A Juvenile Maypole Dance for Charity
Four hundred attendees filled Ranke's Hall to watch a complex ribbon-weaving dance performed by local children for the Bureau of Associated Charities.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Maypole dance at Ranke's Hall yesterday was a pleasant affair and a success. Its object, the aid of the emergency fund of the Bureau of Associated Charities, is one that appeals forcibly to those who understand the particular work this organization does. Four hundred people attended, every age from 2 upward being represented. It was conducted by Mr. Whitley's juvenile dancing class. The dancing portion was inaugurated by the Maypole dance proper. A pole was erected, and twelve children, each holding the loose end of a ribbon, the other end of which was fastened to the top of the pole, began dancing around the pole to music in alternately different directions, winding the ribbons crosswise around it. Then they reversed the movement and unwound the ribbons, still to music. The audience was a family one, parents and their children vastly predominating. The performance included various other dances and humorous plantation songs before concluding with general dancing.
“A pole was erected, and twelve children, each holding the loose end of a ribbon... began dancing around the pole to music in alternately different directions.”
In the 1890s, the Bureau of Associated Charities acted as a private-sector safety net for Seattle’s most vulnerable. Today, the legacy of that work continues through the city's complex and often strained network of social services and private philanthropy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.