escort" or "date" who had escorted them to the dance. Ms Gorham's dance card, which has no names written in it, reflects the new custom.
