Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: maypoles

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

"The March, May 1914." A real photo postcard of a May Day march. A couple of guys with drums are leading the way, and a group of children are carrying a maypole rather than dancing around it. For a better view of the maypole marchers, mouse over the image above to see a cropped version .

"Harpel 16." Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "May Court, L.V.C., 1934. Queen - Minna Wolfskiel. Maid of Honor - Gem Gemmill." The May Day celebration at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, in 1934. For more information, see May Day, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pa., 1934 (below). For other celebrations, see my <a href=" May Day " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">May Day album.

"Harpel 15." Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "May Day, L.V.C., 1934. Wendell and I danced around the May Pole." May Day festivities at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, in 1934. Writing on the back of another photo (see below) identifies Minna Wolfskiel as the May Queen and Gem Gemmill as the Maid of Honor in the "May Court" that year. Luther G. Harpel or some other photographer from his well-known studio in Lebanon, Pa., captured the images of the event (evidently there were 16 or more photos, judging by the numbering on the photos). For another collegiate May Day celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1934, see May Queen and Her Court, Bucknell University, May 12, 1934 (below). For even more photos, see my May Day album.

For more information, see the full version of this photo .

For more information, see the full version of this photo .

A real photo postcard showing a group of men dancing 'round the maypole.

Maypoles on May Day for the ABC Group (4/24/2017). Mouse over the image above to see close-ups of the maypole on the left and the maypole on the right . This real photo postcard shows the organized chaos of May Day festivities at a playground or schoolyard--location and date unknown, unfortunately--where two groups of students are dancing around two maypoles as other students and adults view the proceedings. Could this be a maypole dance competition between two classes or schools? Are the two groups racing to see who will be the first to finish weaving their ribbons around their maypole? It's not clear whether this is a competition, but it's interesting to note that older boys are holding up each maypole while girls wearing dark-colored skirts dance around one of them and girls in light-colored skirts dance around the other. Also, many of the boys standing in the background beyond the maypoles are wearing shirts emblazoned with the letter E, so I suppose it's possible that the clothes are athletic uniforms reflecting different classes or schools. In any case, even if we can't tell exactly what's going on, the image provides an intriguing glimpse at a May Day celebration from days gone by.