Nothing is more St. A's than the annual "walk around the block" known as the May Procession. No school ever did it with more class and dignity! St. A's has a tradition with May, and devotion to the Blessed Mother, dating back to the late 20's! In addition, the May Queen tradition was pretty neat as well.
(Above) Constance Ward '39
Also the first St. A's Girl to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph Novitiate
(Above) Joan Rumer '46, surrounded by her Court.
(Above) May Queen '40 or '45 (Name unknown). The Court behind the May Queen looks suspiciously like the Court from 1940 above.
(Above) Ann Woodring '49. The date May 15, 1949.
May Queen Pictures
(Below) Rosemary Fox '52 with her Court Gail Klunder and Rosemary Kelly.
(Below) 1953 - Eileen Valera, Joan Gallagher and Barbara Schramm (May Queen identity not known).
(Above) Patricia Hershaft '54.
(Above) Elizabeth Tucker '55.
(Below and immediate right) Kathleen Reilly ' 57
Classic May Queen pose by Kathleen below.
(Below) Marie Zecca '61
MARY'S MONTH Blue skies, Blue waters, blue as Mary's eyes God scatters with a lavish hand, On every land. Still night, Made lovely with soft, silver light, God wraps about the world when day Has slipped away. Each field Holds up a golden-flowered shield Against the shining shafts of sun; Yet each is won. Bright rain God spills to bring to earth again New freshness. Then like sudden tears It disappears. Green trees, The vagabonding summer breeze, The golden days and silver nights His will unites In one. And when His work of love is done, His will decrees a holiday, The month of May. And why? That she, as pure as summer sky, Who found within an earth-born Boy What earth contained of joy and pain Might find her full content of joy On earth again.
Dennis John Burns Robert, Cyril. Mary Immaculate: God's Mother and Mine. New York: Marist Press, 1946.
MAY ALTAR Beneath her statue in its niche, (Let busy skeptics gaze and glower!) Engather flowers, fresh and sweet, Proclaim this Mary's hour....
Poppies for her mother-heart Wounded past the mind's belief, Lilies for her purity, Lilacs for her grief,
For this the fairest blooms were plucked And placed below her image there, To offer beauty as a gift And fragrance as a prayer.
F.H.W. Columbia Journal. May 1954.
THE MAY QUEEN She wears sunlight in her hair And violets in her eyes And her cheeks are the petals of a rose. She bears Love on her arm And lilies are her feet, And they carry Life wherever she goes. There are graces on her lips And rainbows on her robes And her wreath is the coronet of May. She is Fairy Queen of earth- The wand at her heart Is a Bud from the Triune Bouquet. She is Mother, Queen, and Maid, And God is her Child, And her Courts are the meadows where They play And her Courts Forever and for aye. She is Mary full of grace. She is Queen of Eternal May.
Marie Fischer Robert, Cyril. Our Lady's Praise in Poetry. New York: Marist Press, 1944
IN MAY In May, sweet roses scent the air, And glistening insects dart and blare. Sweet springtime blossoms far and wide. Dame Nature leaves stern tasks aside, To garnish earth with tender care.
This happy month is ever fair; As all things take the utmost care To honor God's own Virgin Bride In May.
At dusk, sweet Aves, heavenly prayer, Attest men's love and are their share In praising her, while side by side Their voices sound to show their pride In Mary, Queen of all that's fair In May.
F. Sackett Robert, Cyril. Mary Immaculate: God's Mother and Mine. New York: Marist Press, 1946.
GALILEAN MAY Into the hills of Galilee Our Lady went one day, Lured by the wonder-woven bloom Dropped from the looms of May. Slim lilies leaned to touch her gown. Curving through delicate air, A fledgling thrush flew to her hand, Butterflies to her hair.
She told a secret to the winds That brushed her garment hem- The tear-wet, pitying winds that blew Up from Jerusalem.
And as she spoke a little Name, Whispering low and sweet, A golden surf of buttercups Broke against her feet.
The winds and flowers of Galilee, Grown wistful of her face, Still wait her footfall at the May- Gentle, and full of grace.
M. Thérèse Robert, Cyril. Mary Immaculate: God's Mother and Mine. New York: Marist Press, 1946.
Youtube video courtesy of Brian P. Dougherty
(Below) Kathy Bammer May Queen '59.
Bernadette and Lourdes
1958
(Left) Ann Marie Cullen accompanied by Gail Joos
(Right) Ann Marie Cullen '58 May Queen
Fairies guard the Queen of May,
Let her reign in Peace and Honor
Every blessing be upon her;
May her future pathway lie,
All beneath a smiling sky.
- Edgar Allen Poe
"Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There's crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers."
- Thomas Hood
'But I must gather knots of flowers,
And buds and garlands gay,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother,
I'm to be Queen o' the May.'
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
"QUEEN OF THE MAY"
(Below) The May Queen '40 (just out of view) and her Court.
The May Procession
May 24th 1940
Note: For some great (color)1960s-style May Procession photos please click here to visit Joe Jones' website.
Last updated: April 27, 2012
St. Athanasius Alumni Association
List of (Known) May Queens
Year Name
1939Constance Ward
1943Rita Shea
1946Joan Rumer
1949Ann Woodring
1951Joan McMahon
1952Rosemary Fox
1953Eileen Valera, Joan Gallagher or Barbara Schramm
1954Patricia Hershaft
1955Elizabeth Tucker
1956Dolores Roehrig
1957Kathleen Reilly
1958Ann Marie Cullen
1959Kathy Bammer
1960Anna Maria Alpiano
1961Marie Zecca
1964Patricia Kennedy
1965Irene Pound
1967Francie McDermott (Court: Cathy Costello and Denise Myers)
1968Joanne Zecca
1969Mary-Kay Boyle
1970BethAnn Krimmel
1972Patrice Hughes
1974Carla Neely
Class of '58 May Procession memories - courtesy of Brian Casey '58
(Above) 1967 May Court (from left Cathy Costello, Francie McDermott and Denise Myers. (click to enlarge)
