Due to this year’s relatively mild winter it feels like we’ve been enjoying blue skies and sun for weeks already, but it never truly feels like spring on Haverford’s campus until Pinwheel Day. Even more than the vernal equinox, the annual event, when Founders Green has been surprisingly transformed overnight into a festive field of multi-colored, spinning, plastic pinwheels, celebrates the beginning of the season. It is, in fact, happy memories of this colorful, whimsical day that keep many Fords warm all winter.
Not much is known about the origins of this beloved, if mysterious, tradition. According to Ford mythology, the pinwheels appear on the first warm day of the year thanks to the secretive effort of some unnamed do-gooders. (We’re hoping it’s a particularly dexterous black squirrel; but that’s just us.) There are conflicting reports about Pinwheel Day’s inaugural year—people do, however, seem to agree it took off sometime in the 1990s—though in last year’s commemorative blog post, one anonymous commenter claimed responsibility for the pinwheels’ first unofficial appearance in 1993. Anyone care to confirm or deny that?
Or better yet, don’t. Part of Pinwheel Day’s charm is its continued secrecy. So thank you to whoever is responsible for the stellar, silly view we have of Founders Green this morning. And happy spring to you all!
Pinwheel Day 2012 Marks The Beginning of Spring!
Due to this year’s relatively mild winter it feels like we’ve been enjoying blue skies and sun for weeks already, but it never truly feels like spring on Haverford’s campus until Pinwheel Day.
