Reflection on an Illinois State University, Barn Dance, 1937

To access the picture "Illinois State University, Barn Dance, 1937," please visit the Illinois State University Archive

I think the picture was taken when the partiers were just about to load back onto the bus to go back to Illinois State University.  Some people had a better night than others; you can see it in their face.  My eyes are immediately drawn to the woman with the straw hat in the center kneeling a little bit. Not many people are smiling and she is. She is a person that makes everything more fun and doesn’t take anything too seriously. On the other hand, the man fourth from the left is kind of a “bad boy.” He thinks he is too cool for everything and that explains the sideways hat and the serious face. There is a couple behind him with the guy’s hand around the girl. I thought this was interesting because I know you have to go to barn dance with a date and I noticed they are the only people I see that I can tell are on a date. Everyone seems so spread out and I can’t see any other obvious couples. I bet someone yelled “picture time!” and most everyone scrambled just to be in front and lost their dates. There is a man farthest to the right in the front row sitting on the floor and he has an incredible mustache. The way he looks at the camera so nonchalantly makes me think he must have forgot he was wearing it.  All the boys have their pants rolled up, just slightly. I wonder the purpose of it.  Maybe they did it to look more “country” for the barn dance or maybe because they were getting hot from dancing all night. There is a girl standing fifth from the left with her hands crossed. I don’t like the way she is standing.  Her pose makes it seem like she is upset that they’re taking a picture. She didn’t have a good night and her boyfriend behind her is trying to cheer her up and tell her it’s okay.

In the back of the photo I notice a few hand in the air and that makes me smile because that is something kids my age would do and think is funny.  When I look at this picture, it is hard to believe they are college kids and not older. This picture was taken in 1937, which only a short time before the U.S. got involved in WWII. A lot of them would go on to fight in the war; this night might have represented someone’s last carefree years.

I wonder how their barn dance was different and similar to the current ones that go on now. Other than the outfits, the party doesn’t look too much different than the one I went to. It is weird to think we still have the same dances more than eighty years later. I guess there are just some things that won’t change at ISU. --Ashley Mistak