The sun., 1919-05-21
5000 GIRLS ROMP
ON SHEEP MEADOW
Little French Misses Have
Post Of Honor in Central
Park Fete.
MAY POLE DANCE GIVEN
Boy Scouts Clear Green of All
Paper at Close Of
Pageant.

Back in 1914 the expression human
waves meant oncoming rushes of SOL
idly banked. gray clad Germans, and
the term found place in many columns
Of newspapers then. Yesterday after
noon in the Sheep Meadow of Central
Park the onlooker thought again of that
long forgotten expression human
waves" but this time the humans who
made the waves were thousands Of
daintily clad little schoolgirls; all white
frocks and ringlets and bare knees,
blotting out quickly the green of the
grass as they came onward in a riotous
froth of white-until all the new grass
blades of Central Park seemed to have
given way to little girls. two girls crop
ping up where but one blade had grown
before.
The Police Departments blue clad
brass band footed itself red faced as the
little girls by thousands converged
toward the improvised bandstand as II
to engulf it, Maypolcs that were gay
with silk and paper bonnets and stream
ers OF red, white, blue, mauve, lavender
pink. pale green. all the colors. popped
up above the heads of the dancing little
girls like n sudden crop of delicately
painted mushrooms.
Civic celebrities OF the grownup age
lined up raptly just in front of the
band, cheered themselves to beat the po-
lice band as they noted that the very
crest OF the wave was composed OF black
eyed and very beautiful little ladies
from France
French Girls I'm Van.
The little French girls had the place
OF honor despite the fact that Central
Park was giving itself over yesterday
afternoon to the annual Park Fete OF
the Girls Branch of the Public Schools
Athletic League" with almost 5000 lit
the girls from fifty-one public schools
taking part. 1t seems that on May l.
which annually is the great day Of the
school children in France, our own pub
lie school little ones Officially" had
sent greetings. to the school children OF
Paris and other French cities. where
fore the Franco-American school chill
dren of New York yesterday came forth
TO return the compliment, and therefore
place in the front ranks was assigned
to them.
French girls in the Franco-American
group. but they made up In pulchritude
and sartorial beauty for their lack Of
numbers. Under the guidance of bright
faced nuns the French youngsters had
been brought to the park from French
Institutions in New York, the st. Vincent
de Paul orphanage and parochial school
and from the schoolrooms of St Jean
Baptiste
There was the little Mile. Fernando
Slavery, their May queen, at their head.
attended by the timer Mile. Henriette
Currian as maid of honor. Queen Fer
nsnde sat enthroned In a small boys
express wagon" which had been
swathed in spring flowers so beautifully
that the dark eyed little queen seemed to
be riding altogether on a nosegay Lit
tier French girls pulled the nosegay. and
more French children. shepherded by the
nuns, surrounded Fernando. who, queen
though she was, was CARRIED in the pic
turesque dress OF a peasant child OF
Brittany.
Public school Girls.
Close upon the heels of the wondering
French children when the pageant began
10 unfold itself came the public school
girls from the nelghborhood OF Amster-
dam avenue and West NInety-third
street, led by their principal. Miss Laura
Charlton. These children from Public
School SO, Manhattan, had a place just
behind the French children. almost alto
gether because the real name of Public
School SO is the Joan dare School" and
their insignia Is the fleur de lis.
And before the onset of the glories of
little girlhood there had been inspiring
things, even II merely male, on the sheep
meadow. For first of all the Boy Scouts
OF America. led by G. Henry Nessalage
and Il Winfield Fairchild, Jr., respec-
lively executive" and assistant execu-
tive" of the Scouts in Manhattan, had
marched on the wide green acres to the
blasts of bugles and had seen to II that
everything was mil!tarily shipshape for
the oncoming girls.
When about 5000 little girls spill upon
a field one might expect a bit OF con-
fusion. especially during the first few
minutes of getting ready for the folk
dances that were to follow; but any
one who looked for confusion yesterday
had not known about the capable young
boss of the whole affair. Miss Emily A.
O'Keefe. executive secretary of the
girls branch, p. S. A. L., and Miss
OKeefe's assistants. the Misses Chris
tine Dobbins and Lorna Nash, not to
mention Miss O'Keefes "aeld commit
tee"
The waves of thousands of little white
clad girls danced the ''Carrouser' on the
fifteen acre lawn. the Seven Pretty
Girls" the "Scllian Circle" "Our Little
Girls" Jolly Is the Miller" the Bridge
OF Avignon." drowning out the band with
their clear treble as they danced
On the bridge at Avignon.
There they dance.
There they dance round and round
The pretty ladies dance so lscrape and bowl
The gentlemen dance so lscrape and bowl.
And the sailor Boy
Hurrah for the sailor boy!
He sails upon the sea-
He pulls the rope. he makes Il fast,
jolly boy Is he