Sock Hops
You may not have attended a ‘sock hop’ but you have heard of them. They first began in 1944 sponsored by the Junior Red Cross to raise money for the relief war effort. For a small of charge, those attending had a night of good dancing but each person wearing just their socks since the dances were held in a school gymnasium and the gym floor didn’t need to be scuffed up with the hard rubber soles of shoes, so the name ‘sock hop’. This was an informal, inexpensive dance to attend, especially for working-class students.
In a few years, the concept of sock hop spread to high schools across the nation. By 1948 there was even a special article with photos in Life Magazine about “another crazy fad for teen-agers.” Another new term started to be used also, that of ‘bobby soxers’ referring to the white sock that was in fashion worn by young ladies.
The music came from the playing of vinyl records, or occasionally a live band. A fun song name “At the Hop” was done in 1957 by Danny & the Juniors.
This popular style of school dance even allowed later to be barefooted, no socks. If a school dance was a bit more formal, and shoes required, many of those dances were still called ‘sock hops.’ Other similar terms used were ‘record hop’ and just ‘hop.’
Any relatives attend sock hops, ask them details about those dances, then add to the family history.
Photo: Two dancing as a sock hop and wearing socks.
Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:
Scandalized Dances of the 1910s
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