Byron Area High School - By Hi Yearbook (Byron, IL)

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Route 72 Speech Tournament The Byron speakers were on a rampage Saturday afternoon, February 5. After thousands of words had been spoken and weighed, Byron was declared champions of the conference for the third successive year. Twelve speakers from Byron walked away with five first places, two second places, and two third places, to amass 33 points. Closest rival was Stillman Valley with 11. Winnebago scored 4 points; Ashton and Pecatonica scored 3 apiece; Monroe Center failed to place. Placing by the Byron speakers was as follows: Verse Reading: Ramona Nelson, first; Gwen Stebner, third. Comedy Reading: Jerry Piper first. Serious Reading: Marion Fransen, first. Ora- tion: Wilma Dillow, second; Pat Kanode, third. Original Oration: Gene Heidenreich, first; Marguerite Johnston, second. Extempore Speaking: Chuck McNames, first. In the one-act play contest held in the evening of February 5, Byron was again successful. “He Came Seeing,” a religious drama set in the time of Christ, was adjudged superior to plays presented by Monroe Center and Stillman Valley. Frannie Noyes, Elwood Himes. Chuck McNames, Pat Rapp, and Marion Fransen were the lead- ing characters in the play and each did a fine job. They were supported by Jerry Weaver, Leary Kennedy, Marguerite Johnston, and Cecil Dillow who had non speaking roles. District Speech Meet Byron made a most impressive showing at the District Speech Meet. There were six individual events and the dramatics contest. Byron was the only school of the eight represented who qualified for the Sectional in all seven events. East Rockford and West Rockford were only able to qualify in five. In addition, Chuck McNames and Ramona Nelson gained the honor of winning first place in their events. Placing at the meet was as follows: Verse Reading: Ramona Nelson, first (also first in Class B). Comedy Reading: Jerry Piper, third (second in Class B). Serious Reading: Marian Fransen, third (first in Class B). Oration: Wilma Dillow, second (first in Class B). Original Oration: Gene Heidenreich. third (first in Class B). Extempore Speaking: Chuck McNames. first (also first in Class B). Dramatics Contest: Byron’s “He Came Seeing,” second (first in Class B). Sectional Speech Meet Winning ways were continued in the Sectional Meet held at East Rockford High School. The outstanding performance was by Chuck McNames who qualified for the State Meet in Extempore Speaking. Barely missing a trip to the state were Ramona Nelson and Wilma Dillow who placed third in their events. The first two places only were advanced. There were twelve entries in each event and placing was as follows: Verse Reading: Ramona Nelson, third (first in Class B). Comedy Reading: Jerry Piper, seventh. Serious Reading: Marion FTansen, sixth (first in Class B). Oration: Wilma Dillow, third (first in Class B). Original Oration: Gene Heidenreich, seventh (second in Class B). Extempore Speaking: Chuck McNames, second rfirst in Class B). Dramatics: Byron’s He Came Seeing,” fourth (first in Class B). Due to the illness of Elwood Himes, Jerry Piper played a role in “He Came Seeing’’ in the Sectional. State Speech Meet In the last meet of the year, Chuck McNames, sole Byron entry, brought honor to himself and the school bv placing fifth in the state in Extempore Speaking. The field of twelve was nar- rowed down Friday, April 1 when Chuck and five other speakers were advanced to the finals. On the following day in the championship round Chuck was awarded fifth place, a point, and a beautiful medal. TWENTY-FOUR

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Senior Class Play One of the major achievements of the Senior Class was its successful presentation of the dramatized version of the radio program, “Those Websters.” On November 12th and 13th this adaptation was presented to capacity houses and was proclaimed by the audience as an outstanding high school play. Much of the success of the play was due to the flawless performances of Frannie Noyes, who played the lead role of Bill Webster, Joan Morrison, Eleanor Hagerty, and Chuck McNames. Eleanor and Chuck played adult roles, while Frannie and Joan acted out the part of their teen age children. The play itself was built around a case of ineligibility. Bill Webster failed a his- tory exam and therefore was ineligible for the great homecoming game. Of course, as in all good farces, he made up the test on the eve of the game, but only after many laughable situations. No production can be successful unless the minor roles are well played. “Those Websters” was fortunate in this respect. Each of the people in the cast played his part in a manner seldom seen on a high school stage. Special mention must be made of the character parts so well handled. Mr. Watt, the thrice married handyman, played by Vernie Daters, was a riot. Dave Hamer fell into the part of the squeaky voiced Jeep with ease, and Evelyn Cain was a true siren of the South in her role of Shirley Mae. Mr. Sunderman, senior advisor, was in charge of the production and had as his stu- dent assistant, Joyce Hayes. Costumes, stage properties, publicity, tickets and all of the hundred little jobs that go to make an evening’s entertainment run smoothly were taken care of by members of the Senior Class who were not in the play. The Complete Cast: Bill Webster ..... Liz Webster.... Mr. Webster ... Mrs. Webster ... Jeep Stanley .. Belinda Boyd .... Mr. Watt ...... Delores Mason . Kitty ......... Emil Stuler ... Shirley Mae ... The Coach ..... ... Frannie Noyes .... Joan Morrison Chuck McNames Eleanor Hagerty Dave Hamer .... Nylia Bontjes .... Vernie Daters Helen Fleming Pat Kanode .... Jerry Piper .. Evelyn Cain Franny Hogan Although the play was presented but two nights it will long be remembered by those who worked so hard to make it a success.. TWENTY-THREE

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Athletics