By 8:30 on Thursday morning the future homemakers had returned from their 6 AM, 5K “Fun Run” around Grant Park. A tall, thin girl with blond hair had a suggestion that she shared only with her fellow Illinoisans. “You know, there’s been so many ‘teen pregnancy’ and ‘safe sex’ workshops, right?” There was a little murmur of agreement. “I think they should be spread out a little more.” Everyone nodded, apparently making mental notes to have fewer in the future.
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The members of the Illinois chapter–mostly girls, along with a few teachers and boys–had congregated in the Acapulco Room, all of them wearing red-and-white “State of Illinois” T-shirts. Their talk drifted away from future workshops. Would that night’s big party, where Second City was scheduled to entertain, include a full-course meal or just hors d’oeuvres? Would there be time to change out of their formals after the special closing ceremony at the Chicago Theatre? Should they have a mixer at the beginning of the state convention in Peoria, so the attendees could “get a cohesiveness,” or after it was over, when the kids had gotten to know each other? Should the mixer include a formal sit-down dinner, just any old food, or just snacks? Formals? Casual clothes? Music and dancing? Games such as “dum dum” to break the ice?
“Dum dum,” I was told by a big blond with seven pierces in one ear and two in the other, is a rhythmic chant that gets faster and faster as people slap their own thighs, noses, and ears until everyone cracks up laughing.
Another teacher reminded the kids to settle their room bills before the end of the day. “Like if you watched a movie or used the bar. I mean, you weren’t supposed to–but as long as you pay, it’s OK.”
“These are the best-behaved kids I’ve ever seen,” said an elderly man in the Hyatt elevator. “If this is what the country’s coming to, we’re in good shape.”
Attracting more attention was the election of the FHA national president, 17-year-old Corey Brown, a football player, straight-A high school student, and part-time photographer for a local paper in rural South Dakota.
