The Forrest City times., 1907-06-21
Closed on Saturday, June I5, 1907.
othef 1lrls Good Workers, but the Winner Took the Lead at the Start and Was Never Overtaken
 Working Hard Every Week
Three Contestants Win Gold Watches
Mss Lyda Mason Makes Remarkable Gain and Makes Sensational Finish. S15O in Ballot
 Boxes For Her.

richly deserved it She was probably the first young lady in the county To begin work in the contest. Just as soon as she saw the first announce ment of our intentions she made up her mind to enter the race, and she did SO with set determination to win the piano. She went 10 work in serious earnest. She wrote letters to relatives and friends all over the country; she visited MaIianna, Brink lev Palestine Widener. Madison. Colt. WyhHe, Charlottesville, Vincent and other neighboring towns, in all of which, with possibly one CT two ex- captions, she secured substantial en- eoufaeemeHt. Her brother Arthur. Who k popular conductor on the santa Fe Railway. with headquarters at HiHslew Arizona, helped her with thousands of votes and as result We have a list of subscribers al NinsIow. Arizona. nearly as long as your arm. In fact she left no work undone that would help her and score or more of friends saved free coupons for her, and many gave her long time sub scriptions, which counted up rapidly. l She even surprised herself and us by turning in long list of collections and neW subscriptions amounting to nearly sl00, two hours before the clos ! ing, which she had saved up in about couple of weeks for the last day, when it was expected that all the contestants would have a regular bat tie of the ballots, She took the lead at the start, and was never overtaken. Immeditely after the count was made, she was notified of her success by her brother, but could not believe it until she was again and again assured that jt was true, and though late in the evening, the instrument was loaded into q wagon and delivered to her residence, and as they say in the fairy stories, she lived happily ever after wards. In fact. they tell it on Miss Claud. that she slept on the piano all that night.
 She appreciates all that her friends have done for her. and when she cast her last vote tears were seen to roll down her cheeks so glad was she that the end had come atlast.
 Miss Lyda Mason, who won the sec. ond prizes, is splendid girl, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. I. \. Mason, and also reared in this county. and has demonstrated her great pop ularity beyond the shadow of doubt. Even if she had won no other prize. the demonstration in her behalf on the closing day would reeompense her for all her work. She las been ener- getie. and worked hard throughout tle contest. writing letters To scores of friends, and deyating much ol her spare time to the work. She also visited NyHne, and there was q lib- eral response to her solicitations. But Miss Lyda was greatly handicapped l by confinement to business duties. being employed in the store of k. II. i Winfield X Co, and she could not de- vote great deal of time, nor as much as she would have liked to, to the con test. She went into the closing, how ever, with all her strength, and made q sweeping, and We might say, a sen sational finish. Such devotion of friends has seldom been seen before, here or elsewhere, and money and sub scriptions poured into the boxes at both If the banks until there was per haps, Sl5o accumulated there for her the last day Had ste had more Ieis- ure time at first to devote 10 it, she would no doubt have largely increased her vote and perhaps won the piano. RegFetting that she, too, could a1t be given a handsome piano, we c0ugrat- ulate her upon the prizes she did win especially the due bill which are very valuable to anyone desiring to purchase a piano because it Is exactly the same as 500 in cash in payment for another piano ja,t like the prize piano, than which there is no better instrument made for the money, that we know of.
 It is due Miss Webber to say that she practically withdrew from the contest after her classes here, in mu- sic, were dismissed, and she returned to her home in Memphis, as she was then not in position to give the con- test further of her time and attention. The number of subscriptions that she