The Leap Year Ball of Black Diamond
When the mining town’s social calendar was handed over to the ladies, the town hall erupted in a celebration to fund a Japanese-themed wedding spectacle.
BLACK DIAMOND, March 5. — The much talked-of leap year party was given at Black Diamond Hall Monday evening, and proved a brilliant success. The programme consisted of a grand march, singing, recitations and various pleasant games. The whole affair was managed by the ladies, to whom its success is entirely due. An admission fee was charged, and the proceeds went toward buying costumes for a Japanese wedding, which will take place later on.
“The whole affair was managed by the ladies, to whom its success is entirely due.”
In 1892, Black Diamond was a coal-mining company town where gendered social roles were strictly defined, making the 'leap year' reversal—where women took the lead—a significant event. Today, Black Diamond has shifted from an extraction-based economy to a residential community, yet community halls and local volunteer organizations still serve as the essential, if quieter, heartbeat of town life.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.