The First SLUG Queen
The year was 1983. More than 25,000 people had converged downtown for a public celebration of the new Hult Center in 1982, and city officials were trying to launch an annual festival that would similarly bring the community together.
“Some of us thought it was important not to take ourselves too seriously as a city,” then-City Councilor Cynthia Wooten recounted recently. “We wanted to call this event the Eugene Slugfest.”
But a majority of city leaders opted for the more generic but less slimy “Eugene Celebration.”
By way of lighthearted protest, Wooten and others created a gastropodous entry for the first Eugene Celebration parade: a giant, Chinese dragon-style slug accompanied by the first Slug Queen bicycle designer/engineer Bruce Gordon.
“I think they picked me because I already had a gown,” Gordon recalled from his home in Petaluma, Calif. “I’d gone to a Halloween party in drag the previous year.”
In his silver lame gown, blond wig and long gloves, Gordon waved to the crowd from a vintage MG convertible to the strains of “Happy Trails to You.”
Thus began the Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Gastropod.
As a master designer/creator of that ultimate alternative transportation vehicle—the bicycle—Queen Bruce set the tone to “keep it GREEN” for all future Slug Queens. Currently Queen Bruce lives in Petaluma, CA where he designs and handcrafts award winning touring bicycles. Check out his winning creation for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Now that’s a sweet royal ride. In the market for a one of a kind classic? Contact Bruce at Bruce Gordon Cycles to get your custom bike built for next season.