Saturday evening, April 13, 2019, Wesley Chapel was full. The Wesleyan Community had gathered to celebrate one of the school’s oldest traditions.
This event is looked forward to all year. Greeks and Independents alike enjoy coming together as an entire student body, and to compete for bragging rights for the coming year. A theme is chosen, and many hours of practices are held — sometimes I am told even at midnight — in order to work with the various busy schedules. There are songs chosen and dance moves created. Costumes and props are carefully chosen. The energy is intense, and the cheering fans make the chapel echo with sound.
Last year I wrote about the very early days of May Day – which turned to May Sing – which is now known as Spring Sing (after all, it is now occurring in April!) Click here to read more.
May Day 1956
As an example of this long-standing tradition, let’s take a look at the event 63 years ago! The May 3, 1956 issue of the Pharos had this banner headline:
Each class voted for their attendant, and the entire school voted for the Queen.
Queen: Phyllia Hillman (Beckley, WV)
Sr. Attendant: Barbara Maxwell (St. Marys, WV)
Jr. Attendant: Priscilla Howard (Cowen, WV)
Sophomore Attendant: Kay Rider (Sophia, WV)
Freshman Attendant: Mary Lou Holtz (Fairview, PA)
The 1956 May Day Coronation was directed by Ellen Roush, 1953 May Queen, who was by 1956 working in the Admission Office. We know her today as Ellen Roush Nickell! That year the Sing included other entertainment as well, such as square dances, a tumbling act, ballet, and the traditional May Pole Dance. Groups participating in the Sing that year included:
- Alpha Gamma Delta
- Alpha Delta Pi
- Alpha Xi Delta
- Theta Chi
- Kappa Alpha
- Phi Sigma Epsilon
Besides the Sing and the Coronation, the entire Wesleyan Campus Community was invited to enjoy an All-Campus Baseball Game, a formal dance (May Dream), and the Haught Literary Society Breakfast.
You can read the articles about this celebration here.
2019
This year winners were:
Fraternities:
- Kappa Alpha
- Theta Chi
- Alpha Sigma Phi
Sororities:
- Alpha Xi Delta
- Alpha Delta Pi
- Alpha Gamma Delta
Independent
- Black Student Union (for the fifth year in a row!)
Queen June Braunlich (Alpha Delta Pi) and King Zachary “Dutch” Mutchler (Theta Chi) reigned over the ceremonies.
The Overall Winner of Spring Sing 2019 was Alpha Xi Delta — according to my records, the first time they have achieved this high honor.
Traditions such as these bring great joy and a lot of wonderful memories.
Click Here to see the list of winners through the years. Due to varying coverage in the Murmurmontis, the Pharos, and the Sundials, and the fact that we no longer publish the Murmurmontis, there are gaps in this list. Please let me know if you can supply some of the missing pieces by emailing me at historian@wvwc.edu. Special thanks to Robert Osburn, Thom Smith, Shaylee Kile, and Alisa Lively for helping me to track down this year’s winners!