The Snowball Dance on Leap Year

Each year since 1937 a day-long event in Lil Abner on a November Saturday is Sadie Hawkins Day; the unmarried women of Dogpatch pursued the single men. If a woman caught a man and dragged him back to the starting line by sundown, he had to marry her. Sadie Hawkins herself was the daughter of one of Dogpatch's earliest settlers, Hekzebiah Hawkins. 

Only on the leap years was there a similar tradition of allowing women to propose marriage on February 29. Now, the title "Sadie Hawkins" is used with men, such as the Midwest, get shown up by the ladies on their team.  

Once located between Jasper and Harrison, Arkansas, Dogpatch, U.S.A. visitors could meet their favorite characters, enjoy numerous rides, and take in the scenery of the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

As Mayor of Dogpatch, Hekzebiah Hawkins decreed "Sadie Hawkins Day" and held a footrace in which the unmarried girls pursued the town's most eligible bachelors. Without a countdown, Hawkins' father intervened and used his power to snare her a man. He lined up all eligible males and shot off his gun.

In 1952 Abner reluctantly proposed to Daisy Mae to emulate the wedding of his comic strip ideel, Fearless Fosdick. Once married, Abner became relatively domesticated and the two produced their only child, Honest Abe, in 1953. The event became an annual event in the strip during the month of November, lasting four decades.

Al Capp also came up with the idea for a Sadie Hawkins dance, which captured the imaginations of American college kids. The craze spread throughout the '40s and '50s, and continues today. Traditionally, Sadie Hawkins is an occasion when women take the initiative in inviting the men of their choice to a date.  Each year the Girl Scouts sponsor a father-daughter dinner-dance they call the "Sadie Hawkins Day Dance."