The Superior Express -

5/4/23

A comment made Monday by a former Superior High School classmate of min, Martha Daniel McFarland about how much fun it was to give May Baskets on May Day reminded me of my childhood.

When May approached while I was growing up in the country, I dreamed of living in town and both finding and leaving May Baskets.

While we exchanged Christmas gifts, Valentines and Easter baskets at the country school I attended, the spring school term closed around April 20. Consequently, the exchange of May baskets was not part of the country school tradition.

Apparently, the exchange of May Baskets is no longer popular.

There is a store on my Wednesday morning newspaper delivery route with an area in which seasonal candy is often featured. Special candy displays are arranged for holidays such as Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter. I seldom buy any of the featured candy but I enjoy walking past the display and seeing what is offered.

Remembering it was almost time for May Baskets, I made it a point last Wednesday to walk past the candy display area. I did plan to make a May Basket but I was curious to see the candy now considered appropriate for a May Basket.

I was surprised to see the candy display had been moved out and in its place was a pallet of charcoal briquettes.

I don’t know a single youngster who would want a May Basket filled with charcoal. That would be akin to getting a lump of coal for Christmas.

I asked Google about the May Basket tradition and learned that once upon a time the first day of May evoked good tidings and sweet little gifts for loved ones and neighbors from those weary of winter and thankful for spring.

Too bad the May Basket tradition has faded for this year we are certainly weary of winter. We missed the April showers and with freeze warnings still being posted this week, there aren’t many May flowers. It is past time to plant our gardens. My father’s rule was that his watermelons had to be planted before May 10 if the patch was to be profitable. Plant later and one missed the market and perhaps even had the vines frozen by an early fall frost before the harvest was well underway.

Farmers are trying to plant corn and soybeans but the soil is dry. There is concern the wheat crop will be a failure.

May Baskets were used to commemorate the turn of chilly and rainy months into warmer and happier ones. The tradition began in 12th and 13th century Germany. The popularity of May Day grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The small baskets were often handmade and sneakily hung on a front door handle. It was common for boys to leave a May basket on the door of the girls they were especially smitten with and then run away. If the recipient opened the door and saw her admirer running away, it was proper for her to chase him down and give him a kiss.

But Google said the tradition of giving May Baskets had died out by the middle of the 20th century. My towny associates must have been slow in getting the message for the May Basket exchange was still popular here in the middle of the 20th century.

But with today’s security cameras, it would be hard for a secrete admirer to conceal his identity. He would probably be photographed as he approached the porch. And if observed running away from a porch, he might be tackled and held for the police.

————

I was looking at some old copies of the Hardy Herald newspaper that are available on the internet and found several small items about my great-grandparents. By reading those I learned things about my family that I did not previously know. Some of the stories were written more than 130 years ago but they have been saved because they were published in a newspaper. I fear future generations will not be able to read the stories now being posted on social media and thus learn about their ancestors, The printed newspapers have been and will continue to be a valuable way to store our history.

What follows is a representative of what I found:

Dec. 30, 1892— E. S. Blauvelt has just put up a new horse power feed mill and is prepared to grind feed for all who give him a call.

Feb 3, 1893 classified ad—Get ground feed of E.S. Blauvelt. His new feed mill works to a charm and he chops feed for sale or exchange. Don’t forget this when you want feed.

Aug 7, 1896— E. S. Blauvelt was over to the White Rock settlement last Friday and reports fine prospects for corn there. He brought from Mr. Guthrie’s field a couple of the largest ears of Squaw corn we have seen that were ripe and ready for use. This corn matures early and makes fine early feed for hogs and cattle.

March 12, 1897— Charley Blauvelt and family are visiting at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Blauvelt, having come to attend the wedding of his sister, Miss Jennie, to C. R. Phillippi.

July 23, 1897– Mr. E. S. Blauvelt, in the west part of town (Hardy), has been planting a few fruit trees for several years and is now enjoying the benefits there from in the fullest measure. Besides cherries and other small fruits, a peach tree in his garden the pat week hung so full of delicious ripe fruit that it was sight see. The fruit was very fine and in such abundance.

April 11, 1902— James Gray has purchased the E. S. Blauvelt house and lots south of H. Abbot’s home on Market Street which he will soon occupy for a home. Its a nice little property.

FEB. 20, 1903—E.S. Blauvelt has been very poorly all this week.