Скачать или смотреть Betty Alley and Everett Poole | May Baskets

The first of May -- May Day -- was eagerly anticipated on Martha’s Vineyard, as harsh weather gave way to warm breezes and Spring flowers. Traditionally on the Vineyard amongst school children and young people, May Day was the time to start hanging May Baskets on the doors of friends, teachers and neighbors. These baskets were carefully made and decorated baskets, filled with flowers and candy. Children would hang the basket on the door and then scatter and hide. The recipient’s role was to then run and find them and then all were invited in to share in the contents. Betty Alley (1912 -2009) and Everett Poole, in vignettes from interviews in 1995 and 2009, describe creating their May baskets, variations on the themes, the thrill of the chase, the joy of sharing in Spring, and lament over the loss of this small-community tradition.

This video was produced and created by Linsey Lee. Any reproduction, distribution, or public display of this work requires prior permission. For use and permission to reproduce, please contact: [email protected]

For more information about the oral history collection at the Martha's Vineyard Museum visit https://mvmuseum.org