The Womanless Wedding
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Womanless Wedding in Hardin, Kentucky during the 1924 for a PTA fundraiser.
Front row: Voris Utley, Edward Kellow, F. Cornwell, Euin Mathis, Glen Edwards, Dave Booker, Rudy Gardner, Wayne Pace, Leonard Davenport, Ted Pace, E. Johnson, unknown, unknown, unknown, and Jack Wells.
Back row: Charles Pace, Paul Norwood, unknown, Clay Darnall, unknown, Dr. H. Hughes, Gus Davenport, George Combs, Java Alford, Sheriff Joe Darnall, Henry Gardner, and Kellow Black.
In the early 20th century, many civic and charitable organizations would stage womanless weddings as a community event or fundraiser. These events were widely popular and drew in enormous money and crowds. Men in gowns and dresses played the roles of everyone in a wedding party at this comic event including bridesmaids, flower girls and the mother of the bride. Brides sometimes had beards or moustaches and flower girls were portrayed by grown men. The pretend nuptials often raised money for churches, charitable causes or civic organizations, but today these one-time popular events are almost largely forgotten.
One of the most popular productions of the “womanless wedding” came in 1924 at Hardin. The Hardin PTA was organized in the Fall of 1924 in an effort to raise funds for the school. The ladies of the PTA organized a play at the old Hardin High School entitled “Aunt Sofronia’s Wedding” which became a big hit and raised a great deal of money for the school.
After the success of the fundraiser, the ladies challenged their husbands to put on a separate fundraiser to match the money they had raised. The men accepted the challenge and agreed to put on a “womanless wedding” play which was held at the Hardin Tobacco Warehouse. A.J. Wells directed the play and many prominent businessmen and county officials participated. Ted Pace and Leonard Davenport dressed in “ruffled organdy skirts and painted their faces more heavily than their wives.” A huge crowd flocked to see this big event and the roof nearly came off the warehouse when Sheriff Joe Darnall dressed in knee-length trousers and a large red Windsor tie hammed up his performance. The play was a success and the men raised a considerable amount of money for the school.