"Away back about 1885 it was a custom for a lad to make a May basket. Scraps of wallpaper and a little paste, made with flour and water, were the materials used - even the bale of the basket being of paper.
The flowers to fill the basket were the wild flowers of the woods nearby.
Then on the first night of the month, the young swain would, under cover of darkness, approach stealthily the home of his young girl friend and hang the basket with its hidden endearing message and flowers on the door.
Lucille, blond and pretty, usually got the Golly guy's basket. The sad part of the story was that Lucille was so popular that Golly was not the only admirer who quietly approached the home, hung the basket on the door knob, gave a timid rap and beat a hasty retreat to a safe distance and watched to see who found the basket. The whole experience was dangerous(?) and it was surely thrilling.
Golly was a bit afraid of blonde Lucille's father. He was Dempster Partello, known as "Demp" to his friends. We thought at the time he was an ogre.
Only a few years ago Golly had the pleasure of greeting Lucille, now Mrs. Everett Knapp, Corning, N.Y. Her blond hair has turned to silver but her smile was still pleasing."
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| the fair Lucille? |
2 comments:
We young kids on Crandall Hill made "baskets" from construction paper. We then picked the May flowers from the woods, filled the baskets and went around to neighbors' houses to hang them on the doors. Those were the days when you could let the kids roam the woods and rural neighborhood without adults tagging along and without worrying about their safety. So sad that today's young people can't enjoy those memories.
Mrs. Dudley used to really appreciate it when we would bring her flowers on May Day, some of which we picked from her garden,
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