Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-12-19
A BEAUTIFUL
Entertainment
The Christ Child in Art, Story and
Song is Put on at the Orph-
cum by the Harmony
Club.
LOTS OF LITTLE FOLK ATTEND
In the Evening Good Crowd Greets
the Two Performances of the
Program.
LOTS OF LITTLE FOLK ATTEND

Shoppers in the downtown district
were startled yesterday afternoon
about 8 o'clock by a sudden sound
like the chirping Of hundreds of song
sparrows, while around the corner on
Des Moines street came hundreds OF
tiny tots from the lower grades, with
their teachers, to be the guests of
the Harmony club at the Orpheum at
"a program entitled, The Christ Child
in Art, Story and Song. The little
ones marched in orderly array into
the six hundred seats of the Orpheum
where their instructors kept them in
order during the hour and a half of
pictures and music.
In the evening a good crowd greet
ed the two performances of the pro-
lgram, paying the usual prices for
their seats. Mrs. w. A. Crandall,
president of the club, had charge OF
the pictures, while Mrs. v. c. Cros-
Hey presided at the piano as accom-
PIANIST for the special program of So
los and choruses. Mrs. o. J. Hen
lderson drilled all the choruses, which
were especially fine, and the regu-
lar membership of the club was as
SISTED ably by Mrs. R. l.. Cox and
the Misses Edith r. Lee and Meta
Mickleson, not club members.
Very little money, if any, will be
left over from the expenses of the
program for charity, although the
ladies are unable to state this dein.
|itely.
The musical portion Of the pro-
lgram deserves especial mention.
The choruses were particularly beau
tiful and accompanied by the sug-
gestive picture masterpieces in re-
production from famous paintings
made an aesthetic combination hav-
ing a lasting effect upon those who
saw the program. The solos by Mrs.
Macgoey, Mrs. Henderson and the
Misses Lee and Nicholson were very
beautiful. One of the loveliest COM
binations of picture and song was
the picture accompanying the sing
ing of the chorale, eve Three Kings
of Orient Are" The effect was one
not soon to be forgotten for the col
oring of the magnificent picture
the three wise men upon their cam
els with the wondrous trappings of
the east; the dark blue Egyptian sky
Ioverhead studded with stars and the
harmony of the voices uplifted in the
grand old Christmas carol, created
an impression that will not be for
gotten especially by the little ones.
Mrs. d. c. Chase Jr. was the read
er for the afternoon and evening and
gave the story of the Christ Child
with her usual sweet expressive
voice and manner. The accompany
ing pictures were of unusual beauty
and very we'll chosen. The seeming
ly long waits between pictures were
imperative ON account of the danger
of breakage of slides by heat in the
machine. These pictures were glass
and very fragile. The soft c%olorings.
especially in the Madonna pictures,
were exquisite and many of the chill
dren were already familiar with the
su bjects from school room and home
instruction along these lines. One lit
tie incident Of the afternoon is wor-
thy of mention: When the chorus
'of ladies began singing, "Silent
Night, Holy Night" and the accom-
panying picture was flashed upon the
curtain, dozens of the little ones be.
gan singing the hymn unconsciously
until the auditorium seemed filled
with an echo chorus-intentionally
planned.
The efforts of the Harmony club
to entertain the little folk with an
appropriate Christmas program are
heartily appreciated by teachers and
parents of the city, many of whom
enjoyed the program at the Orpheum
in the evening.