The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-03-11
.IHt DISTRICT CONTEST
Snow Blockade Prevents Some Con-
testants Coming. All Receive
ed Gold Medals.

/ SWV" OsVONVVV ssVVVWSO SVsssO ~Si's
testants Coming. All sReCeiy-
ed Gold Medals.
The big snow and high wind last
Thursday night played havoc with
the r,ans for the sub-district High
School Declamatory Contest in Leon
Friday evening, as only. seven of the
thirteen contestants reached this
city. The badly drifted snow pre-
vented trains from running on many
of the branch lines, and on this
branch of the Burlington the early
morning train from Charlton did
not reach Leon until after one
O'clock in the afternoon, meeting
the early morning train from Mt. Ayr
at the Leon station. The noon trains
were both annulled and the evening
train from Des Moines did not arrive
until six O'Clock. Many of the con-
testants were from the extreme west
ern part OF the state, and the rail-
way officials reported to them that
there would be no trains run to Leon
Friday afternoon, so part of them
did not start. There was no trains
at all that day on the Cumberland
branch north from Creston, and this
cut out two schools, Greenfield and
Fontanelle The representatives
from Glenwood, Corning and Villisca
Eere also unable to reach Leon, SO
that instead of having thirteen con-
testants the field narrowed down to
seven.
On the first train from the north
Friday afternoon came the Garden
Grove contestant and delegation OF
twenty-five visitors. 1t had been ar
ranged to care for about three hun
dred visitors and when messages
were received that SO many could not
reach Leon it put somewhat of "A
damper on the enthusiasm of the
local people who had made elaborate
preparations to entertain the visi-
tors. When the belated Des MOines
train arrived at six o'clock in the
evening there was a pretty good dele
cation on it from Tabor, Bedford,
Alton, Malvern and Osceola, and the
High School pupils of the Leon school
were out in force to welcome them.
A big string of autos were at the de-
pot to bring the visitors up to the
city, and they were all taken to the
Teachers Association served a dandy
them all in the best of humor. The
storm made the country roads im-
passable, and although arrangements
had been made to hold an overflow
meeting in the M. e. church, this
was not made necessary, as all but
few people were able to secure
seats in the opera house, every seat,
being sold out 4..l
Prof. O. M. Gass, superintendent
of the Leon schools was at the head
of the local organization, and Prof.
F. P. Reed, of Osceola, was chosen
as chairman of the evening, and he
made the announcement that on ac-
count of the disappointment in five
contestants not being able to reach
Leon, it. only left seven contestants
for the six medals which had been
offered, and the committee had de-
cided that they would not allow any
OF the contestants to go home with
out gold medal and that an extra
medal would be awarded to the con-
testant who failed to win one of the
regular medals. There were three
classes, oratorical, dramatic and
humorous, and the winners of the
first and second places in each class
We're awarded gold medals and will
represent the Southern Iowa Sub
District at the Southwestern District
at Atlantic, March 26th.
The program opened with a selec-
tion by the Leon High School Or
chestra followed by the invocation
by Rev. B. Frank Jacobs, pastor OF
the Leon Presbyterian church, and
then the High School Girls Chorus
sang a couple of good selections.
The Leon High School pupils were
vigorously applauded when they gave
a hearty high school yell for each
school represented at the contest,
before the commencement of each, OF
the three classes.
The first class on the program was
the oratorical, there being three
contestants, all boys, the first being
John Eddy, of Osceola, his selection
being .'Corwin on the Mexican War,
and it was ably spoken. He has a
fine voice. was perfectly at ease, and
he won first place easily. Second
place in this class went to Richard
Mcdowell, of Garden Grove, his se-
lection being "The Unknown Speak
err" but it was a close decision be-
tween him and the third contestant,
Yandall Seaton, Of Malvern, his Sc
lection being Idols"
In the dramatic class there were
only two contestants, Miss Nina Oh
sen, of Leon, winning first place
with Bobby Shafto,' which she gave
in manner which would have been
hard to beat no matter how many
contestants appeared against her,
and Miss Mabel SWEET, of Tabor, was
awarded second place with Helen
Thamre," and she was also good and