Note for 1980: will Nodaway County boys attending the Maryville Teachers College ever be the same after the strenuous event of Leap Week, which climaxed Friday night with a dance where styles were reversed? The figure on the left isn’t really a woman, but Werner Herz, Maryville, and on the right, with the long trousers, is really coed Lois Wessling, Bethany. College girls made the dates and footed the bills Leap Week. (New Tribune Photo.) Nodaway County Tribune, April 10, 1941
- “Maryville’s Leap Year went full Fashion 1980 — the only thing more oversized than the shoulder pads were the town’s expectations.”
- “They borrowed 1980s glam for 1941 — the hairstyles needed ration coupons of their own.”
- “Men showed up in sequins and suspenders; now the barber’s offering perms and pocket squares.”
- “The local tailor started a new line: ‘Convertible Suits’ — business in front, disco in back.”
- “Chaperones complained the dresses were too loud. The men said it was just the sequins singing.”
- “Women marched in men’s slacks and said they felt taller. Men in high heels said they felt… educational.”
- “The campus paper called it ‘Retro-Future Fashion’ — everyone else called it ‘Bring Your Own Shoulder Pad.’”
- “A chorus of clacks from high heels echoed down Main Street — the horses were jealous of the click track.”
- “The dance floor had more power shoulders than the chemistry lab had test tubes.”
- “Local grocer advertised: ‘Buy two loafs, get one Velvet Scrunchie free — while supplies last.’”
- “The debate team tried to argue protocol; the fashion club countered with a polite curtsy and a disco beat.”
- “After the event, the ROTC issued a new uniform regulation: optional sequins on parade days.”
- “A farmer asked if the 1980 look had come with instructions. The answer: ‘Yes — one page, folded, glittered, and highly fashionable.’”
- “The band upgraded from brass to synthesizer — the trumpet was offended but adaptable.”
- “When folks asked which decade they were honoring, the students replied: ‘All of them — with extra hairspray.’
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“They staged a Leap Year parade and everyone marched in heels. The marching instructor still called it ‘improved cadence.’”
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“After the dance the campus motto changed for a week: ‘Leap first, explain later.’