The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1917-05-03
LEON WON Two FIRSTS
At the Quadran9ular DeCIamatory
Contest Held at Leon Friday.
Leon Also Won the Banner.

Inc lOuFln ain udl NluduI dASu Id
declamatory contest was held at the
Leon opera house on last Friday ev-
ening, when representatives from
the High Schools of Corning, Cres
ton, Osceola and Leon participated,
and Leon won a decided victory, get
ting two firstS out OF three, Forest
Hagan being awarded first place in
Woodard first in the humorous
class, and one of the judges gave
first place in the dramatic class to
Miss Merle Stephens, Icons repre-
sentative. A very much regretted
error was made in awarding The
banner to the school securing the
greatest number of points in the con-
test, the decision Of the judges
awarding the banner to Corning by
three points, giving them a total Of
500 points, Leon 79I, OSceOla I 10
and Creston 769. out of a possible
800. These figures were secured by
adding the total markings of each
contestant for the different schools,
but after the contest was over and
the banner had been turned over to|
Corning by Leon, an error was dis
covered which was made by one orr
the judges in totalng his markings
for Leon, and instead Of Leon hav-I
ing 1877 points. she had SU7, defeat
ing Corning for first place by 4
has been called to the error, and the
judge who made the error in addi-
ton, has acknowledged it, and the
banner will probably be returned tO|
Leon AS Leon had won the banner
twice before in succession. it would
become Icons permanent property
by virtue of winning it the third
time in succession.
The very stormy weather prevent
ed many from attending the contest,
but good delegations came from
each of the towns having contestant IS,
the ladies of the Civic League pro
viding entertainment in their homes
for all the visitors. Following the
program at the opera house, the Leon
High School entertained the visitors
at reception at the High School
assembly room.
The program opened with music
by the Girls Glee Club Orch estra of
the Leon schools, who surprised the
audience with their excellent music
under the direction OF Mss Mida
Bradley.
The first speaker in the oratorical
class was Melvin Goeldner of Cre,-
ton, his selection being The Battle
of Gettysburg" He was followed LH
+ crest Hagan, of Leon, with "A Plea
for Cuba,' and Forest justly earned
the first place awarded him by ;he
JuUSSS. llS 10 ohC VI tllC bSSl III >
School orators in the state, He was
followed by Floyd jones, Of Osceola,
with 'sThe Mexican War;" and the
final speaker was Carl Piper of
is highly polished, speake', and was
a close contestant for first place. the
Judges placing him second.
Miss Marjorie Mullinnix. of Leon,
pleased the big audience with a fine
vocal solo, Sing, Sing, Birds on the
Wing" and master John Woodman-
see surprised and delighted the audi
ence with his whistling bird imi ia
tions, and a whistling sc!o. John is
"a little fellow, but say. he. can
whistle some, and if he ontinue:s
will make a great whistler. His imi-
tation of various birds was excellent:
In the dramatic class the first
speaker was Miss Birdice Bolibaugh, |;
of Osceola, with The Honor of the
Woods The second speaker was
Mis- Glen Gray: :G Of c0rning' lin uaeies hef Sc,
and she displayed marked dramatic
talent, and the decision of the judges
in awarding her first place agreed !
with the big majority Of the audi.
ence. Miss Margaret Skinner, Oft
Creston. followed with The Story |
of Patsy" and Miss Merle Stephens,
of Leon, was the last speaker her
SolecllOI DCluS, " al Ia 'iIoo
Stephens appeared under great diff" |
ficulties, as she had been i'll for 4 |
week, and was hardly able to appear. |
Notwithstanding this fact she rank |
ed we'll, one of the lndges mark ing
her for first place. The final decs- |
ion gave Miss Bolibaugh, of Osceola,
The Girls Glee Club OF the High |
School, sang wild Roses. and had
to respond to a we'll earned encore.
In the humorous class the first
speaker was Miss Lois Drennen, OF
Osceola. with The Coming Out OF
Miss Cummings,, being followed
With With annt as ;,,s9ia Ae9ys af Es'ort; ror0,nSy BY
Lord Dundrearys PROPOSAL by
Miss Helen Redick of Cres,on,
and the last speaker was Icons
contestant, Miss Ardes Woodland,
with AN Inspired Dish washer in
which she scored a big hit, and it
was a foregone conclusion before the
judges reported that she would get
first place, and the judges confirmed
1ette of Corning
While the judges were counting
up their score cards, the High
School Chorus of boys and girls sang
:'The Anvil Chorus and the school
orchestra played several selections
he Judges vi lIc CoAlSSl WHY
Supt. H. E. Blackmar, of the Ottum-
wa schools. Supt. H. NJ. Taylor, of
the Centerville schools, and Prof d.
L Hadley of the State Superintend-
ent's Office at Des Moines.
When the judges read their decis-
ion, giving Leon first in oratory, and
Corning second, in dramatics Corn
ing first and Osceola second, and in
humorous Leon nrst and Corning
second everybody took il for grant
ed Leon had won the banner for the
third time, but the judges announc-
ed that Corning won by the narrow
margin OF 3 points:
prived Leon of first place was made
by one of the judges. no one going
over their figures until the follow
ing evening, when the mistake in ad-
dition was discovered. There is no
controversy over the marking, the
error being simply one of addition.
and precedent has been established