Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community
    • Community Guide
    • First Fridays Puzzle Race
    • Best of Grain Valley
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Board
    • 2025 Garage Sale Directory
    • Voter Resources
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member

​news

Looking Back: 1932 May Festival

6/18/2020

 
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society    
 

     When Grain Valley’s first brick school burned in 1925 it was replaced by a new $75,000 building considered to be one of the finest schools in Jackson County. The new building had both a gymnasium and a stage. Any one graduating from GVHS between 1926 and 1964 received their diploma on that very stage. 
     Students also performed on that stage. From vocal music and band concerts to musical revues and plays, it was the cultural center of Grain Valley where many of us “old-timers” remember with fondness our “great times” on stage. 
     The photo above of the 1932 May Festival was undoubtably one of those great times.  While we will never know how the yearly festival began, it may have been influence by the famous Ziegfeld Follies.  The follies, a musical spectacular, were the American version of Folies Bergere of Paris. Begun by Florenz Ziegfeld in 1907, the follies came to the Amsterdam Theater in New York in 1913. They lasted into the 1930s and had a tremendous influence on American musical theater. 
     Since we will never know her motivation for producing and directing the May Festival, I am going to believe Mrs. Scott, the music teacher, was influenced by Ziegfeld, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and others to bring entertainment and culture to our town.
     As for the photo, there are no names but I do recognize Linnea Snow and Paulina Farley, the first two girls on the front row.  I also know their dresses, along with many others in the photo, were made from crepe paper.  Costumes made from crepe paper was very popular back them. The rabbits on the front row are wearing long underwear, but judging from the size of it, I’m thinks it must have belonged to an older, and much bigger, brother!
 
Visit the Historical Society to see this and many other photos from Grain Valley “back in the day.”
 
Picture

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    5 Questions
    Arts
    Beacon: Missouri
    Best Of Grain Valley
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Civics 101
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid-19
    Covid19
    Downtown Grain Valley
    Dr. Bug
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kansas City Royals
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Independent
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Public Notice
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Scene In Grain Valley
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Sunshine Week
    Technology
    The Beacon
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

This work by Grain Valley News is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
​
(c) 2025 Grain Valley News
Picture
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community
    • Community Guide
    • First Fridays Puzzle Race
    • Best of Grain Valley
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Board
    • 2025 Garage Sale Directory
    • Voter Resources
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member