Juanita Carpenter Richardson, 73, Purdue University's first baton-twirling Golden Girl
Matthew Kruk
January 7, 2010
Purdue's first Golden Girl dies
By BOB SCOTT
bsc...@jconline.com
Juanita Carpenter Richardson, Purdue University's first baton-twirling
Golden Girl, has died at 73. Richardson died Dec. 25 in San Diego,
Calif., after a short illness.
She attended Purdue from 1954 to 1956 before leaving at age 19 to get
married.
Richardson's daughter, Julie Maxwell of San Diego, said her mother was
proud to be a Golden Girl -- a tradition that carries through today on
Purdue campus.
"She wore her Golden Girl honor on her sleeve," Maxwell said Wednesday.
"It was her proudest moment, other than getting married and having
kids."
Richardson's last visit to campus was for homecoming in October 2004
when Purdue Bands celebrated 50 years of Golden Girls.
"My memory of her from that reunion was how much Juanita loved Purdue
and the position of the Golden Girl," said Jay Gephart, director of
Purdue's "All American" Marching Band.
"She talked a lot about ... being the one to carry the banner of being
the first Golden Girl."
Al G. Wright, director emeritus of Purdue Bands, recruited Juanita
Carpenter to become Purdue's solo twirler with the marching band in
1954.
According to Purdue lore, she arrived with the band at the time that Len
Dawson was quarterback and was nicknamed the "Golden Boy."
Gladys Wright, Al's wife, suggested naming the lead twirler the "Golden
Girl," and the rest is history.
"Juanita started a tradition that is known all over," Al Wright said
Wednesday.
Al Wright's first year at Purdue coincided with Richardson's first
season. The marching band's first away football game that year was at
Notre Dame, an all-men's school at the time.
"We put Juanita in a gold suit for the pregame show and in a fluorescent
green suit for the halftime show," he said. "She was a big hit.
"Purdue beat Notre Dame, and a South Bend sports writer said the only
good thing about the game was Purdue's twirler."
In her biography on the Purdue Bands Web site, Richardson recalled that
Notre Dame game.
"Certainly Notre Dame didn't have girls then, and I showed up with my
short skirt," she said. "The guys were hanging from the trees to watch
us.
"Some of the crazy ones, there were about 20 guys, made a human sidewalk
for me to march on. I can't remember if I stepped on them or marched
around them."
Gladys Wright said Richardson "created quite a sensation" as the
original Golden Girl.
"I think being Golden Girl was probably the biggest achievement of her
life," she said.
After leaving Purdue, Richardson performed with the first group of
Chargettes associated with the San Diego Chargers and in numerous
variety shows.
She continued to coach twirlers, cheerleaders and drum corps units.
Richardson married John Richardson, who preceded her in death. She was
retired from the Instructional Media Center for the San Diego Unified
School District.
She had two daughters -- Maxwell and Dyniese Lee Anne Prigmore of San
Diego -- and two grandchildren, John and Mary Maxwell.
Maxwell said the Juanita Carpenter Richardson Golden Girl Scholarship
has been established.
To contribute, checks may be made out to the Purdue Foundation and
mailed to Annette Lamb, Purdue Student Services Development Office, 475
Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Matthew Kruk
rob cibik
> This is really a wonderful dream come true story.
the subject "...., 73, Purdue University's first baton-twirling Golden
Girl" conjures up images of bea arthur in a cheerleading uniform.
not very comforting.
Matthew Kruk
news:74fdf2d1-a115-4ce8...@j14g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
not very comforting.
---
Lol. Didn't think of that. Good one Rob.
