{"id":2281,"date":"2015-01-13T20:43:25","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T20:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/?p=2281"},"modified":"2023-12-05T22:43:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T22:43:07","slug":"the-snoot-boot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/2015\/01\/13\/the-snoot-boot\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying Warm with the Busey Snoot Boot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Anna Trammell<\/strong><\/p>\n

In December of 1961, the University of Illinois was the birth place of an odd fashion trend that spread across the campus and through universities all over the country. It began when Charlene Levine, a sophomore in Education, received a knitting lesson from her roommate in Busey Hall. After completing a small square, she realized she could wear the material over her nose in the cold weather. She added elastic loops and a tassel and named her invention \u201cthe Snoot Boot.\u201d[1]<\/a> To Charlene\u2019s surprise, the trend caught on. After seeing Busey girls sporting Snoot Boots around campus, a News-Gazette reporter suggested the girls sell their winter wares.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Busey<\/a>
Busey Hall residents wearing Snoot Boots, c. 1961<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Busey residents knitted and sold the Snoot Boots for 50 cents each and donated the proceeds to the National Leukemia Fund. The first year, they generated $1,300 in sales.[3]<\/a> Roger Ebert reported on the craze saying, \u201cSome girls aren\u2019t knitting them. But only because they can\u2019t knit.\u201d[4]<\/a> He went on to say that the number one thing Illinois students would be tired of hearing within a few days of being home for\u00a0winter break would be: \u201cWhy didn’t you bring me a Snoot Boot?\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

The project gained publicity through the Associated Press, which distributed an article and photo nationwide when the Busey inventors presented a Snoot Boot to University President David D. Henry. That year, the inventors were also photographed for Life<\/em> magazine and featured on Chicago\u2019s WLS Radio Station after knitting one for popular DJ Dick Biondi, who in turn promised to give a plug to the \u201cnostril hostels.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Charlene<\/a>
Charlene Levine presents a Snoot Boot to President Henry, c. 1961<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Snoot Boots were knitted at Busey Hall for several years and orders were received from students, locals, and customers nationwide. With the recent freezing temperatures in the area, perhaps the trend will make a comeback this winter. After all, as Life<\/em>\u00a0magazine suggested in a feature on Busey\u2019s Snoot Boot, \u201cIf your nose is froze, it needs clothes.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>[1]\u00a0Busey Hall: 50 Years Young, 1916-1966<\/em>, p. 20.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]\u00a0Engel, Sue. \u201cTired of Catching Cold? If So, Snoot Boots Are for You\u201d Daily Illini<\/em>, December 11, 1995, p. 1.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3] Ibid.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]\u00a0\u201cIllinois Coeds Knit New Snoot Boots\u201d The Southeastern Missourian<\/em>, December 12, 1961, p. 10.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]\u00a0\u201cUI Students Hear Various Questions\u201d Daily Illini<\/em>, December 19, 1961, p. 12.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]\u00a0\u201cAh\u2026Ah\u2026 Snoot Boot!: Busey Hall Starts Third Campus Fad\u201d Daily Illini<\/em>, December 12, 1961, p. 3.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]\u00a0\u201cSnoot Boots for a Pair of Frozen Noses\u201d Life<\/em>, December 22, 1961, p. 59.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Anna Trammell In December of 1961, the University of Illinois was the birth place of an odd fashion trend that spread across the campus and through universities all over the country. It began when Charlene Levine, a sophomore in Education, received a knitting lesson from her roommate in Busey Hall. After completing a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":626,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[47,170,270,337],"class_list":["post-2281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-found-in-the-archives","tag-busey-evans-residence-hall","tag-knitting","tag-snoot-boot","tag-winter"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/626"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2281"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12592,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2281\/revisions\/12592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/slc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}