Evening star., 1926-04-13
VIRGINIA GIRL, Z,
0RATORY winner
Lenore Thomas of Clarendon
Sets Unusual Record for
National Contest.

in the Washington-Lee High School at
BallSt on, Va, the youngest participa mt
on record to win a school champion
ship in the National Oratorical Con-
test in any school in the entire coun-
try, was adjudged champion in the
school finals held in the school audi
torium Monday night. As the schools
premier orator, Miss Thomas will
represent her institution in the Vir.
ginia District finals which will be held
April 20 IN the auditorium of the
Alexandria High School.
The oratoriCal honor won by this
Youthful pupil comprises but an in
cident in the unusual school career
Of the little Clarendon girl. Not a
prodigy in any respect. Lenore has
advanced SO rapidly and steadily in
her school courses that she is a
regular pupil in the tenth grade. She
is said to be equally good in all lines
of classroom work.
The Washington.Lee final contest
was marked also by the staging of an
attractive entertainment program
which, combined with the unusual in
terest aroused among the pupils and
faculty of the school and in the COM
munities of Ballston and Clarendon,
attracted a large audience which dis
played the keenest interest in the
event. Vocal selections by Miss
Louise Gill and piano solos by Taylor
Jenkins were attractive features of
the program.
Two Named Alternates.
Alternate honors in the contest
were accorded Eleanor Beck and Eliz-
abeth Mason. Other speakers were
Charlotte Hagan, Harold Harbaugh,
Charles Hohein and Irene King. The
contest was presided over by ).
Foster, faculty committee chairman,
and the judges consisted Of Freder-
ick 2. Myers of the American Uni
versity Law School, Charles NJ. Joyce
of Washington and S. =. Nandersllce,
the school principal.
The nearest approach to the youth
full winner at this school in the mat
ter of age Is reported from California
in 1923 when Harry D. Smith, a
13-year-old pupil Of the bakersfield
High School, worked his way TO the
State finals, which were held in Los
Angeles.
st. Cecilia's Academy will be repre-
sented in the private and parochial
group of schools in the District of
Columbia which will compete In
the national contest by Mary Kane.
Miss Kane was awarded this honor
bv the faculty committee hav.
ing the contest in charge and will
carry the colors Of her school In the
final contest among institutions IN
this group in GonZaGa College audi.
torium on April %. The test VIII
take place on the day named, begin
ming at o'clock in the afternoon.
Winner Is Senior.
Second honors In the contest at St.
Cecilia's went to Lygia Winningder.
who was named as alternate. The
contest was open to pupils of the
i,,nior and senior classes, and was
under the supervision of faculty
headed by Sister Kathryn
Marie. The winner is member OF
the senior class.
The Brandywine High School. at
Brandywine. Md. will be represented
by Dudley G. Aist, who lives at
Cheltenham, Nd. The contestant
from this school has shown unusual
interest in the work OF the contest,
deyotins his entire time and energies
not inperatively demanded by his reg,
,Ilar school activities to the cause OF
the contest. He is now working hard
in improving his effort and his de-
livery and is hopeful of victory in
the Maryland district finals. which
vii, he held in the auditorium of the
High School April II. He
is IS years old and his subject Is
The Constitution"
With the public high school pupils
of the District having the entire
Easter week as a holiday period, the
progress of the contest In the pr1Va1e
and parochial schools and or the
MARYLAND and Virginia schools mas
been more marked Of late. With the
resumption of sessions of the public
high schools Monday, advancement in
this eroup Is likely to be rapid. The
finals in the Central High School will
be held next Friday, and other elimin-
alton tests will be held in various
District high schools before the END
of the week.
Judges for Semi.Final Meeting.
The Judges for the national semi
final meeting, to be held in Kansas
CITY on May IA, will be: John Ham.
mill. Governor of Iowa; Gilbert n.
Hitchcock, former United States Sen
ator from Nebraska; F. Dumont
Smith. chairman Of the citizenship
committee of the American Bar AS
sociation: Charles E. Matson. member
of the American Bar Association citi-
zenship committee; J. A. Van Osdol,
chairman Of the committee on consti-
tutional education of the Indiana Bar
Association.
The winner OF the meeting at Kan
sas City will compete in the national
finals at Washington June 4 as one
of the seven national finalists, and as
such will automatically secure as his
prize a trip abroad. All seven of the
national finalists will be taken on this
European trip without regard to their
relative ratings in the national finals.
\ German has combined a one