The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-05-25
Students of
Illiteracy Schools
Enjoy Two-Day Contest and
Outing in Columbia


heavy with rain made friday, May
18th disnally gloomy. Out neither
;he weather. the daE, nor the date in
te.fered with the number and the
snilit of the adult students who came
to Columbia expressly for the pu
pose Of entering the contest planned
Tor their benetit by the state depart
nlent OF education assisted by the II
literacy Commission a,:& the exte4-
| sion department of the University
south Carolina. This is ne first con-
petitive contest ever h,.'' for adric
students in the state OF South ca D
lima and further the very first NJ
that the adult students Of the -
have met together in a body.
The pupils had been making pl ep
arations for this eventful day 20
some time A large mber Of Il
pupils paid their own railroad fare -
Columbia And this meant self
denial, an hour or two more added to
the days labor but with a real goal
ahead, longer hours spent in the mill
did not count for anything. In some
instances. the mill paid the transpor-
tation of the pupils, Showing clearly
their desire 10 cooperate in this work.
Every pupil n the class was not Civ
en- the opportunity to list his name as
one of the contestants but this honor
was given to the pupil that had done
the best all round work, thus demon
istratins. his desire to become bet
ter citizen. SO popular was the con-
test that next year the decision as TO
who viii! come will be made on even
a keener competition.
To arrive in Columbia at the ap-
pointed time the majority Of the pu-
pills had to arise Ions before day
break. however this seemingly small
inconvenience did not fake away from
their enthusiasm. Their spirits were
in no way dampened although in
reality their outer garments were
soaking vet.
There were seventy pupils present
chaperoned by seven teachers repre-
senting eleven counties. The ages Of
the pupils ranged from fifteen to
tifty-eight forty of the number were
over thirty years of age.
The students We're first entertained
by the University OF South Carolina
at a luncheon. From three to five
:. o'clock, the contests were held in
arithmetic spelling, reading, and
: writing and although the competition
could not have been keener there was
a spirit of good fellowship beneath
il all In Arithmetic II the decision
as TO the rightful winner lay between
grandfather over fifty years and a
small boy barely fifteen and although
in this case the grandfather won the
prize. this same boy won prize in
another contest where he competed
, against men twice his age.
The Chamber Of Commerce was the
host ct most delightful banquet
: ,hai night. Reports from each school
. were given One man from Spartan
burg stated that he had driven one
hundred seventy-one miles to give the
= report from his schoo! a number OF
speeches wereS heard $rom the adult
! students who:@tressed What the adult
: school had meant to them, expressing
. their appreciation OF what had been
done for them, and stating their de-
termination to enlist the interest Of
every individual who had been de-
i, MED the chance Of al education in
!, childhood One eX-soldier spoke
. quite feelingly of the privilege that
had been deprived hin while in the
;. trenches because OF his inability to
read and write. He ionged for let
ters from home but what was the
use when he received any he could
not read them but had to wait un-
til one of his companions had the
ktime TO read his own letters to him.
: Further, he could not answer them
; himself. This soldier determined
then and there if he returned and if
an adult school was organized in
his community that his name would
!. be the first name listed on the school
roll This same pupil won the Sec
ond place in one of the contests.
Saturday morning az points of in
terest were visited in Columbia. The
Civic League We're responsible for this
great pleasure. The greater number
of the pupils had never been to Co
lumbia before and this trip over the
city was Il wonderful event III their
lives.
The last pleasure bic event was
luncheon givenby the State Y. NJ. c.
A. At the luncheon the prizes We're
awarded. q beautiful book. contribut-
ed by the book stores OF Columbia. to
the winner of each contest. Two gold
medals were given, one to Mr.. ". H.
Ayers of Rock Hill. S. c., for making
.he highest score in the beginners
contest. the other to Mr. +. w. Wad-
dill OF Greenwood, s. =. for making
the highest score in the advanced
contest.
These two days will always be me-
norable days in the lives of the adult
students and they are deeply grateful
to the state department OF education
and the illiteracy commission for Civ
ing them this rare opportunity.
Paris. May 20.-Prenhier BRAND is