Earlham College - Sargasso Yearbook (Richmond, IN)

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clad Robin Hood, Robert Rollf. As Queen Marjorie and her court of attendants moved toward the throne, the Merry Men of the Greenwood placed the garlanded Maypole upright in the green amid the ac- claim of the villagers. The trumpet's blare once more signaled the revelers to their places, and gay groups formed to weave the Maypole strands and perform the pic- turesque folk dances which were so im- portant a part of all Old English tradition. Among the merry dancers, cavorting and frolicking with abandon, hobby horses dashed to and fro through the elongated legs of the awkward stilt walkers to avoid the bumps of the Mummers who bent low to push them. Honking geese, necks out- stretched, were guided through the crowd by Goose Girls and from time to time the sounds of oxen, sheep, and cows added to the general confusion. The folk dances over, Morrice Men, the Greenwood. After the Court of H cellent Majestie. Quee Eliza beth, rode Mayde Mar Robyn, both nobly mount d followed by the Merry Me f

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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-

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Shepherdesses. leading l little sheepe, milk maydes. chimney ' d . ll went svn eeps an gypsies a . reveling on the eve of the first of May, . clothed in purple, green, and black, flashed their white kerchiefs in an effort to drive away the make-believe witches, and a colorful band of gypsies, their tam- bourines jingling, danced to the accom- paniment of an accordian. Tumblers tum- bled, chimney sweeps swept, and children mimicked the antics of their elders in their frolic on the green. A fitting climax to the festive scene was the performance on the green of the Old English play St. George and the Dragon, in which, despite the general slaughter of everyone, the day is saved by a special remedy of the Quack Doctor, who brings to life the hero and all the contestants. The revels ended. the spectators throng- ed onto the green to mingle with the merrymakers. scattering to various places on the campus to watch the Thespian groups bring to life Old English characters in four traditional plays. Each play was repeated four times at half-hour inter- vals so that the spectators and village folk alike would have the opportunity to wit- ness all the plays.