Plymouth Magazine-Fall26-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 38
SPECIAL MATINS MEMORIES!
LEAF RAKE: From at least the 1970s until the 2020s, on two Saturdays each
fall, choir members would rake as many as 30 yards to raise money for tours.
VARIETY SHOWS: This annual spring talent showcase includes singing as
well as bands, mimes and dancers.
WEEKEND RETREATS: A fellowship experience dating back at least to the
early 1980s.
TOURS: The first Matins tour in 1960, under John Dexter, traveled to Grinnell.
In 1976, it was a Bicentennial tour to Boston, New York and Philadelphia. On
an all-Washington D.C. tour, they gave a performance in the halls of Congress.
COVID canceled the 2020 tour and regular road trips returned in 2022.
SPECIAL EVENTS, TRIPS: “Noye’s Fludde” or Noah’s Flood was first
performed in 1959 and twice more in the early Sixties. Iowa State Fair-goers saw
the choir in the 1970s and in recent years. A Junior Matins tour sang the “Star
Spangled Banner” and tossed out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game in 1992.
MADRIGAL DINNERS: Elaborately costumed productions were staged
throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
CHRISTMAS EVE: The Matins always sing for the 11 p.m. service, ending
by encircling the sanctuary and inviting any alumni to stand and join in singing
“Silent Night,” with a hauntingly beautiful descant line of “peace, peace.”
MATINS CROSS: During Anita Micich’s years in the 1990s, Plymouth member
and custom jeweler Sheena Thomas designed a coveted sterling silver keepsake
cross and circle, representing the Circle of Matins.
COLLEGE BOXES: Goodie boxes were packed by choir members and mailed
to colleges for recently graduated Matins who might be missing home and
Plymouth. Sometimes they even included fall leaves, a reminder of the Leaf Rake!
PLYMOUTH GARAGE SALE: Held each April, this big fundraiser heavily
involved parents and choir members.
“
“Share the joy, find a friend,
it’s a never-ending gift that circles back again.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
Why we stand as one in harmony.”
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