Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / May 2, 1952, edition 1 / Page 6
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Page Six THE SALEMITE -May 2, lQ;i Monsters, Slaves Will Invade May Dell Day Will Include Early Chapel, Picnic Supper And IRS Dance By Jean Calhoun Crepe paper, burlap bags, beats of a drum, worried heads, graying hair and date problems are all symbols of Salem’s May Day. When the campus changed from drab gray to perky pea green yellow the May Day “big wheels” began to stir their golden wands in the air and beseech their Muses for inspiration. The idea—that of the May Day Pageant—was born. The mother was Betty Parks and her little helpers were Jane Watson, assis tant inspirationist, and Ann Sprink le, first vice-president in charge of typing. The electric current that made the little Brain Child come to life was Gulliver’s Travels, “Parts of which I had read one time,” Parks said. Stevie Helps With Dialogue The Child shaped into adoles cence and more ideas were thrown in. Even Stevie Gramley threw. One day when the script writers were frantically searching for in spiration, Stevie appeared and they solicited his help. Consequently parts of the dialogue will be in his own words. The plot of the pageant centers around Rooney Barnes, a traveler wdio is a ‘“combination of Robinson Crusoe, Lemuel Gulliver and Moses.” He, the traveler, searches for perfect happiness, a place of unmarred beauty. He finds, in stead, monsters w'ho have enslaved peasants. The queen and her court appear; their beauty breaks the spell of wickedness of the monsters and frees the slaves. This is the plot, unrehearsed. Rooney Practices Barefoot This is the plot as rehearsed. Rooney laments as she practices bare footed in the darkness of the May Dell. “Pook, the chief mons ter,” she says, “Chased me down a rough rocky path.” Miss Reigner suggested that for a dramatic effect we “throw the monsters in the creek and drown them.” The monsters find that they wouldn’t have to die but could become beautiful and get back into the act. Dee Allen strikes the drum; Jo Bell clangs the symbols, and the slaves and monsters move to its monotone beats. “The dance move ments, Parks says, grew from little dances I learned in my Girl Scout troop.” The duet, composed of Ernestine Kapp and Nell Philips, practices an old folk song, “In May”, which “I dug up in the library,” quote Parks. Linda March rehearses her bal let and Betsy Liles “makes like a leap frog.” Sally Senter, May Day Vice- Chairman, was nobody’s ‘3^es man’. She even suggested that since there seems no present solution to the problem of the monsters shrinking away, that “We use alum—that’ll shrink ’em 1” Her most painful experience in preparation for the big day w'as blundering through a local five-and-ten early one Mon day morning loaded with one ton of burlap and a half ton of cam bric for the costumes. She sums up her May Day feelings wdth “It’s been a hard fight. Mother.!!” Betty and Sally both flaked when they thought of rain. If rain comes, as rain might, they w'ill move bodj-, soul, characters, and props “in from the swamps to Memorial Hall.” Dance Has Rainbow Theme “Somewhere Over the Rainbow', that’s the theme of the dance,” said Elsie Macon, I. R, S. Presi dent. Jane Fearing, and Willie Rhyne, decoration chairmen, report that everj'thing will be “very rain- bowie—pink, blue, green, lavender and yellow'.” Pastel crepe paper will stream from the ceiling with balloons hanging in the center “not May Day Events 7:30 a.m. Choral Ensemble Sings to May Queen 8:00 a.m. Morning Devotional in Front of Science Building 5 ;00 p.m. May Day Pageant in May Dell 6:00 p.m. Buffet Supper in Corrin Refectory 9:00 p.m. Formal Dance in Gym nasium 1:00 a.m. All In Nell Philips, Ernestine Kapp and Rooney Barnes stop for a rest during the May Day rehearsals in tlie May Dell. Nell and Ernestine will sing a duet in thepageant, and Rooney will play the part of the traveler. too high but high enough.” Angel hair clouds will float above. There W'ill be a little garden complete with a summer house “that’s six feet tall” and a wishing well. Gym To Have Bridge It has been arranged for a huge rainbow' to settle at the far end of the gym — complete with a bridge underneath and a pot of shiny gold at one end. Were the Troll to be at the dance, he would surely complain because of the “trump, trump, trumping, over my bridge.” For the members of the May Court will come over the bridge, meet their dates and form the figure in the shape of a rain Jean Shope, Bessie Smith and Faye Lee sit on the floor of the gym making lanterns and blowing up balloons to be used for decorations for the 1. R. S. dance. bow'. Monie Rowland, May Queen, and her date Bobbie Stockton of Winston-Salem will be in the cen ter of the figure. Dance Dates Chosen Other members of the court and their dates w'ill be Flossie Cole with Bill Donahoo of Winston- Salem, Lou Davis with Ray Deal of Morganton, Jane Watson w'ith Pat Kelley of Winston-Salem, Peggy Bonner with John Ferebee of Elizabeth City, Ann Hobbs W'ith Dr. William Helsabeck of King, Connie Barnes w'ith Don Darnes of Wilson, Ann Hughes w'ith Ed Lamb of Winston-Salem, Peggyan Alderman, Caroline Ross w'ith Ralph Harbison of Morganton, Cacky Post w'ith Jimmy Connelley of Morganton, Sara Tulloch with Winslow Ballew of Marion, Sara Sue Tisdale with Ralph Holt of Burlington and Pheobe Earnhardt with Carl Furr of Concord. The girls in the court will wear full length dresses with bolero jackets and big picture hats. They will carry flowers that w'ill be “prettier than ever before.” Reg Marshall Will Play Music for floating on earth below the floating clouds w'ill be furnished by Reg Marshall’s orchestra. Ann Evans will sing a few songs. The receiving line will be com posed of Monie Rowland and her date; Elsie Macon and her date, Steve Jones and the chaperones— Dr. and Mrs. Gramley, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, Mrs. Heidbreder, Miss Smoke and Mr. and Mrs. Martin. “Tres gaie” Japanese lanterns will decorate “the veranda, that is, the front porch of the gym,” said Elsie. Refreshments will be served on the porch during intermission. Salem’s belle and “tuxed and tailed” gentlemen will eat salted nuts, munch and crunch cookies and partake of “mixed drinks.” (Ginger ale mixed with lime sher bet,) Tonight the marshals will raid Miss 'Anna’s pansy bed of those funny faced flowers to be used in the morning devotional. Miss Anna will help them because the p a n s i e s must be “pinched not pulled.” “If there are not enough pansies here,” said Cynthia May, acting'chief marshal, “We’ll baffle the city 'police with a series of pansy thefts.” It’s a traditional thing—the giving out of pansies. Everybodj' has to have one. But at eight o’clock the day is still 3'oung, and the marshals still must “work, work, work.” Before passing out and taking their swollen red feet out of white high heels, they must pass out programs, usher and tactfully remove tres passers from the 250 seats that are reserved for the faculty and the families and guests of the May Court. (P. S. these reserved seats will only be held until 4:30; then they may be occupied by average “peons.”) Marshals To Wear White .All the marshals will be garbed in w'hite for their first important outing. The Shope twins w'ill wear “w'hite suits just alike—not seer sucker — but Sacony.” Marshals for the Morning Devotional will be Cynthia May, Caroline Ross, Jean and Joan Shope, Euber Roberts, June Williams and Patsy Gattis. Extra hands” for the afternoon pageant will be Betty Tyler, Dot Smothers, Mary Lou Whiteheart and Jean Calhoun. The marshals will be allowed to rise at S :30 May Daj' morning to see that everything is set up “ac cording to Hoyle.” They’ll have to piddle around in the May Dell and cover the campus many times. “I think I’ll get up at 4:30,” Caro line Ross said, “I like to be prompt.” Monie Rowland, the May Queen, was so upset” because of an art icle appearing in a local newspaper describing her oval face, green eyes and “even my teeth.” The article reported unauthentically that she said, “I’m footloose and fency free-for a while.” Her May Day dress, she said, came last week and is white with a lace bodice and peplem with illusion net under neath. She plans, like many dau- ers to let, “Mother touch it up Saturday when she gets here.” ewell Dorm has been swamped with evening dress boxes, and d “dance esses. Salem girls have begun or twenty,” she said. and, law, those ruffles! whh^'M^ ^r'^’r '^dl echo with May I borrow your—” “Do you suppose a big beautiful orchid will clash with my ultra-violet and red stripped dress ?” “I’ll have to cut about an inch off of my high heels; he’s so short!” and “Derti those cokes I drank—I can’t get in my dress.” When hungry stomachs begin to growl and people begin to eye their watches, wishing for the hand to rush to six o’clock, good smells from the kitchen fight for survival with the Winston tobacco smell. The kitchen scent will come from ham biscuits, chicken salad, cheese sandwiches, Russian tea, peach salad and tarts of brownies. The meal will be the traditional buffet style, plus organ music. Russell added a note of encouragement to his good food news by saying, “No, I don’t think it’ll rain Satur day.” May Day Morning Arrives May Day morning will come and Betty will comb her graying red hair, Sally will rejoice that Betty didn’t have measels, Elsie and her committees will clorox crepe paper stained hands, Salem, in general will fuss because the right side of their hair turns up and the left side turns down, Rooney will get a big stick and “beat the snakes out of the May Dell,” marshals W'ill fold 2500 pageant programs and the sun w'ill shine ! 1! Campus Shots Everyone praying for a sunny May Day . . . Sally Reiland writ ing term papers . . . Marian Lewis chasing Furney Baker through South . . . Kitty Burrus and Joan Rutherford still holding their sides when they laugh . . . Mid-night oil burning in the Salemite office get ting out the May Day issue . • ■ Seniors lining up jobs for next year . . . Joann White playing the “Lost Note” on the dining room organ . . , Choral Ensemble jour neying to Wilmington . . • pies hobbling around campus . • Mildred Spillman being feted three times in one day . . . Diane Knott taking a shower fully clothed Seniors planning closed house the last three weeks of school . Elsie, Jane and Willie directing the gym decorations . . . Apologies to Betty McCrary—She didn’t thum from Duke; her car broke down. for
Salem College Student Newspaper
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May 2, 1952, edition 1
6
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