Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. are drawn and taken to the enameling rooms. Here they are known as biscuit bricks. Here they are enamelled, the superfluous material cleaned from the edges, and are then set in the finishing kilns. They are here burned up to a temperature of 2,400 degrees F., cooled off and then drawn and sorted into firsts, seconds and builders. The principal shades made are white, cream and granite. Besides these are made blues, greens, browns and yellows, as well as various shades of mottled brick. The plant is now running at its full capacity, and has proven of great benefit to the town of Momence. County Oratorical Contest. The Seventh Annual County Oratorical Contest was held at the Kankakee High School Assembly Hall, Saturday evening, May 4, 1907. The crowd gath¬ ered before eight o’clock, and while waiting for the contest to begin, the dif¬ ferent schools represented, gave their yells, especially the Momence boys, who felt very jubilant over the ball game which they had won in the afternoon. The first number on the program was a soprano solo, followed by invocation by Rev. J. C. Hazen, and a selection by the St. Anne High School Girls’ Glee Club. Then came the orations, in which three schools, Kankakee, Momence and St. Anne, took part. The first prize, a gold medal, was awarded to James Ryan of Momence. His subject was entitled “William Ewart Gladstone,” and it was delivered in a manner that showed his ability as an orator. The second prize was awarded to Miss Eleazabeth Wetmore of Kankakee. After a bass solo by Mr. G. A. Newton, the declamatory contest began. Each of the declaimers spoke well, and held the close attention of the audience. The first prize was given to Miss Lucia Kranz of Kankakee, who gave a selec¬ tion entitled “Zingerilla, the Gypsy Flower Girl.” The second prize was award¬ ed to Miss Frances Poutra of St. Anne. This is the third time that Momence has been victorious in winning in ora¬ tory, and we have good material for coming contests. It has been decided that the school winning the greater number of times out of ten shall come into pos¬ session of the county oratorical cup, and it is hoped that the Momence High School will be the victor.

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. A Short History of the Tiffany Enamelled Brick Co. By I. E. Hardy. The Tiffany Enamelled Brick Co. was first incorporated in 1884, and was then known as the Tiffany Pressed Brick Co. There was at that time what was called a slop brick yard on the ground now occupied by the present plant. The brick were moulded by hand and then dried in the open air, and burned in up-draft kilns. The clay was found to be well suited to the manufacture of a high grade pressed brick and the land was bought by some Chicago capitalists, machinery installed, and the manufacture of brick on a larger scale was com¬ menced. Mr. Alsip was the first Superintendent, and was succeeded in 1888 by Mr. S. J. Plant. From this time the plant was constantly enlarged and the output increased to meet the demand for their product. From plain red brick, the firm began to make different shades, such as brown, buff, pink and mottled, as well as a large assortment of ornamental shapes. To do this, different kinds of clay had to be found. A clay burning to a pink shade was found at Grant Park, and a fine buff burning clay at Clay City, Ind. The brown brick were made by the addition ol manganese to the red clay, while the mottled brick were made by the mixing of the red and buff together. The product was con¬ sidered to be among the best in the country, and soon found a ready market, thus keeping the plant running to its fullest capacity. In 1893 there had grown up such a demand for enamelled brick in this coun¬ try that the company determined to try to manufacture this class of goods as well as the pressed brick. Mr. Isaac Hardy, a practical man who had been manufacturing enamelled brick in England for some years, and who had just arrived in this country, was appointed Superintendent, and at once commenced his experiments. There are a good many ways to make this grade of brick, each one a little better suited to certain conditions than others. They are gen¬ erally divided under two heads, the one burn process and the two burn. After carefully studying the situation it was found that the best method would be the two burn. The reason for this lay in the fact that the machinery was all of the dry pressed type, and a dry pressed brick cannot be dipped in anything wet with¬ out cracking the face. Difficulties were, of course, encountered but were stead¬ ily overcome, and by October the company were turning out ware that was considered by the Chicago architects good enough, Up to this time all the enamelled brick used in Chicago were imported from Europe, but not an im¬ ported brick has entered the city from that time. The quality of the brick grew steadily b etter until at the present time it is considered as the standard. The clay used is a mixture of the Clay City and a fire clay from Montezuma, Ind. The brick are pressed and then taken to a drier and dried. From here they are taken to what are called the biscuit kilns and burned. After cooling they

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JAMES RYAN, Cup Winner ORATORICAL CUP