St Thomas Military Academy - Kaydet Yearbook (Mendota Heights, MN)

First row: liaths, Kliiniiii;, IN.d lasU.\ ' , l:.... Serond inw: Wcnlunrlh. CiKnh Kciki-r, Kill. DEBATE TEAM 1 9 3 4 A little ov;r a year ago. Lieutenant Robert Felker, Academy instructor, as- sembled in his room in Ireland Hall, a group of young men interested m the forma- tion of a forsenic society. L ' nfortunatelv this club never saw organization; but from the jumble of prospective members, an mterestcd few remained to carry on. Under the moderator ' s capable direction, a debate team to represent the school was whipped into shape. Sponsorship of intramural activities had been th? original purpose in view, but recognizing the prospective merits of his prodigies. Coach Felker decided to e.xtend the field of debate to competition with other schools. From an enterprising casual interest on the part of its members, th: team with little more than a year ' s experience, rose to be Northwest Catholic forsenic cham- pions of the National Forsenic League, and contestants in the national speech con- test held in Topeka, Kansas. The state winners are eligible for national forsenic league keys, d?gree of e.vcellence, as a result of their work. Th:s. ' m?n are Ward Fleming, Carl Podlasky, Otto Raths, and Clarence Rowe. Due to graduation of the four veteran.s, the nucleus of n?.xt year ' s team will be Richard Lill and Walter Wordworth, two underclassmen, who demonstrated their efficiency by competing in several debates throughout this last season. During the two seasons that the debate team enjoyed competition, the judges ballots registered few defeats for our men. Directness, organization, and power of attack characterized our team on the contest floor. 1105]