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Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

From the Archives: Balloon Parade

January 28th, 2018

Parade of people with balloonsIt’s always a good time to celebrate Purdue!  In this image, we see a large group of people parading along a West Lafayette street.  Can you identify the location and the time period?  Where might they have been going?

Share your guesses in the comments and check back on Friday when we reveal the full story behind the photo!

UPDATE:

The October 20, 1923, football game was a special event not just for Purdue but also for the whole Lafayette community thanks to a “Lafayette Day” theme.  At 12:30 p.m., a crowd of about 1,000 people gathered at Sixth and Columbia Streets in downtown Lafayette to form one of the largest parades in the city’s history.  Led by the Purdue Military Band, they marched over the bridge, up the hill, and across campus to Stuart Field and a specially reserved seating area for parade participants.  This photograph captured the parade moving up the hill on State Street in West Lafayette near the intersection of River Road.

Purdue Military Band, 1923
The Purdue Military Band leads the parade
Bleachers at the Purdue vs. Wabash game, 1923
The Lafayette section of the bleachers on Stuart Field, next to the Armory

In addition to a ticket for the game, everyone in the parade received a gold-colored balloon emblazoned with the words “Let’s Go, Purdue!”  The words are just visible some of the balloons in this close look at the original photo.

Close up look at parade balloons

On the field, Purdue and Wabash were evenly matched and ended the game with a 7-7 tie.

Organizers hoped that Lafayette Day would become an annual tradition that would encourage Boilermaker spirit on both sides of the river.

University photographer J.C. Allen captured the images of the parade and they are now part of the J.C. Allen negatives and photographs collection.  Information about Lafayette Day comes from the contemporary news coverage in The Purdue Exponent.

We’ll be back on February 12 with our next From the Archives challenge!