Earlham College - Sargasso Yearbook (Richmond, IN)

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OLD OL- KERb ling within the Hmits of the west walk B».-wjrfaRC3i j- m st :i„ .i-, ,,-, ,,,i -hardly fill a peck measnre has grown until it is now recognized as one of the finest in the middle west, with nian ' thousand specimens. From the beginning the doors of the in- stitution were open to both men and women, making it one of the first coeducational col- leges in the country. Throitghout the seventy- five years Earlham has continued to offer equal advantages to men and women for edu- cational facilities and academic honors, in no degree lowering the character or standard of the work. In keeping with the Quaker cus- toms however, the men and women were first put under certam restrictions and the time is not too far distant for some of the present generation to remember when the youths were assigned to the east side of the drive in the after-dinner walk to kick the post and the maidens forced to keep at a distance by strol- The same restrictions applied to the chapel seating, the men occupying one side of the house and the women the other. To trace the growth of Earlham in detail up to the present time would require a historian and the acompanying suggestion of long volumes. The growth of the academic departments and student organizations are described elsewhere in this book. Let it suffice to say that the growth of the college has been as solid and healthy as the growth of the branching trees that line the drive and dot the campus. So as we take a Ijrief glance back over the founding of Earlham College seventv-five vears ago the meaning of the term Diamond Jubilee strikes us with even more force than before. The seventv-five years are years of growth, vears of con- struction, vears of service, all leading toward the goal of success. Xo one can say what the next twenty-five years, the next fifty, or the next seventy- five will bring forth in the his- tory of Earlham, but it is safe to prophesy that with the foun- dation that has been estab- lished the succeeding years will see a continued progress. historical pageant Page twenty-three

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t iJJay Sag S u ls As a part of the Diamond jubilee celebration and as a parallel feature to the historical Pageant this year the May Day Revels are being presented. Those who have seen former May Days at Earlham are unciualified in the statement that the Earlham campus offers the ideal place for the presentation of the revels. The program mcludes the pageant which is made up of characters representing many old English customs and a series of old English plays. This, together with the winding of the May pole takes place on various parts of the campus. The historical significance of the day dates far back in English history. Throughout Great Britain and to a less extent France and Germany the first of May was formerly wideh ' celebrated. These festivities were direct descendants of the Roman Floralia, and of the feasts of the Druids in honor of Bel — the Apollo of mythology and the Baal of the Scriptures. The Druids celebrated the first of Ma} ' by lighting immense fires in honor of their god. Even to this day similar customs survive among the Irish and Scottish Highlanders. But the customs which survived most in the English festivities were those of Roman origin where it had been the occasion of a feast of flowers. It is a reminiscence then of Flora rather than of Baal. The exact date of the institution of the May games in England during the middle ages cannot be traced, but they date back as early as the fourteenth century. The King and Queen mingled with the subjects in these old English customs. The custom seems to have been for the people to go into the woods during the night and gather branches of trees and flowers and return with them at sunrise to decorate their houses. Cither observances were added from time to time. The May Queen was crowned and held one day ' s sway over her court consisting of f , f lftV , Bf Sg rt ' 0f ' Rob IX H(joD . XD His B. xd Page twenty-five