The Golden Slipper 1935-1972

The Early Years

The Golden Slipper was a singing, dancing, and acting competition between the freshmen class and the sophomore class. It began in 1935 when the Dean of Women, Ethel Adams, was concerned about the freshmen class being homesick.

The first Golden Slipper was held on October 21, 1935 in Russell Auditorium and was judged by a panel of faculty members. The freshmen’s performance was entitled “United We Fall” while the sophomore’s was entitled “No New is Bad News.” The freshmen class won the Golden Slipper the first year.

For the first several years of competition the golden slipper was a golden dress shoe with a heel. In 1937 Dean Adams found an antique pewter shoe in New York City. She purchased the shoe, and it became the trophy given to the class winning the competition.

The Golden Years

The goal of the Golden Slipper was to, “Promote class spirit, to stimulate good sportsmanship, and to encourage the development of dramatic material.” As the Golden Slipper tradition grew, new rules were given to the students outlining what was permitted. In 1953 each class had a budget of $35. Each performance had to have seven songs including the class song, no decoration was permitted in the auditorium, no entrance could last more than 15 minutes, and no organized yells were allowed. Percentages were also assigned to each category judged in the pageant. The Play - 30%, Publicity - 15% (Display - 10%, Posters 5%), Theme 55% (Songs 20%, Programs 5%, Costumes and Entrance 30%).

Slipper audience from 1957

The classes had a very short amount of time to create the costumes, music, scripts, and sets to be used in the contest. The classes were given short stories or themes only two weeks before the Golden Slipper was to be performed. No one was permitted to begin working on the performance until the assignment. Women at the college attended class during the two weeks preceding the Golden Slipper, but students devoted all of their extra energy and time into creating their part of the Golden Slipper.

Class of 1969 Cinderella Performance

Each class elected a chairman to oversee the planning. Committees were formed in areas such as costumes, props, lights, posters, and music. In 1953 students attended “pep meetings” or planning meetings from 6:45pm - 8:30pm. Workshop followed the pep meeting and lasted until 9:30pm every night.

On the Wednesday of the Golden Slipper week, flags for each class were raised between Parks and Atkinson Hall. Each class made its own flag which would represent the class throughout their years at the college. The final flag to be unfurled was the new freshmen class flag. As the flag was shown the freshmen sang their class song.

Mascots and Sister Classes

Each class had a mascot and a set of colors. The class mascots were the Royal (purple), the Thunderbirds (red and black), the Irish (green), and the Elephants (red and white). The mascot rotated through the classes, so when the senior class graduated, the incoming freshmen class received the graduated senior class mascot.

Class mascot flags from fall 1957

A tradition had been set early in the college history in which “sister classes” were created joining the freshmen class to the junior class. The sister class bond continued throughout the years, thus linking the sophomore class to the senior class. The sister classes joined their mascots during the Golden Slipper Contest creating the Royal-Irish sister classes and the Thunderphants sister classes. During the Golden Slipper competition the sister classes supported each other. The juniors sat on one side of Russell Auditorium cheering for the freshmen and the seniors sat on the other side of the auditorium cheering for the sophomores.

The Last Years

The Golden Slipper continued to be an important part of the college’s history until the late 1960’s. Due to small audience attendance and lack of student interest, the last Golden Slipper was held in November of 1972. In its glory the Golden Slipper served as an important bonding event for all students attending the college. It was a time for friendship and an opportunity to work together on an important project. The Colonnade from November 24, 1953 describes the Golden Slipper pageant: “Really Golden Slipper has no losers, for even though the sophomores will be keepers of the shoe for the year the bond of friendship that was strengthened in all classes and the love for GSCW has made every girl who participated in this event a winner and a better person.”

Golden Slipper Performer from 1957

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Pictures from:
Georgia College & State University Archives