The 1959 Annie Wright Seminary May Day Queen was Cynthia Reid Fanshawe of Billings, Montana. She was crowned on a bright and sunny May 9th in 1959 in ceremonies performed on the lawn of the campus. Cynthia, also known as "Fanny," was a talented artist and musician. She belonged to the drama club Masque and sang with the choir. She was remembered in the yearbook as being enthusiastic, considerate and a good sport. She served as president of the athletic association S.A.C. (yearbook "The Shield" 1959, TNT 5/17/1959, pg. D-7))

Fanshawe, Cynthia; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The Annie Wright May Day Queen's train bearers smile winsomely at the camera. They are, left to right, Jean Buttorff and Nancy McGoldrick. Every year the students of Annie Wright Seminary celebrated the arrival of spring to the gray Northwest with the May Day festivities. A senior was chosen to rule over the festivities, with the younger girls as attendants. Lower school (primary) girls were chosen to serve as heralds, train bearers, flower girls, scepter bearers, crown bearers and pages.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buttorff, Jean; McGoldrick, Nancy;

Each year the students of Annie Wright Seminary held a May Day festival to welcome back the blooming life of spring to the cool and gray Northwest. The ceremony in 1959 was held on a bright, sunny May 9th with the air stirred by a stiff breeze. 1959 was a special year, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the school, which opened in 1884 with a class of 93 from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Since most of the upper class girls were directly involved in the pageant, the entertainment was usually provided by the lower and middle school classes. This group appears to be performing a folk dance, perhaps from the Netherlands. Some girls are dressed in full skirts with aprons and boxy bonnets, some are dressed as boys in knee length pants and vests.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Every year, the student body and faculty of Annie Wright Seminary welcomed back spring with a May Day Festival. A senior girl was chosen to reign over the festivities as Queen, with other upper class girls as the court. Lower school (primary) girls acted as attendants. The girls pictured here in their May Day regalia on May 9, 1959 are, left to right, Muffet Gilfin, scepter bearer; Joan Anderson, herald; Terry Weyerhaeuser, crown bearer; Sally Dimant, page; Belinda McLean, flower girl and Rita Smith, flower girl. (yearbook "The Shield" 1959, TNT 5/7/1959, pg. D-7) )

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Gilfin, Muffet; Anderson, Joan; Weyerhaeuser, Terry; Dimant, Sally; Smith, Rita; McLean, Belinda;

Annie Wright Seminary's Masque Players production of the operetta "HMS Pinafore." The school presented the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera May 1-3, 1959 for Parents' Weekend. The 1959 Parents' Weekend was a special celebration of the seminary's 75th anniversary. The plot of the operetta revolves around a captain's daughter who falls in love with a common sailor. It was first produced in 1878 and is probably the pair's most popular work. The Masque Players production was directed by Mrs. Diedre Monks and the players were assisted by the school's glee club choir and dance troop. The production featured Mitzi Weiss as Josephine, Gundl Primus as Ralph Rackstraw, Cynthia Fanshaw as Captain Corcoran and Anne King as Buttercup. (TNT 4/26/1959, pg D-11)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Costumes; Children performing in theatrical productions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Operas & operettas--Tacoma--1950-1960;

On August 19, 1959, eight co-eds from the Annie Wright Seminary lent a hand in mortaring the new library wing at the school. The girls were, left to right, Margaret Woodhams, athletics; Lib Hewitt, secretary service league; Frances Finnigan, Class VIII president; Peggy Yates, of Puyallup, senior yearbook editor; Caroline Woodhams, secretary treasurer of the student body; Shirley Cartozian, Christmas Carnival; Laurie Grenley, vice president freshman class; and Missy Hyde, Class VII president. This group was part of a larger planned gathering for class and school officers to make plans for the upcoming school year. The new library wing was completed in November of 1959 at at cost of $170,000. It was of Tudor design, with 4,000 square feet of room to house 16,000 volumes and 68 students. The upper floors had bedrooms, storage and bath space. Photograph ordered by AWS for the Tacoma News Tribune. (TNT 8/23/1959, pg. D-3-alternate photograph of students)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Woodhams, Margaret; Hewitt, Lib; Finnigan, Frances; Yates, Peggy; Woodhams, Caroline; Cartozian, Shirley; Grenley, Laurie; Hyde, Missy;

A classroom of bright eyed youngsters, students at the Annie Wright Seminary, smile for the camera on February 29, 1960. The eighteen girls and their teacher, Miss Hartwell, are doing a bit of light reading on this sunny morning. Classes were kept small at this private school with total enrollment approximately 300 and staff of 55. Holding the Alvin the Chipmunk doll is Nancy Bond at near right with Jamie May next to her. Blond Leilee Weyerhaeuser is seated behind Nancy. Other girls identified in the classroom were Jill Stone, Penny Rumbaugh, Mimi Wiborg and Ann Dickman. (Identification provided by a reader)

School children--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Teachers--Tacoma--1960-1970; Bond, Nancy; May, Jamie;

March 13, 1961, photograph of twelve small girls in classroom. Scholastic Magazines news map dated 1959-60 on blackboard wall behind them. These children, wearing school uniforms, were from the Lower School of Annie Wright Seminary.

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Classrooms--Tacoma--1960-1970; Maps;

Sixteen youngsters pose outside Annie Wright Seminary in March, 1963, for annual class pictures. These were members of the K-5 kindergarten group as eight little boys are included. Annie Wright accepted boys in this age group but girls only in later grades. L-R listed from the 1963 Annie Wright yearbook: First row: Nicholas Malden, William Rabe, Paul Rush, Caroline Wiborg, Rebecca Scott, Valerie Graves, Ann Rhea, Steven Crounse. Second row: Courtney Reid, Katherine Hokanson, George Buell, John Holl, Rodney Rosenthal, Jan Savini, Scott Dickman, Greta Simonson. (1963: The Shield, p. 29)

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma;

These little Annie Wright Seminary pupils were probably studying the Netherlands in class as they stand by a table full of Dutch artifacts. Painted wooden shoes, books, and cutouts of a windmill and forest area adorn the large, round table. Most of the girls are holding dolls wearing Dutch costume and two clasping small shoes. L-R as listed in the Annie Wright 1963 yearbook are Class 3: Janie Gilpin, Vicky Daley, Janice North, Katherine Lisk, Sarah Fisken, Julie Johnson, Wendy Wagner, Cheri Crocker, Alice Reberger, Elizabeth Murray. (1963: The Shield, p. 31)

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Toys; Books; Shoes; Dolls;

Twelve Annie Wright Seminary lower school students gather around a large wooden circular table in March, 1963, as they pose for annual pictures. They are probably in the school's library. Each girl is wearing a dark plaid dress, which is the same uniform worn by younger students. Class 6, L-R as listed in the 1963 Annie Wright yearbook: First row: Margaret Brown, Jeanne Rowland, Carol-Anne Wilson, Diane Hamill, Treena Andersen, Peggy Rockwood. Second row: Cathy Agrelius, Carla Will, Debra Gress, Jane Long, Brynn Ann Foss, Linda Ross. (1963: The Shield, p. 32)

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Uniforms;

ca. 1964. Students at Annie Wright Seminary. Small classes were the norm at Annie Wright. These 13 little girls were in the lower school at Annie Wright. Dressed in school uniform and saddle shoes, they posed for their Class 2 picture in early 1964 in the school library. According to the Shield yearbook, they were: (L-R) Katherine Wilson, Deborah Owen, Thea Wickstrom, Laura Jones, Wendy Sanford, Lisa Weyerhaeuser, Susan Ellison, Margaret Ann Swain, Christina Gratzer, Jaynee Crepin, Lorie Long, Elaine Cashar, and Elizabeth Merrill. With the group was Mrs. J.C. Chapman. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary. (1964 Shield, p. 10)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Uniforms;

Mrs. William A. Merrill and Mrs. Gardner's class of sixteen young pupils at Annie Wright Seminary smile for the camera on February 19, 1966. The children's names are written on railroad cars that decorate the blackboard. This was probably a pre-kindergarten or younger-aged kindergarten class. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary. TPL-8732

Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970;

Dance at Annie Wright Seminary. Annie Wright students and their dates clasp hands and parade in circles under flower garlands during their Junior Prom on April 30, 1966. This is possibly the "Grand March." The girls are dressed in long evening gowns with many wearing elbow-length gloves. The boys have tuxes or suits; all seem to have flower boutonnieres. The large room is believed to be the school's Great Hall. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1960-1970; Balls (Parties)--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Little girls in short dresses going down play yard slide and walking on balance bar. "Speed King" wagon next to slide.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children playing outdoors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Playgrounds--Tacoma; School recesses--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Woman standing in loggia observing little girls in short dresses playing on slide and balance bar.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children playing outdoors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Playgrounds--Tacoma; School recesses--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Six young girls in short dresses standing on a slide.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children playing outdoors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Playgrounds--Tacoma; School recesses--Tacoma;

1936 Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Girl performing somersault off diving board into indoor swimming pool. Other girls watch.

Private schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Swimming--Tacoma--1930-1940; Swimming pools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Diving--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Diving--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Tennis courts, view from hill of game in progress. Neighborhood homes visible in background. Each year, generally in May, the student body of Annie Wright Seminary participated in a day full of activities including sports, music and the crowning of a queen and her court.

Private schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tennis courts--Tacoma; Tennis--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. The annual Field Day took place in May of 1936. Students are pictured engaging in a softball game with one girl at bat. The Tudor-styled school building is in the background.

Private schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Softball--Tacoma--1930-1940; Softball players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Archery, girls shooting at target. School building in background.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma--1930-1940; Archery--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Archery, girl shooting bow and arrow.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma--1930-1940; Archery--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Field hockey game in progress. Commencement Bay and Browns Point in background.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Field hockey--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Field hockey game in progress, run on at goal post.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Field hockey--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Volleyball team in action on basketball court of gymnasium.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Volleyball--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary 1936 May Day activities. Queen Burdette Craig and her court on school steps. Photographer adjusting movie camera on tripod. (T. Times 5/18/1936, pg. 1)

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Craig, Burdette;

Annie Wright Seminary annual May Day activities. Procession, little girls in long gowns lead May Queen Burdette Craig and her Court between rows of little girls in short dresses. Neighborhood houses in background. (T. Times 5/18/1936, pg. 1)

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities. Six young girls dressed in butterfly or bee costumes dancing around a young girl seated on the ground. Spectators watching event from loggia.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary's 1936 May Day celebration. Crown bearers and young flower girls in costume.

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; Girls--Tacoma--1930-1940; School children--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day. Procession, seen through trees with school building in the background.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;