Geoff’s Page: Show Us Your Shoes

Location: AC Miss America Parade, 1975

New York Avenue and the Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J.

Dateline: August 23, 2013

AC History 101 – We were there!

The Miss America Parade is returning to Atlantic City with the Miss America Pageant – which is great. They re-named the parade “The Show Us Your Shoes Parade”.

The official DO AC Facebook page puts forth the following:

ABOUT SHOW US YOUR SHOES PARADE

Since 1921, the Show Us Your Shoes Parade has been an opportunity for Miss America contestants to display their creative side to the public by decorating their shoes to match their unique personalities. And now, this is your opportunity to display your creativity too!

Another Facebook page that is dedicated to the memories of Atlantic City’s New York Avenue Gay life in the 1970’s is also abuzz: Members are remembering the parties celebrating the parade and the origination of the catch phrase all at once.

This column gladly shines some light on how and where the “Show us Your Shoes” catch phrase really originated joining together all the pieces of this historic parade and its’ return:

The year was 1975 –AC was the gay Mecca of the East. New York Avenue was still gay and happening before more powerful forces decimated the district.

There were parties everywhere along that short stretch of Boardwalk, celebrating Miss America Week and the Miss America Parade. After all, more truth be told, without some gay stylists, a lot of the contestants would not have made it past their county fairs.

The Parade meant the Boardwalk was crazy with action. In Atlantic City the Pageant was a yearly boost to the economy…. on New York Avenue, it was Mardi Gras.

And, because of the Mardi Gras aspect combined with the time that has passed, almost everyone has lost pieces of the story, but all surviving stories seem to point to these facts.

The year was 1975.

According to local entertainment legend Robert ‘Sandy Beach’ Hitchen, “There was a party going on at Joe Ruskowski’s place in Fralinger’s Apartments on the boardwalk (where the Atlantic Palace now stands). The party had spilled onto the fire escapes and there was more partying on the roof of the McCrory Building across New York Avenue (where the Ripley’s Believe it or not museum now stands). I even climbed out onto the Apollo Marquee”

Rob continues: “We were fearless then. God only knows how they didn’t collapse. From up there everyone could see the girls were wearing bedroom slippers and flip-flops, not visible to the general crowd. Mostly as a point of humor, those on the balconies and roof started yelling to the passing parade ‘Show us your shoes’.”

“The catch phrase seemed to start at Fralinger’s and quickly spread across the street to McCrory’s. Soon both sides of the Boardwalk started to chant the same thing. It was like spontaneous combustion. In fact, the parties and celebration going on in the area got as much attention as the parade did!!”

“By the next year the phrase was already part of the gay community and some revelers showed up with signs and placards with the words: ‘Show us your Shoes’ scrawled across them”

In the beginning the contestants had no idea what was going on, but within a few years all the state pageants caught on and started designing footwear to celebrate and coordinate with the costumes.

It was only a matter of time before everyone who wanted to celebrate the parade up and down the boardwalk began chanting the catch phrase. Soon enough mainstream press was in on the action too, often showing up with cameras to catch our community in action at the parade. (I wonder how long it will take mainstream media to catch up to this story?)

There is some disagreement about who first yelled the line since it was so catching. There is total agreement from those in attendance that it started in the heart and originated in the minds of the gay community.

And, I don’t know this for a fact, but I’d double down and bet big bucks that several designers of the more creative shoes through the years are gay!

See, without the spectrum of the gay rainbow adding some fabulous colors we’d be a more dull and ugly world indeed. Let’s take this moment to remember how much the gay community has contributed to local and national history. Let’s regroup and those of us who believe in unity and fun and marriage equality show up on New York Avenue and the Boardwalk for the parade. Let’s celebrate our diversity and remind the world, without us, you’d be incomplete.

There is no better way to celebrate our pride and our history than with a party and parade.

It has been my joy to both watch the parade as a kid and drive in it as an adult. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Let’s show Camp Boardwalk some Good Ole Gay Camp!!