Mendon May Day— 1968
Mendon Has Spring Clean Up— Unsightly old schoolhouse in Mendon was demolished as the “kick off” of a major spring clean up campaign in that community. The remainder of the building was to be burned Saturday with three county trucks and a loader scheduled to haul brick and other debris away. Residents of Mendon salvaged all of the good materials. A mass meting scheduled for Monday, April 22nd, is being held to determine the next course of action in the clean up project. Special guests will be representatives of the various news media and Ray Burtenshaw, Cache County Agent. All citizens are encouraged to come and offer suggestions. Elmer James is chairman of the project.
Mendon Clean Up Campaign— “Cleaning up becomes a contagious thing,” was a typical comment as citizens of Mendon made short work of cleaning up debris from the old schoolhouse and jail. Justin J. Anderson, is a member of the community’s beautification committee. Most of the remains of the old red schoolhouse were hauled away Saturday with the brick being used to build bases for some needed roads. Bishop Zeno Andersen supervised a large group of men along with younger boys and girls. An area between the sidewalk and street was prepared for grass. Roto-tillers were used to work the gravel and sod up with a crew of young boys and girls raking and preparing the ground for the grass, which was also planted that day. City councilman Ross Bartlett and Fred Hardman installed street markers uprights as part of the massive efforts to and beautify the city. Dinner was prepared under the direction of the Mendon Relief Society and members of the beautification committee.
Picture Caption: Mendon Sunday school superintendency, Fred D. Bowen, Merlin Yonk, superintendent, and Lemuel Earl, Sr., are in charge of the annual Mendon May Day celebration to be held Saturday, May 4th, at 10:30 a.m.
Picture Caption: Mendon Continues Century-Old May Day Tradition— Members of the Mendon May Queen Court are Gloria Richards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Richards; Dennis Jensen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Jensen; Janette Kidman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Kidman; Michael Krambule, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Maurer; Queen Karen Hiibner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Hiibner; Robert Ladle, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rulen Ladle; Loryn Baker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Baker; Blaine Taylor, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Taylor, and Doreen Sorensen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Sorensen. The crowning of the queen and maypole dance will be Saturday. Picture Caption: This year’s Mendon May Queen Karen Hiibner poses with the May Queen of 1901, Mrs. Charlotte Richards and Sunday school superintendent Merlin Yonk. Saturday, May 4th, Karen will be crowned queen at 10:30 a.m. in the same ceremony that made Mrs. Richards queen sixty-seven years ago. Everyone is invited to attend.
Picture Caption: Karen Hiibner, will be crowned Mendon’s May Queen on Saturday, May 4th, at 10:30 a.m. Following her coronation, twenty-two little girls will braid the maypole. Queen Karen’s attendants are Doreen Sorensen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Sorensen; Gloria Richards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Richards; Janette Kidman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Kidman; Loryn Baker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Baker. Karen’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Hiibner.
Picture Caption: Sweet little Lisa Jackson, daughter of Mrs. Connie Jackson, will be flower girl at the Mendon May Day celebration to be held Saturday, May 4th, at 10:30 a.m., and handsome Rex Sorensen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Sorensen will be crown bearer.
Mendon May Days, Spring Ritual Beckons Natives— May Day celebrations here are bigger than the Fourth of July— and have been for over a hundred years. The first permanent settlers in Mendon (on the west side of Cache Valley just below the Wellsville Mountains) came here in 1856. Most of them were English, and they brought their May Day celebrations with them. Traditionally, all the young women in the village would go into the woods and emerge some time later with the queen. Now she’s selected by the vote of fellow Sunday school classmates just before she graduates from the ninth grade. Winding Pole: Perhaps the most colorful part of the traditional program is the winding of the maypole. This year twenty-four girls ages six to twelve, wound the pole using nineteen different dance steps. One of the older steps is called the “Aunt Sally” and looks suspiciously akin to a Scottish Highland Fling. (One of the old Scots must have slipped in.) Mendon May Daze is, on a more practical note, an annual reunion for anyone who ever lived here. More that twenty former queens were honored this year with the oldest one having reigned in 1901. Approximately 600 persons participated in the day-long festivities honoring a town whose total population is just 450. Spring Salute: “Purpose of the observance is to celebrate the coming of spring,” said this year’s Chairman Merlin Yonk. “Our English ancestors brought it over and we’ve kept it going all these years.” Even the songs have pioneer origins. T. Kay Sorensen, song leader in church and civic organizations, is the grandson of the man who wrote such Mendon notables as “Come to the Woodland,” and “Straying and Maying.” He leads them with gusto, and fellow townsmen claim, “’Ol T. Kay could make a rock sing harmony.” Youth Activities: Pioneers must have had the same problems as their present-day kinfolk, because there’s an abundance of activities for the youth. Foot races, a baseball game and rides are available for everyone. A special afternoon dance for the very young precedes an evening dance for the adults. Mendon, like every other small agricultural town in this valley, has been losing the population battle for many years. More people have been moving out or dying than have been moving in or being born. Picture Caption: Lisa Jackson and Rex Sorensen were miniature helpers at coronation of Mendon royalty.
Printed May Day Program: Mendon May Day, May 4th, 1968, 10:30 a.m. Under the direction of the Sunday school officers and teachers. Queen’s Court: May Queen, Karen Hiibner; Consort, Ted Johnson. Maids of Honor with Partners: Janette Kidman with Michael Krambule; Gloria Richards with Dennis Jensen; Loryn Baker with Robert Ladle; Doreen Sorensen with Blaine Taylor. Flower Girl, Lisa Jackson; Crown Bearer, Rex Sorensen. Dance Directors: Margene Willie, June Bowen and Lorna Ladle. Maypole Dance Accompanist: Mozelle Sorensen. May Day Dresses: Nan Earl and Blanche Yonk. May Day Chorister: T. Kay Sorensen. The 24 Maypole Dancers for 1968—
| Jean Sorensen | Angela Cheney | Marsha Leishman | Annette Yonk |
| LuAnn Baker | Karla James | Cindy Larsen | Donette Christiansen |
| Shelly Maurer | Mary Jean Barrett | Brenda Hardman | Jenae Baker |
| Linda Sorensen | Julie Muir | Kathey Maurer | Natalie Hardman |
| Nicole Bowen | Audrey Anderson | Kaylene Jensen | Jolene Bodily |
| Tresa Quinlan | Lana Richards | Sharon Hardman | Deanne Richards |
May Day Program: We welcome all former queens and residents and hope you will enjoy May Day with us all day. Queen and court will be introduced by T. Kay Sorensen. Bishop Fred Sorensen will be the featured speaker. Afternoon Events: Children’s dance, 2:00 p.m.; children’s races, 3:00 p.m.; Little League ball game, after races; adult evening dance, 9:00 p.m. Following the program and through the afternoon there will be home cooked food for sale. Bar-B-Que, Pronto Pups, Hot Dogs, Pie, Cake, Cookies, Candy, and Pop. Proceeds go to the Mendon ward library project. We sincerely thank all those who took part and helped in any way to make this a successful day, Merlin Yonk, Lemuel Earl, Sr. and Fred Bowen