Winter Tea tradition revived at Clay Central/Everly

A once-defunct Clay Central/Everly Elementary tradition was brought back to life this month – the Maverick Winter Tea.

Former CC/E teacher Lynn Cronk hosted this festive event for more than two decades before her retirement three years ago. Elementary aide Iesha Toft sought to restart the tradition by combining the table manners and etiquette taught in the late-Marilyn Meyer's classroom with Mrs. Cronk's formal Christmas Tea for third graders. Thus, the Winter Tea was reborn, this time serving all 70-plus CC/E students in one day.

Prior to the event, former Clay Raider president Susan Christensen came dressed as time-warping manner-meister, Etiquette Edna, to teach the children about proper table manners and everyday etiquette. Edna was a little confused about cellular phones as she got out her wall-mounted phone, which received many giggles from the audience. Students were quite enthralled with the visitor's hilarious and interactive speech about the importance of manners by prepping them to display proper table etiquette at the upcoming Winter Tea.

With Etiquette Edna's help coupled with other manners lessons in the library throughout the year, students were ready for Winter Tea magic.

Mrs. Toft and Mrs. Cronk combined forces with other helpers to create a memorable and "royal" experience for the children. Set at the festively adorned Great Hall of Royal, it was plain to see the children and staff were delighted with an unforgettable experience.

Local businesses Pizza Ranch, Fridley Theatre and Home State Bank donated to make the event a huge success. Pizza Ranch kindly donated a free small pizza to every child, Fridley donated theatre tickets to all, and Home State Bank graciously donated funds to acquire the plethora of delicious food/beverage items served at the event.

To top it all off, Mrs. Cronk's mother created beautifully handcrafted boxes made from greeting cards that were filled with M&Ms to serve as a memento from this year's Winter Tea.