I have no idea at all if the Dutch in Michigan celebrated Pinkster 100 or more years ago. Pinkster (Pinksteren is Dutch for Pentecost) is a holiday connected with Pentecost and loosely related to May Day and spring festivals. It typically occurs in May or June. Here is a photo from the very limited Wikipedia article about Pinkster.
Notice how the children hold ribbons around a pole, much like what we tend to think of as a traditional Maypole.
The reason I started thinking about this is because I found this very damaged photo which I believe belonged to Alice Leeuwenhoek, born 1897 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her family, like all my grandfather’s family at that time, belonged to the Reformed church where all the Sunday School children were likely to be Dutch.
If you look carefully at this photo, you will see these children are all holding what looks to be a ribbon of some kind. At first I thought maybe a paper chain, but I don’t think it is. Also, notice the flowers. The children are dressed in their Sunday best and so is the woman standing behind them. This would not be a regular school day, then, but Sunday School or a holiday. I do see the American flag near the woman’s right shoulder which does seem to indicate a schoolroom. Would public school have celebrated a religious holiday if the student body was fairly homogeneous? Click on the photo to enlarge.
Look carefully at the girl third from our left. What is in front of her? Is that a doll on the ribbon? Or, is it what my daughter suspects, a ghost?
If you read more about Pinkster you will see that Africans in the United States took over the holiday and made it their own–and why. It has to do with being enslaved and that it was a holiday where they got “time off” work and could see family and friends.
Do you have other ideas about the photo or see something that I missed? I’d love to hear!
The Family Kalamazoo 
Are there newspaper reports that might help to say that they did celebrate Pinkster?
That’s an idea! Thanks, Anne.
Definitely a ghost 🙂
LOL! After you wrote this Sharon said she thought it was the reflection of a boy across from the kids. Now i wonder if somehow it’s a “reflection” of the boy in the center, but sideways or something. since you know a lot about photography, what do you think?
That is amazing. I’m pretty sure it is a reflection of the boy in the centre – he certainly has the sun on the correct side.
Oh wow. That is so cool to see something unique like that in one of my photos :). Thanks, Derrick.
You probably know about the Cottingley Fairies, mentioned in this post: https://derrickjknight.com/2012/08/07/would-you-believe-it/
I hope the rest of it might interest you, too, Luanne
I responded over there. Your portrait of your father is so good, Derrick. I told you about my ghost story over there :).
Going over now 🙂
Fun interesting posting Luanne. I can tell you that I do remember celebrating a type Pinkster Day in public elementary school. There was a May pole with the ribbons and we walked around the pole with the ribbons eventually covering it. It was not a religious celebration but I recollect it being to celebrate spring, in fact it was actually an Arbor Day celebration and we planted a tree and had the May pole. This would have been in the early 60’s in N.Y.. As for the doll – ghost – I like the idea of it being a ghost but I believe it is the reflection of another boy holding a ribbon opposite of the kids posed for the photo. Thanks for my childhood memories.
Now that you mention it, I think we might have celebrated May Day in maybe kindergarten (I went to kindergarten in the exact neighborhood where this photo would have been taken!). Even by then though it seemed like they were just clinging to something that had gone by the wayside, you know? After I found a pic from my dad’s photos–from Germany and presumably Catholic–I learned that May Day is or was a Catholic celebration. So maybe Pinkster was a Dutch Protestant version in a way? I had never heard that word, though of course I know Pentecost as one of the Christian holidays.
OK, about the doll/ghost. WOW, brilliant idea, Sharon. And I guess it’s possible it could be a sort of superimposed “reflection” or something of the boy in the boy in the center himself. I bet somebody who knows a lot about old time photography would know!
Thats an idea, the boy in the middle. Hope someone chimes in on this. I never heard of Pinkster. I certainly think all these holidays are adjusted and morphed to suit the time frame and ethnicity. Enjoyed this post Luanne 🙂
So so true about holidays being “adjusted.”
What makes you think it was something religious? Maybe it was just a performance for school—singing or reading of something? It looks like the boy in the sailor suit is the leader—is that a music stand in front of him?
As for the flag, lots of religious organizations display the flag so it could be the Sunday School or church. (Our synagogue has the American flag hanging on the bima all the time.) Or it could be a public school—but if so, even back then I don’t think they would cater to a particular religious faith. Or I’d hope not. But then again in my public school we sang all kinds of Christmas carols (not just the Jingle Bells type) in December with sometimes but rarely a Hanukkah song.
No, I’m not certain it was religious. Or public school. I have points for both in my mind. A lot of times I think an American flag in a church would be next to the flag of the denomination. And this photo looks more like a classroom to me, but that’s just a guess.
I don’t remember ever singing a Hanukkah song in public schools in Kalamazoo and Portage, back when I was a kid a million years ago. I think I first thought of religious because of the dressup clothes, but they could have worn those for something special at school.
We used to have to dress properly for school all the time—dresses for girls, no jeans for boys—until I was a junior in high school. For a special day at school, you wore a nicer dress—especially if it was some kind of performance.
I grew up in the suburbs of New York, and my elementary school had many Jewish kids. So they threw in a token dreidel song at Christmas time in the midst of twenty or so songs about Christmas, including those referring to Jesus as Christ the Lord, etc. I was too oblivious to be offended and loved the songs, but looking back I realize how offensive it was.
We “dressed up,” too, and couldn’t wear pants or jeans until high school. Everything changed so rapidly. Then we could even wear hot pants to school!
But the clothes those kids are wearing for the time period and the city were Sunday-best, not regular school clothes.
I’ll have to ask the gardener if they sang Hanukkah songs at his school as a kid–both in NYC and in Michigan.
Let me know!
No and no. He said his neighborhood in Astoria was very diverse. Black family on one side, Chinese family on the other side of them. So there weren’t a ton of Jewish kids in his class. In Michigan, he had the same experience I did.
Not surprising.
Too late to add another poem to “Doll God”? Fascinating!
Hah, yes, definitely too late!
Well, ghosts are fun, but what I think you’re seeing as the “doll’s” head is the boy’s right hand, and the rest of it is the sun shining on the dangling end of one ribbon. I agree that they seem dressed in Sunday best, though it could have been for a special occasion at school.
When I biggified the photo to see the “ghost,” I immediately thought of the Cottingley Fairies. (My husband bought me a book about them for Christmas a few years ago.)
LOL, and here I thought it was a real doll.
Fooled you! 🙂
I guess so!
I have found a 1905 newspaper reference to Pinkster in Virginia Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.), 05 May 1905. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Anne, that is fabulous! I’ll check it out and look for more this weekend. I’ve been traveling, but am now home. Thank you!
LOL, I just did a quick search because I have appointments today. What I found is that Pinkster comes up many times in Kalamazoo as it looks to be a popular surname! I’ll have to search more later.
Loved this one, Luanne – that picture is a classic!
P.S. If you want to have more space between the lines in your post, click on “height” to the right of the body of your post. It will be set on 1.5 inches. Move it to 1.6 inches and it will be easier to read? The thing is though, you have to click on the 1.6 every new paragraph. It’s fine the way it is, but might be easier for you and therefore, all of us to read.
Hope you are feeling better.
I am doing ok. Thanks, Sheila. Are you using the new block editing? I am still using classic, and I don’t know if that works on classic? I think WordPress is gradually making it more uncomfortable for people to sneak onto Classic editing. But why would they make writers do the block editing? OK, if you can, let me know if you are finding this on block or classic, please.
I’ve had the same problems, Luanne. It’s been very frustrating. What I do is go to the block and mainly use that since I’m finally getting used to it. One of the blocks is the Classic which seems to be more familiar but less user friendly now. I never understand why people want to make technology more difficult?
Glad you are feeling better.
They are trying to drive me crazy, that’s why they do it!
I don’t know about Pentecost, but my ancestors changed religions a couple times after arriving in this country. Makes me wonder about goods and services or other reasons to switch? Guess we’ll have to wonder lol
Yes, most of mine are no longer Reformed and have not been for generations.