Scarf Drill at Stringtown School
Datec. 1901
MediumPaper
ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact
Catalog number1987.1.116
DescriptionBlack and white photograph of a group of students in white dresses taking part in a recreational "Scarf Drill" at Stringtown School. Each student is holding a scarf that is attached to a woman in the center.The “Scarf Drill” was a Victorian-era physical activity that was part of the physical education for girls in the late 1800s to early 1900s in the United States (and elsewhere). “Scarf Drill” often involved a group girls holding onto the ends of long strips of cloth as they moved in coordination. These physical excercises had a performance aspect to them, and teams of girls often performed the “scarf drill” at community events. There is a clear connection to the May Day celebrations of spring when young people circled the “May Pole” with long strips of cloth or rope. However, “scarf drills” were not limited to the May Day celebrations.
The occasion for the “scarf drill” recorded in this photo is unknown, however the young women are also residents of “Stringtown”, which is the old west Mesa area today better known as Alma School Road. Tempe had a lot of connections with the Morman settlers of west Mesa (including Stringtown and Nephi) because of the brief settlement of Mormon pioneers in Tempe in the 1880s, many of whom relocated to the Nephi and Stringtown communities. The “Stringtown School” in this photo is better known as the Alma School, which was located on the east side of Alma School Road just north of the railroad tracks (between Main Street and Broadway Road).
Status
Not on view
c. 1897
10/15/1980
November 1988
