Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-05-04

and II the Leader does not miss It's
guess, it is paving the way for honors
along the line of march to the state
declamatory contest to be held at Mad
ison in June. Every number on the
program was good, while some were
excellent and about half of them were
par-excellent. They were efforts
that reflected great credit upon the
contestants, as we'll as the teachers in
the school who drilled them.
The Leader man has attended de-
clamatory contests in many of the
cities of the state, but no where has
he enjoyed one more fully than that
of last evening, which was witnessed
by good sized audience and one that
showed appreciation in most gener-
Gus applause. Those who have been
in the habit of attending these con-
tests declare that the one of last even
ing far excelled any of the past.
1t furnishes broadening of the
mind for the young people that should
be encouraged by the citizens of Wat
ertown. And right here the Leader
wishes to impress upon the minds of
the patrons and friends of the school
that the student body is one of which
they need not be ashamed of in any
contest from the preliminary to the
state gathering in June and it is pre-
Il a. 1a Ca hot he,
school will be honored step by step.
The various numbers on the pro-
gram last evening were listened to in
rapt attention and at the conclusion
one uninitiated in the decision of rela-
tive merit in such cases would have
been in quandry as to place the hon
ors of the evening The contest was
for the selection of three to partici-
pate in a contest to be held at the
Grand Opera house in this city next
Friday evening to select two to go to
the district contest to be held at
Whitewater on Friday, May II. At
that time, one of the contestants will
be chosen to represent the district in
the state declamatory contest to be
held at Madison in June.
The ability of the contestants last
evening was SO evenly divided that
the judges found it exceedingly diff
cult to decide and single out the three
from the twelve young people who all
acquitted themselves most credibly.
The judges were Joseph Davies, John
Conway, John Schempf, Ed Weiman
and Miss Catherine Hall. At the
close of the exercises the members of
the committee retired to the reception
room of the church to undertake the
difficult task of deciding. The audi
ence waited for what seemed like
hours in their anxiety to ascertain the
outcome and had it not been for the
rendition of several selections by
Hackers concert orchestra, the time
would have dragged heavily. After
a wait of about twenty minutes, the
first installment of the announcement
came when the intelligence was i'm
parted that the seniors were the vic
tors. The tidings were taken up by
a party of seniors in the rear of the
church who could not withstand the
temptation to give vent to their feel
ings of delight in loud applause and
class yells that fairly shook the walls
of the church like a miniature earth
quake shock. A few minutes later.
the judges filed out and Attorney
Davies, acting as spokesman announced
the decisions. Before doing so, how
ever, he complimented most highly
the young contestants and told of the
difficulty in making the decision. He
uttered words of praise for the teach
ers who had charge of drilling and
instructing the young students.
1t was case of ''last, but not |
least" as far as Miss Fleurette Har-
tig was concerned. Although she |
was last on the program, she secured |
first honors. The honors were closely |
divided between herself and William
Lewandowski, whose effort Regulars
to the Carthaginians. 1t must
have been a trying position for the
judges, for they We're both excellence
personified and sentiment in the aud
fence seemed equally divided. 1.-The
Last Word,' was the subject of Miss
Hartwig's defamation. She made a
most favorable impression indeed.
Her effort was full of expression,
with an excellent delivery and stage
presence. The Leader predicts great
success for this young lady. In the
eoffrt of Mr.. Lewandowski, the Lead
er critic could not detect blemish,
taking into consideration the age of
the young man. He is natural born
orator and from the very initiative of
an acquaintance, the writer will watch
his career with interets and predicts a
grand future for the young ann. He
has an excellent voice and puts much
into his effort. He did
himself proud, this young man to
whom the judges saw fit to award the
second honors.
ga Fruit of the Fair" was the
subject of Miss Margaret Habhegger's ,
defamation. This young lady ac-
quilted herself most credibly indeed ,
and was the recipient Of many hearty !,