Last week I noted some of the events that take place in May including Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. I also elaborated on one particular May Day in 1940.
Another important event for high school students was the annual Junior-Senior Banquet, the term used when I was in school. Years earlier it was titled the Junior-Senior Reception held in May before graduation.
Looking back in the 1913 Pyramid, Cardington School’s year book, there is a lengthy description of that year’s event. It was held in the home of a junior student and in 1913, the host was Leslie Graves, who lived on East Main Street. (The house is still there).
The Graves family hosted a dinner with their rooms decorated, one in the junior class colors and another in the senior class colors. There was music with toasts given.
Later, it became the Junior-Senior Banquet and was held at the school.
For several years, it was held in the cafeteria. Then, in the gymnasium which was transformed into a theme created and decorated by the juniors as they hosted the seniors. Sophomores served those dinners. There was no “after” event.
In the 1960s and 1970s, it became the Prom with the dinner, dancing and evening’s events held at a facility out of town. For several years the students and their dates returned to the school for their after prom. I remember chaperoning a couple of those. Today, Proms are held as early as April and at out-of-town facilities.
Last week, I used the words of Stanley Shaw, 1940 Cardington graduate, who wrote his own school newspaper, “The Owl,” and in that one publication, described the May, 1940 May Day and the May, 1940 junior senior banquet.
I want to use his description of the latter here. You may recognize some of the names:
“The Junior Senior banquet was held in the dining room of the school with decorations in silver and blue. Serving the dinner courses were waiters and waitresses, the boys in black or dark coat, white trousers, and dark tie.
The girls were dressed in dark dresses, white shoes, white head band with white apron. Serving were Hollis Jones, Esther Long, Glenn Harris, Audrey Jenkins, Dorothy Click, Richard Roth and June Patrick. Giving the welcome was Bill Snyder, junior class president and giving the response was Curtis Pipes, senior class president. Music was played by a saxophone duet, Wanda Heacock and Wanda Kirkpatrick.
A toast to the senior girls was made by Wayne Jenkins and a toast to the junior boys was made by Maxine Benson.
The class history was read by Mary F. Click and remarks were given by Rolland Thompson, superintendent. Stanley Shaw gave a toast to the junior girls and Claudia Beatty, a toast to the junior boys. Cecil Maxwell, Edward Kingman, Herbert Brackney and Wayne Carpenter, quartet, sang and Chester Shaffer read the class will. J. L. Patterson, principal, offered remarks.”
That was the Junior Senior banquet 78 years ago. Does anyone remember?
70 years ago, May 1948: Cardington High School’s baseball team won its third consecutive Morrow County Championship by beating Marengo 8-4 in the tourney final. Team members were Wayne Mateer, Dale Underwood, Dick Sherman, Bob Bennett, Don Clark, Harold Bean, Wayne Miller, Carl Stevens, Kent Curl, Bill Maxwell, Wilbur Gregory, Doyle Smith, Paul Bowman, Dalton Jenkins and Dewey Yake. Dennis Bell was coach. The team finished with an 11-1 record.
50 years ago, May, 1968: The Cardington-Lincon Board of Education sold a tract of land for the site of the new swimming pool.
