Newspaper Article of May Day Program

May Day at Maeser Elementary

It was May 1951. I was in the sixth grade at Maeser Elementary in Provo and because there were a couple of other “Ron’s” in the class I volunteered to be known by my middle name, Stanley. (To this day there are some who knew me then that still call me Stan.) I went to both the fifth and sixth grades at Maeser as “Stan” before going on to Farrer Junior High.

It was a tradition at Maeser Elementary to celebrate May Day with a day of fun activities that included the Maypole. We would dance with the music blaring holding on to the ribbons moving back and forth around the May Pole until the ribbons totally wrapped around the pole. We would then reverse our course and unwind the ribbons. This was repeated several times. There were other dances and presentations as part of the annual festival as well. This particular year the special presentation was called “The Magic Box.”

Those chosen to be the “principals” in this 1950’s festival were done so by a student vote along with the support of the faculty. I imagine the girls all wanted to be chosen for their special parts, but I think I was chosen for the part of Epimetheus in our little presentation because none of the boys wanted any part of it. It might have even been a joke on me although the teachers and the girls all seemed to be okay with my being selected. I remember being totally surprised that I was chosen for the boy part, but I have no recollection as to how I did. I’m pretty sure no one left with any lasting memory of my performance.

I do remember that just before the May Day Festival I was with my parents visiting with my grandparents in Loa, Utah. Uncle Richard and Aunt Rita and their family were also there visiting. My memory is fairly limited about those days, but what I do remember is that I needed to get back to Provo to rehearse my part in the festival. So I rode back to Provo with Uncle Richard and his family because my parents wanted to stay a little longer in Loa. I guess the reason that this memory sticks with me so clearly is that I had this huge lump of uneasiness in my throat all the way back to Provo. I think it was my first real separation from my parents and I really didn’t want to go home without them. I’ve only felt that lump in my throat a few times in my life, and I believe that was my very first experience with it. I guess that’s why this memory is still so vivid in my mind to this day.

The school today is an apartment building, and there are now homes all around the block that used to be part of our playground. There is even a little historical marker out in front of the Maeser apartments that tells of the May Day Festival that we used to celebrate as students. I was able to take Ally there a few days ago and show her the school building, the historical marker, and where I used to live when I went to school there. It was fun. It certainly brought back a lot of memories.

Sixth Grade Class Photo

I think it would be easy to pick me out in this class photo, but just in case you need help I’m setting in the front row, second from the left, sharing a seat with my close friend, Ron Carling. He and I remained close friends all through Junior High as well. His dad taught Civics at Farrer Junior High. After we left Farrer I went to BY High and he went on to Provo High. We lost touch with each other after that. There were others in this class that I also stayed friends with after Maeser, and some long after. Some of these kids were in the same ward at Church as I was and we did a lot of things outside of school together. Mrs. Aerosmith, standing in the back, was a very kind and excellent teacher.

My Official Sixth Grade Mug Shot

50 Year Anniversary Today

What, you may wonder, was happening to me 50 years ago today of any significance. Well, I was spending my first full day in the mission home in Salt Lake City. This was before the days of the MTC, and it was a week of intense training prior to shipping off to any mission in the world.

I had gone to the mission home the night before, checked in and slept there so I was ready to go the next morning. Philo Sylvester from Mesquite, Neveda was my companion. There were four of us going to the New England Mission and I was named the group leader.

I was set ordained a missionary May 4th by Elder Marion G. Romney, an event that Mom, Dad, and Grandmother Durfey came up to SLC to share with me.

Mother's Day was that following Sunday which was our last day in the mission home. We held classes until about 2 pm, then we had a testimony meeting in Barrett Hall. The family came up for that along with Lonnie and some friends.

I rode home with the folks. I had a cousin, Kenny, that asked for a blessing because he was ill so Dad and I went and gave him one. Dad gave me a blessing the next morning and I was on the Union Pacific train headed for Chicago and then to Boston at 8:25 that morning, May 8th. I had a huge lump in my throat all that day that wouldn't go away, but it was also exciting to think about what lay ahead as we were now missionaries, ready or not.

June in the park

I loved doing this. Can't hardly go wrong with such beautiful subjects!

Fourth of July

For the first time, Sue, Dani, Rhonda and I managed to get up early and take in the Freedom Festival’s Balloon Fest. It was an awesome spectacle of colorful and varied balloons. It was interesting to see how they were pumped up and filled with air before they took flight. The crowd was huge and there was a definite feeling of anticipation and excitement in the air. We will most definitely do that again!
The Fourth of July was something of a whirlwind. The annual Family Fireworks Extravaganze at Candice's and Andy house was amazing. It sure got the attention of the neighbors---shoot we just about burned up one of their cars. And Kirk brought a few special fireworks that dazzled everyone and added a special excitement to the evening. What a fun show. BJ, Rhonda, and I also got to do a bit of experimenting with our cameras trying to capture the magic of the sparklers. And all of the kids were willing to pitch in to help make some fun photo memories as we learned how to outline them with fire.
The cherries we picked from Candice and Andy's back yard were perfect and made for great spitting-the-pit competitions. The whole neighborhood could be getting volunteer cherry trees spring up next year. Thanks Andy and Kirk for being the official, extraordinaire fireworks masters. No one does it better. The singing, laughter, and all made it a terrific time. What a great bunch of people to be able to hang out with for an evening.
Andy and Rhonda were kind enough to get up a 3 am and trudge down to Center Street Saturday morning and save a place for the rest of us to come and enjoy the parade. It was the best spot we've had in years and the weather was spot-on right for the occasion. Perfect. We even enjoyed a bit of a shower but we didn't get wet because we were under the trees out in front of Memorial Park. The parade was fun, but I think the missionaries caused the biggest stir in the crowd. Rhonda spotted Dakota in the American Fork band and tried to get photos of him. I looked for him and I guess he walked right passed me. I never saw him. There was lots of variety in the parade that made it fun, but I always enjoy the horses and the cars. They didn't have as many horses as I would like, but there were some great cars. Old ones, new ones, and some custom-built ones.
The show that night at the Stadium of Fire was a good show. Anyway, it was a fun 4th of July; mostly because we got to spend some good time together with our family. We have a great family. Always fun to be around. There is a lot of love in this family and it’s very much appreciated. We live in a wonderful, amazing country, we have the gospel to give us a firm footing in life and, all in all, I don't know how it could be any better than that.