There were actually two grand marches, one that occurred every October on Mountain Day and one that occurred every Sunday morning.
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At Berry, there were two versions of "The Grand March". The photo above came from the October 7, 1967 issue of The Lavendar Blue. The picture is from Mountain Day of 1966. In 1966 I had just arrived at Berry on a Greyhound bus on a cool September Saturday as a puny, timid 15 year-old and this was my first Mountain Day, which was and still is observed on the first Saturday of October to commemorate Martha Berry's birthday. (Her actual birthday was October 7, 1866.) The hopeful fantasy in every Academy student's heart was to get paired up with a really good looking college girl in the Grand March. I can truthfully say that my fantasy was never realized. I had the unfortunate luck to hold hands with Phyllis Diller on the right and Rosie O'Donnell on the left every year I was at Berry. So much for the wishful romantic dreams of youth!
For the uninitiated, the Mountain Day tradition is rooted in a 1912 picnic that Martha Berry hosted for the students and to this day it remains as one of Berry's oldest, if not THE oldest, traditions. The Grand March, which takes place after dinner on the grounds, is described this way.
"Students, led by the seniors, join hands, separate, and unite in ever widening lines as they weave a march pattern on the gentle slope at the foot of Lavendar Mountain. During the march, students drop donations into the birthday basket, traditionally the number of cents equal to the student's age. During Miss Berry's lifetime she stood to receive the small donations for the school in a gift basket. Today, these donations become a part of the Martha Berry Memorial Endowment Fund, established by Miss Berry with gifts made to her to aid The Berry Schools. A colorful part of the tradition is the costume worn - for the women, a pastel pink (blue if a senior) dress or skirt and blouse; for the men, a lighter blue shirt (white if a senior) and dark trousers." 1 1 Courtesy of the Berry College website.
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| The other Grand March occurred at 10:55 AM every Sunday morning at the conclusion of Sunday School when all of the Academy students marched in pairs down the hill from Hamrick Hall and up the hill along the winding pathway to Frost Chapel for Sunday worship services. Led by the American and Christian flags, the Sunday morning march was a popular sight to behold for visitors, faculty, staff, parents and any other worshipers attending the service. Many would stand outside of Frost Chapel to observe the procession. The view of the long march, with the grandeur of the campus as a backdrop, made the weekly march an inspirational event for those in attendance. The choir, in their brightly colored robes, also lined the walkway at the top of the chapel hill adding to the colorful splendor of the occasion. |