From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:
In October of 1946, a group of six young women, identified only by their initials, caused quite a stir when they wrote to the Sault Star to decry the dating prospects in Sault Ste. Marie. At sixteen years old, the group of friends was looking for “decent boys to invite to a Hallowe’en party” but was disappointed with their prospects.
Teenage boys had already been the subject of some media attention earlier that year when the Sault Star had posted a plea from the girls attending the Technical School that the boys dance a little more. Apparently, a boy asking a girl to dance was a rarity, and the girls found themselves having to ask the boys – “And that isn’t ladylike.” While the boys defended themselves, the girls wrote back with rebuttals to their claims that they didn’t know how to dance or were too shy: “For those boys who say they are shy to ask for a dance, we say, “Ha Ha. Are you kidding?” The girl will forgive any boy who steps on her corns, especially if he is handsome.”
This time around, however, the focus was less on the boys’ dancing skills, and more on their consumption of alcohol.
The group of girls complained in their letter that “most of the young men in this day and age just can’t go to a party unless they partake of a strong beverage (more stimulating than Seven Up or Pepsi Cola) before they go.” They longed for the days their mothers spoke of, when “a man used to be thrilled to go out with a nice girl and even brought her candy and flowers.”
And they felt that police spent too much time “sitting around outside of hotels waiting to pick up… drunks” and not enough time dealing with bootleggers.
Lest anyone think they were uncool and uptight, however, they ended the letter with a note that “if something is dope about this” they might have dates for next year’s Hallowe’en party… and then challenged the Sault Star: “Are you afraid to print this or does the truth hurt.”
The police weighed in, saying the comments were “grossly exaggerated.” In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Chief Robertson claimed that going after bootleggers would do little to keep teenage boys from drinking at parties, saying that the issue was those who purchased alcohol for underage drinkers. He further said the letter “casts a bad light on the decent boys of the community, who, in my opinion, are among the best in the country.”
Apparently, the girls’ letter hit a nerve not just with the police but with the general public as well. In the following week’s Sault Star letters page, no less than six responses had been published on the topic.
A collection of teenage boys fired back, in a letter titled “Group of Young Men Feel That Girls Tend Too Much to Zoot-Suit Types.” While they were upset that boys were all being painted with the same brush, they also had some harsh words for the letter writers, calling them “jealous, seemingly unpopular and very [obviously] unmannered.” They questioned how “a group of self-called angels” would know so much about bootlegging and what was or wasn’t shut down by the police, and went on to blame the girls’ conduct for their experiences at parties. Another group of boys had a similar view, albeit conveyed slightly more gently, writing that the girls they knew often smoked and drank more than the men.
Another group of boys wrote in, full names attached, to speak to the fact that there were “still decent young men who would like to meet decent young girls and be invited to decent parties.” This sentiment was echoed by another writer from Belleville, who had read of the girls’ woes in the Globe and Mail and felt compelled to weigh in: “You see, I’m 18, not bad looking, don’t drink or smoke and try to be good to all the girls…. I’m not braggin’. It’s true.”
Another writer questioned the police response, feeling that the girls were accurate in their criticisms and shone a light on the issue of bootlegging in the city and the lack of official response.
Based on conversations with the Globe and Mail, many parents, too, felt the girls’ claims were over-exaggerated, saying that they felt the “smart Alec” boys who drank at parties were hardly the norm – but acknowledged that there was always one or two at a get-together “who would get liquor in and try to force it on the others and even … attempt to induce young girls to start drinking.”
Amongst the teen girls in the city, the letter was controversial as well. Some wanted “innocent fun,” some wanted to “be smart and show off while drinking,” and some caused “utterly disgusting” spectacles. And one boy claimed, “I know of some girls who can drink any teenager in the city under the table in no time at all.”
While there may not have been a consensus as to attitudes surrounding parties, teenagers, and drinking, the girls’ letter sparked a lot of discussion across the province and provides a snapshot of social values of the time.
Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provide SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
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