May Day at Maeser Elementary

It was May 1951. I was in the sixth grade at Maeser Elementary in Provo and because there were a couple of other “Ron’s” in the class I volunteered to be known by my middle name, Stanley. (To this day there are some who knew me then that still call me Stan.) I went to both the fifth and sixth grades at Maeser as “Stan” before going on to Farrer Junior High.

It was a tradition at Maeser Elementary to celebrate May Day with a day of fun activities that included the Maypole. We would dance with the music blaring holding on to the ribbons moving back and forth around the May Pole until the ribbons totally wrapped around the pole. We would then reverse our course and unwind the ribbons. This was repeated several times. There were other dances and presentations as part of the annual festival as well. This particular year the special presentation was called “The Magic Box.”

Those chosen to be the “principals” in this 1950’s festival were done so by a student vote along with the support of the faculty. I imagine the girls all wanted to be chosen for their special parts, but I think I was chosen for the part of Epimetheus in our little presentation because none of the boys wanted any part of it. It might have even been a joke on me although the teachers and the girls all seemed to be okay with my being selected. I remember being totally surprised that I was chosen for the boy part, but I have no recollection as to how I did. I’m pretty sure no one left with any lasting memory of my performance.

I do remember that just before the May Day Festival I was with my parents visiting with my grandparents in Loa, Utah. Uncle Richard and Aunt Rita and their family were also there visiting. My memory is fairly limited about those days, but what I do remember is that I needed to get back to Provo to rehearse my part in the festival. So I rode back to Provo with Uncle Richard and his family because my parents wanted to stay a little longer in Loa. I guess the reason that this memory sticks with me so clearly is that I had this huge lump of uneasiness in my throat all the way back to Provo. I think it was my first real separation from my parents and I really didn’t want to go home without them. I’ve only felt that lump in my throat a few times in my life, and I believe that was my very first experience with it. I guess that’s why this memory is still so vivid in my mind to this day.

The school today is an apartment building, and there are now homes all around the block that used to be part of our playground. There is even a little historical marker out in front of the Maeser apartments that tells of the May Day Festival that we used to celebrate as students. I was able to take Ally there a few days ago and show her the school building, the historical marker, and where I used to live when I went to school there. It was fun. It certainly brought back a lot of memories.