McMenamins Elks Temple

Happy May Day! For years, a tradition for Portland-area schools was to celebrate the arrival of spring with a Maypole dance. The first held at Kennedy Elementary School (now McMenamins Kennedy School) was in the spring of 1916, as part of the dedication ceremony for Kennedy’s new permanent school building.

McMenamins revived the Maypole tradition at the renovated Kennedy School in 1999, after hearing recollections of it from many former students. Margaret Schneider Mead was a student at Kennedy in 1916 and danced around that first Maypole with her classmates. Then 83 years later, she joined the fun once again!

May Day celebrations continued for many years at McMenamins Kennedy School.