Medina High School - Medinian Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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Hilgi'F2,i!1lfSl2iLl! EWU! 33' Q! T H E M I R R 0 R U! BH!! B UQEV US SV U! ,OM +s.,Qs..+s.,.4...f ..QX.,+ .. X. .Q .ks ,V .QKDQ .+k.-lw.. s. NVe can 110t help remarking on the excellent choice of topics in this first contest, and it. seems of striking significance that two topics in the boys' contest were two of t.he most vital and prominent topics of the day. The first was ' 'l iindbergh-Ambassador''g the second, 'tThe Aboli- tion of War. And the third oration was likewise a prominent subject to us, since it was entitled The Unknown Soldier, and was a work of the gifted and powerful hand of one of our foremost present-day authors, Bruce Harton. We noted. also, that among the works chosen by the girls appeared one of Fannie Albourne's delightful and human sketches. . 'lVe must not, however, forget the second prize speaking contest, for it is no less deserving of praise than the former contest. Those who entered the field of battle were Ruth Allman, Mary Kerr, Elaine Bene nett, Uarlton Walters, Robert lloyer, anl Gordon Howe. Gut of the melee Mary Kerr and Gordon t-lowe emerged trium,phant, their re' spective topics being The Gift of the Magi by that master short story writer, G. Henry, and The King of l3oyville by William Allen White. We are glad to see that so many students are interestel in public speaking, for it is a practice that will prove itself more and more val- uable as time goes on. The prizes ale of little consequence cou:pare'l with the improvement in poise and speaking ability. Speaking of prizes, we noticed that the prizes of the second contest were mentionel on the programs, but there wasino statement of awards on the programs of the first contest. Mic trust, however, that such an omission does not mean that the speakers did not gain some reward for their elforts, for a little visible reward certainly does make a ditference, as we our- selves can testify. Besides, it is as a handkerchief toxdiy the tears of a weeping purse. But, to get back to our subject, public speaking def velops vocal power and effectivcriess, and increases a person's coins mand of English. Most persons, in talking, don't open their lips widely enough, but mumble and mutter their words nnintelliegihly. The contest training helps to overcome this failing, and makes the speaker irore interesting to his listeners. 1 Before leaving our topic. we must 11ot forget to mention two other classes of people, namely, the contest directors upon whose skill and patience rests the success of the contest, and those who contributed music to give variety to the entertainments. The directors included, Miss Greta Ames, Mrs. Glga L. Hinckley, Miss Alice l. Loveland, Miss Mi. Genevieve Smith, and Mr. 'Davis S. Gollister. 'Among the musical entertainers were Ellen Ennis, vocal soloist, Regina McClellan, piano soloist, Parl Brooks, saxaphone soloist, and the girls of the Harmonic Glub, led by Miss Cooper, the music teacher of the High School. Every one of these entertainers gave excellent performances. XVe envy them their ability. -Ellis James. Page Twenty-nine

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T H E M I R R 0 R To Our Readers Q, F someone should tell a group of people that he had met dancing fairies, droll elves, sage philosophers, fastidious exquisites, and humble rural folk, and that he had been in castles, prisons, cot- tages, caves, forests, trains, boats, airships, and submarines all in one afternoon, you would imlnediately think that he was a candidate for a straight jacket and a lunatic asylum. On the other hand, if he should say that he had been to the library, no one would become amazed. But the person who goes to the new library, which was so kindly given to the people of Medina. by Mr. Lee and his daughter, Mrs. Mary Lee Whedon, visits through books all the places that were mentioned in the opening sentence and more. There are books that provide amusement, books yielding historical knowledge, books of travel, books on religion, books on the progress of science and invention, books of poetry, and books of prose. Today you have before you another book-one which will acquaint- you thoroughly with the life and work in Medina High School, our noble Alma Mater. Within its pages the reader will find the secrets of the students, their tragedies, their humorous incidents, and flights of imagination, dis- closed to him. The members of the staff have done their best. The rest remains for you. Is the book worthy of a place among the others of the world upon the shelves of our library? As in other years we have been assisted in our work by Miss Fergu- son, our English critic, Mr. Brown, Superintendent of Schools, and our advertisers. To them the staff extends its grateful appreciation. -The Editor. The Speaking Contests EDINA High School has held two -prize speaking contests this year, one on January 31, the other on February 19, both con- Q tests proved very successful. That, of course, is the conventional way of saying that the contests were worth all the effort put into them, and brought into the light some speakers of entliusiasm and promise. VVe shall speak briefly of the awards: in the first contest, Bertrand Mallison took first honers, followed by Bernard Hart, honorable men- tion, and John Munson, for the boys, and Gertrude Arnett took first prize, Mabel Ross, honorable mention, and Alice Bates, for the girls. fForgive us if we have violated a. sacred law of courtliness by men- tioning the boys first and the girls after them.j iVe shall not make this error again. At any rate, it is only fair to mention the boys first, they deserve more honor for their achievement, since with girls talking is a gift of nature in the beginning. R sr' pe' Page Twenty-eight

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T H E M 1 R R o R Q-O-+4-+ f-G+ . x. + , ce Eh-Q., , ..+'5s+,.+'5,+x Cut Assemblies EDINA High has had a number of interesting assemblies this year-assemblies of all kinds, for variety is the spice of life. These assemblies started in October during the football season. As we cannot attempt to take up every one of them separately, We shall merely give a general summary of them. The first ones, of course, were for the purpose of getting a good supply of pep with which to support our team. Milford Grinnell and Clyde Dillon,,cheer leaders from the Junior and Senior rooms respectively, supplied the pep , and did the job well, too. Assemblies are certainly Worthwhile, they put punch and snap into t-he school spirit. And another thing-we have a good song leader, Miss Smith, who has directed tl1e singing in all the assemblies. At a number of our assemblies we have had speakers, and they have been interesting talkers, too. ln fact, We have never before had so many and such interesting speakers-men with vigorous personalities, who have had something really worth while to tell us. It is a treat to listen to such men, for they give us many ideas to ponder over and benefit by. Among these men we must mention one who gave for us a reading of scenes from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth The display of memory and of flexibility of voice was amazing, and gave us a. better idea. of real repre- sentation on the stage than We had had previously. Perhaps the most important of our assemblies have been the ones conducted by students. These have been given every Vilednesday for some time in the past, and have covered a wide variety of entertain- ment and ability. Vlie call them most important, because they have shown student talent, whether in singing, instrumental music, public speaking, or fancy dancing. There have been violin, saxophone and vocal solosg recitations from the prize speaking contests, the delivery of original essaysg talks on high school subjects, high school training, and extra-curricular activities, and fancy dances and other perfor- mances that are very interesting and require considerable skill on the part of the performer. And-oh yes! Vile forgot to mention some cleverly executed piano solos. In fact, We have so many solos on our list that all we lack now is an airplane studentfs solo. Student conducted assemblies have for their purpose the bringing out of the hidden talent and ability students possess, which would other- wise remain hidden and, therefore, be Wasted. And, besides, the ap- pearance and performance before one's fellow students helps to over- come that aged, yet only recently christened, obstacle, the inferiority 'xr c v Page Thirty