Earlham College - Sargasso Yearbook (Richmond, IN)

Page 14 text:

One of the most beautiful and charming customs in the days of good Queen Bess was that of the merry revels which, be- ginning on the eve of the first of May symbolized a joyous response to the ap- proaching summer. As the witching hour of midnight neared, country folk and vil- lagers alike cast aside their cares to form a happy throng of revelers, roaming the darkened forests in search of the most stal- wart tree from which to carve their May- pole-a worthy symbol of the renewed freshness of the countryside. Adorned with garlands of spring flowers, laughing and frolicking, the country lasses and lads, shepherdesses and milkmaids, chimney sweeps and gypsies, bakers and pedlars, hawkers and village folk-all joined in the procession to the village green with the giant Maypole borne by gaily bedecked oxen. Before the first rays of sun scattered the glistening dew drops, maidens stooped to bathe their brows with the fresh nectar of the dew-a sign of the purification which the festival symbolized. The loveliest and most beautiful maid of the village was acclaimed Queen of the May and crowned with a wreath of forest flowers. Enthroned in majesty, she watched the merrymaking and the dances -the Morrice Men, whose dance drove off the witches waiting to harm the growing crops: the folk dances of Sellingeris Round and Gathering Peascodsg the rollicking hobby horses and the antics of the stilt- walkers. All through the day the happy revelers participated in games and contests, forget- ting the responsibilities and routine of their daily lives. Twilight came and fires were lit, around which the villagers gath- ered to feast and watch the plays which were as much a part of Old English tra- dition as the ballads which they sang. At the midnight hour, with fires dimmed and the end of the festival at hand, the merry- makers wended their ways homeward. Rich in English heritage, Earlham has for a period of sixty-six years presented a May Day festival. Each celebration since 1875 has witnessed variations and im- provements, including the use of music in the festival, the addition of male charac- ters in 1902, and finally, in 1906, the in- auguration of the quadrennial Old English May Days. In these pageants, every at- tempt is made to capture the atmosphere and spirit of gaiety which characterized the original celebration at the time of Queen Elizabeth. Students and faculty alike don the picturesque garb of village and court and for the day the natural beauty of the campus is enhanced by all the colorful variety of the festive scene. Five hundred costumed characters this year made Earlham's May Day unique not not only as the largest celebration of its kind, but as the only such event in the country, Bryn Mawr's festival having been indefinitely postponed. That the news value of such an event was recognized was evidenced by the wide coverage given it in newspapers of surrounding cities. Those who were beyond traveling distance or otherwise unable to attend found enjoy- ment in the radio broadcasts from the scene of the pageant. both WLW of Cin- cinnati and WHIO of Dayton utilizing mo- bile units to carry a program of May Day merrymaking.

Page 13 text:

. . and village folke all adorned Hthemselves ..w i t h spring flowers and frolicked to the woods. where stilt walkers forgot their peasant stolidlty in the hilarity of the frol.ic.

Page 15 text:

Everyone but the weatherman cooper- ated to stage the performance on May 9, but despite cold winds and a dark sky, the carefree spirit of the actors and the en- thusiasm of the audience overcame any disappointment which might have been occasioned by Nature's capriciousness. Comstock Field was once again trans- formed into a village green, and some 2800 people found themselves in the midst of a merry scene of Old England. Preceding the pageant, Prof Ed Trueblood, Honorary Director of this year's May Day, escorted to a place of honor Miss Elizabeth Foulke, organizer of Earlha1n's first May Day, and attendant to Earlham's first Queen of the May, with May Queens from festivals of former years. if .' it-4'-J. .. 45: . V. My 4 .- L -i .N-q. H - ,Q-3,- - ti- -.Q N, L ,X Aix-JH. ,X ,,,Eg?q',,t:s m I . lim.-s,iL .5 From the distance, the silver notes of the trumpet announced the hour of one, and moving slowly down into the valley to the north of the green, the procession advanced toward the audience-a kaleid- oscopic pattern of color and movement-a panoramic spectacle of the entire village group. Pages mounted on gaily-bedecked steeds flanked the spirited stallion of the Queen's Champion, clearing the way for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth and her court of noblemen and ladies, richly garb- ed in silks and velvets. Thus heralded the long line wound up the hill and around the green, marked here and there by some such arresting movement as the prancing silver steeds which drew the Roman char- iot, and flashing at intervals a particularly brilliant hue of some distinctive group of characters. As the pageant wagons at the end of the procession rolled onto the green, the trumpet signaled the revelers to make obeisance to the Queen and a lusty shout arose from the throng. A band of strolling troubadours giving voice to a joyous song grouped themselves in the center of the green, and the host of merrymakers gathered nearby to wit- ness the crowning of the maiden whom they had chosen to rule over the festival. Miss Marjorie Baker, her blonde loveli- ness accentuated by a white flowing gown, knelt to receive her crown of varicolored blossoms, placed by the hand of the green-