Mendon May Day— 1983
Mendon Sets May Day— Mendon May Day, a tradition in the community for over 100 years will be held again this Saturday. Festivities will commence with a dance on Friday, followed by a full day of activities on Saturday. Kelleen Hansen, daughter of Marvin and Karen Hansen will reign as queen of the celebration. The queen’s court will consist of Jessa Watkins, daughter of Richard and Paula Watkins; Jill Grover, daughter of Keith and Elaine Grover; Brandon Banham, son of Ed and Wanda Banham; Richard Owens, son of Richard and Gladys Owens and Wes Allred. Andrea Hansen, daughter of Marvin and Karen Hansen will be the flower girl and Brad Taylor, son of David and Kaye Taylor will be the crown bearer. Approximately sixty girls in the community, ages six through eleven, will participate in the braiding of the maypole on the town square Saturday. Refreshments will be served from noon to 5:30 p.m. Here is the schedule for Mendon this weekend. Friday: 8:30–midnight, dance, LDS church with music by “Freelance.” Saturday: 10:00 a.m., braiding of the maypole and presentation of the queen’s court and traditional ceremonies; 11:00 a.m., program in the LDS Church; 1:30 p.m., races, tug-of-war, etc., on the town square; 2:00 p.m., Junior softball games, ball diamond; 3:30 p.m., community softball game, ball diamond; 5:00 p.m., family softball game.
Mendon May Day Fete Is Saturday— Mendon will celebrate its traditional May Day, Saturday, May 7th, with Kelleen Hansen reigning as queen. She is the daughter of Marvin and Karen Hansen of Mendon. The queen’s court also consists of Jessa Watkins, daughter of Richard and Paula Watkins; Jill Grover, daughter of Keith and Elaine Grover; Brandon Banham, son of Ed and Wanda Banham; Richard Owens, son of Richard and Gladys Owens; Wes Allred. Andrea Hansen as flower girl and Brad Taylor, as crown bearer. Festivities will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the town square and will continue throughout the day. These activities include; 10:00 a.m., maypole dancing and crowning of the queen’s court. Following at approximately 11:00 a.m. there will be a program in the church; and at 1:30 p.m. the races, tug-o-war and other games will start. At about 2:00 p.m. the Explorer troops from both wards will compete in Junior softball followed by a commercial game between Design Analysis and Will Roberts Corporation. Following that game, there will be an open game for anyone wanting to play. The food stand will be open from noon to approximately 6:00 p.m. depending on the weather. The May Day dance will be held Friday, May 6th, starting at 8:30 a.m. with a floor show at 10:00 p.m. With the weather’s cooperation, the dance will be held in the town square. Without its cooperation, it will be held in the church.
Printed May Day Program: Mendon May Day, May 7th, 1983, 10:00 a.m. Queen’s Court: May Queen, Kelleen Hansen; Consort, Brandon Banham; Flower Girl, Andrea Hansen; Crown Bearer, Brad Taylor. Maids of Honor with Escorts: Jill Grover with Wes Allred, Jessa Watkins with Richard Owens. Maypole Dance Instructors: Tawna Fonnesbeck, Claudia Larsen, Melinda Fryer, Barbara Obray, Wanda Banham and Lindi Hart. The 60 Maypole Dancers for 1983—
| Rosemarie Barrett | Trudy Quinlan | Heidi Meldrum | Jenny Lemon |
| Holly Hyer | Jeanne Poulson | Marcianne Hart | Trina Clemensen |
| Trisha Chadwik | Lisa Whoolery | Krista Burlile | Lisa Hopkins |
| Melissa Larsen | Paula Palmer | Heather Walbridge | Teresa Groll |
| Shanlie Miskin | Shara Doolittle | Carrie Hyer | Amy Croshaw |
| Jennifer Balls | Katie Krebs | Anna Watkins | Shannon Marker |
| Rachel Owens | Kristi Olsen | Jackie Larsen | Sara Walbridge |
| Janell Nelson | Kimberly Olsen | Donelle Shelton | Janna Doolittle |
| Stefanie Kraus | Michele Egelund | Jenny Heers | Mandy Fryer |
| Suzanne Hansen | Yvonne Nelson | Traci Buxton | Jennifer Hofler |
| Toni Larsen | Krecia Banham | Lonnie Bird | Angela Nelson |
| Sharese Hatch | Wendy Fryer | Julie Thompson | Jennifer Kidman |
| Tanny Erickson | Jennifer Fryer | Jolene Myers | Kristalou Hart |
| Alison Clemensen | Jenny Krebs | Nina Grover | Amber Locke |
| Jill Lindbloom | Camille Campbell | Kamilynne Hart | Laurie Obray |
May Day Program: Queen’s court introduction, T. Kay Sorensen; May Day songs, T. Kay Sorensen, accompanist, Norma Myers; prayer Doug Larsen, welcome and presentation of trophy; musical number, Harry Heaps; speaker, LaNa Bodily; musical number, Richard Watkins family; speaker, Bryan Earl; musical number, queen’s court; prayer, Dennis Kidman. Afternoon Schedule of Events: Races, tug-of-war, etc., 1:30 p.m.; junior softball game, 2:00 p.m.; commercial softball game, Design Analysis vs. Will Roberts, 3:30 p.m. Softball game after commercial game for anyone who would like to play. Lunch and refreshments will be served continually from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the ball diamond food stand.
Picture Caption: Tug-of-War— A spirited but short tug-of-war was only one of many activities for young and old alike during Mendon’s May Day celebration Saturday.
Mendon City Council Meeting— Tony Buist and Max Baker, representing the local LDS wards proposed that the city take control of the “May Day” celebration because of conflicts with the local wards. If accepted by the city, Tony and Max agreed to take care of preparations for May Day next year, 1984. Ken Buist made a motion to have the city take over the “May Day” celebration activities. Paul Taylor second. Motion carried.
Mendon City Takes Over May Day Celebration— The Mendon City Council Thursday broke a century-old tradition and voted to take over the city’s traditional May Day celebration. The celebration has always been coordinated by the LDS Church. Although it was intended as a community celebration, many residents thought it was a church celebration, and if they were not members of the LDS Church felt they couldn’t participate, Paul Cressall, city recorder, told the Herald Journal. By agreement of all parties, the celebration will now be coordinated by the city.