Mendon May Day— 1952 
Thoughts And Things, Mendon May Day Festival— “A Worthy Tradition” is what Orson Ryan entitles a few remarks concerning Mendon’s May Day celebration, which is planned for Saturday this week. The colorful ceremonies will be conducted out-of-doors, if storms don’t interrupt plans. Here’s what Mr. Ryan has to say: For almost a century past, the home folks— fathers, mothers and children of Mendon have celebrated May Day in festive style. Practically every year since 1861, as spring comes to beautiful Cache Valley, every man, woman and child of Mendon gathers upon the village green. With the dignity, pomp and ceremony of old, the queen is crowned. Children in colorful frocks, holding bright ribbons, dance around and around the maypole: flowers are strewn and scattered everywhere. The village rings with the songs of its people— cheery and blithesome, yet loving and kind. From earliest days, spring has been a time of rejoicing. The Greeks and the Romans had springtime celebrations dedicated to Flora, the goddess of flowers. Every spring they gathered flowers, decorated their temple and danced and sang before her alter. For centuries past, almost every country in Europe has observed some kind of springtime ceremonial. In the countryside and villages of England, everyone goes a-Maying, crowns the queen and dances around the maypole. So come, pick up your family; tuck a basket or hamper of sandwiches in the trunk of your car, and let us join with the good folk of Mendon in their traditional ceremony of crowning the Queen of May— a tradition that should be perpetuated in our valley of homes and home folks!
Mendon Holds Traditional May Day Fete— Blue sky, warm sunshine, fleeting clouds, soft green grass, a blue and pink maypole, little girls dancing around in pink and blue dresses, everybody wearing his Sunday best clothes— this was the setting Saturday, for the crowning of Mendon’s May Day Queen, Georgia Kidman by her Escort, Calvin Hiibner. It wouldn’t be May in Mendon or Mendon in May without the colorful annual celebration. Arrangements are always under direction of the Sunday school, with this year’s superintendency including Earl Buist, William Longstroth and Edwin Olsen. Chairman of the day was T. Kay Sorensen. A Program— Following the maypole dance, singing and crowning of the queen, a program was held including; song, Merry Maids; welcome address, Earl Buist; song, Linda Yonk; poem, Bruce Kidman; song, Kathleen Anderson; reading, Grace Hansen; song, Evelyn Semmrock; duet, Kathryn and Barbara Sorensen; talk, Glenn Buist; piano solo, Claudia Sorensen; trio, Nancy, Naomi and Judy Pierce; accordion selection, Dave Theurer; song, Bonnie Baker and remarks, Bishop John O. Hughes. In the afternoon there was a ball game and various children’s sports with a dance in the evening climaxing the day and attended by the royal couple and their party, including Constance Sorensen, Jay Larsen, Merlene Yonk, Brent Frank, Rosellen Sorensen, Clayne Wiser, Eleanor Larsen, Dean Larsen, Janet Peterson, Gerald Gibbs, Joyce Muir, Clare Bowen, Lawanna Gittens, Stanley Barrett, DeVon Richards, Byron Whitney, Carlene Bird, and Norman Sorensen.