Mount Ayr High School - Ayrian Yearbook (Mount Ayr, IA)

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JI' 1927 AYRIAN, 'C' li' DECLAMATORY CONTESTS Saturday, Feb. 12, 1927 PROGRAM ORATORICAL CLASS 'kMari0n White ---- ,,,-,,..--,---.-..-.... ' 'Battle of G9ttySbl11'g'! Joe Robinson --s ......................... ----..-w- ' 'BCH Hur DRAMATIC CLASS Fern Burnsides ....w. ................ . .-.--- --- The Death Disk Pauline McAninch .... M.-- -.-- ............. COHH01 ' Margaret McCandless .... ,...e.....,n - .- The Littlest Rebel , , ,L,Y,,,,-,.., ,, ................ 'tWh1te Hands Ruth Robinson ..... XAHHH White ....,.......,e...... Fear God and Take Your Own Part HUMOROUS CLASS Margaret Beard -U ....,.,,........... i'What William Henry Did Gladys Calhoun -.-nr ......... Auto Suggestion Bernadine Downie -H .11 ..,... -.- .--- H0bs0n's Funeral Thelma Lown ..,wL,, ,- -.-.....L,,.,... , ........... The Bath Hour 'tDarline Smithson ...........,L.,........... Dad Says S0, AI1yhOWH Stars mark the winners in these contests. Those marked above won all of the first places in the four school contest at Blockton. SUB-DISTRICT DECLAMATORY CONTEST Mount Ayr, March 11, 1927 8:00 P. M. PROGRAM Music ............ 1......-.......1..,,. . , .... ..,.. B rass Quartet ORATORICAL CLASS WEmmett's Vindication .......,............. ....... W ill Aiken Social Responsibilitiesj' Gough ,-..,. .,... .... F rances McKee Triumph of Peace, Chopin ..............1 ,... A rdyth Sutherlen Battle of Gettysburg, Mason ,..,,,--,...... ,.., M arion White DRAMATIC CLASS Cigarette's Ride and Death ..1.. ,, ...,...... ...1 D orothy Johnson The Little Mixer, Shearn .......-.....,1.... ..... M ary Walker Strongheart, Wm. C. de Mille ..........1..... ..... I la Warden t Fear God and Take Your Own Part, Brining ............ Anna White HUMOROUS CLASS DOtty Dippendalef' Anon. ...................,.. Lavaughn Archibald The Anti-Gossip Club, Palmer ....,.. .......... L ois Garver 't Sister in the Medicine Closet, Blatt .1................ Dorothy Kline Dad Says So, Anyhow, Anon. ....... .. ..,......,.. Darlien Smithson Critic Judge-Mercedes McGinnis Dildy, Des Moines. The three firsts from this contest will represent their respective high schools in the pre-district contest to be held March 25, 1927. High Schools represented in this program: Garden Grove, Kellerton, Lamoni, Leon, Mount Ayr, Tingley, Weldon. Anna White represented Mount Ayr at the Pre-District Contest at Afton, March 25, 1927. Although one of the judges gave her first place and the other two tied her for first, through some curious form of elimi- nation, she failed to place. Anna received more honor than any Mount Ayr contestant has ever received. Much credit is due her and Mrs. I. J. Dalbey, her coach.

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1927.AYRIAN' + 6 AYRGUERS Top Row-Mosier, Liggett, Supt. Hamersly, Mr. Leffingwell, Price, Buck, Campbell. Middle Row-Caldwell, Dinkel, Mr. Henderson, Williams, Kirkendall, Saltzman, Bastow. Lower Row-Lay, Lesan, Robinson, White, Mrs. Bliss, Lown, Hudson. Seated in Front-McCandless, Calhoun, Swank. DEBATE Resolved, that Congress should enact legislation embodying the prin- ciples of the Haugen Farm Relief bill, constitutionality waived, was the state debate question for 1926-'27, Two teams debated the bill for High School debate this year. The affirmative side of the question was debated by Ruth Robinson, Wilbur Lay, and Charles Bastow, the negative by Katherine Liggett, Charles Lesan and Marian Williams. The first debate with Leon was very successful for both teams won. The second, however, ended less happily as the negative team lost to Bedford and the affirmative team lost to Corning. March 9, a team composed of Marian Williams, Charles Lesan, Wilbur Lay and Charles Bastow went to Des Moines and debated in the Drake Tournament. There, they won from Van Meter in the first round but lost in the second to Humboldt. Remarkable work has been done in debate, and the coaches as well as the debaters are to be congratulated. -Naomi Price '27.

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-2- -:- 1927 AYRIAN -2- -Q- CAPTURED BY THE SHAWN EES That truth is stranger than fiction, and often more interesting is shown by the story that I am going to tell. This story relates the adventures of some of the settlers in Ab's Valley situated in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. The valley at the time of the story-about 1790-was a rich grazing and farming district, and abounded in wild game of every sort. The inhabitants of the valley were of Scotch-Irish decent. They were staunch Presbyterians who had immigrated from the north of Ireland to enjoy religious freedom. ' The people lived in constant fear of Indian attacks. This valley, it seemed, was attacked more often than any other set- tlement, probably because it was a favorite hunting ground of the savages. Then too, it was supposed to be one of their sacred burying grounds. Among the people who lived in this savage infested place was a man named Daniel Moffett. Mr. Moffett's family consisted of two sons, Robert and George, thir- teen and ten respectively, and his wife. A As there were no trees in the valley, it was Mr. Moffett's custom to go up into the hills to cut the winter's supply of wood. He would start very early in the morning and at noon his wife would send the boys with his lunch. They would always return together in the early afternoon in time to do the evening chores. One cold dry day when the ground was free from snow, Mr. Moffett went to cut wood as usual. He chopped until noon. then began to wonder why the boys did not come with his lunch. At first he, supposing that the boys had loitered along the way, thought nothing of the delay. He called to them several times, chopped a while long- er, then shouldered his ax -and started home. He felt sure that something had hap- pened to the boys or that their mother had heard of Indians in the vicinity and was afraid to send them. As he passed by an old sugar mill he saw his own dinner pail lying overturned among the deserted ruins, and, on investigation found signs of a struggle. He quickened his steps down the homeward trail. The minute he entered the cabin, his wife read disaster on his distracted face. 1 By the time Mr. Moffett had gathered a posse, the Indians and their captives were far away, and the search had to be abandoned. The shock was too great for the mo- ther and she soon died heart broken. Now let us turn to Robert and George. As they were passing the old sugar camp, a band of Shawnees suddenly sprang from the heaps of charred logs and broken hogs- heads, seized the boys and made off with them. When the lads came to their senses Robert began to break off twigs and to dislodge stones along the way. The Indians soon noticed this and one of the savages shook him and warned him to stop. Presently he began dragging his feet and the leader halted his band and proceeded to show Rob- ert how to raise his feet and set them down without disturbing the leaves or grass. He rapped Robert roughly on the head with the handle of his tom-a-hawk. When the party had marched all day, they camped for the night, and the boys were bound and placed among the savages for safe keeping. When the captors had dropped to sleep the boys made plans for escape and .agreed to flee at the first opportunity. The next day one of the warriors made Robert carry a heavy iron kettle that had been stolen from the settlement. Before long the kettle began to grow heavy .and Robert threw it down by the bank. Then the brave threw down his own pack and picked up the kettle and signaled for Robert to carry his pack. This was much worse, for the lad could hardly lift it. Upon George's suggestion, Robert filled the kettle full of leaves .and wore it for a hat. The next day it was raining 'and the same fellow tried to take Robert's hat away from him, but the white lad knew that the Indians were fond of pluck so he struck his tormentor a sharp blow. Then the copper one signaled that he wanted the kettle to keep the lock of his gun dry. Robert gave it to him with the understanding that he was to receive it back as soon as the disagreeable rain storm was over. Thus the days of marching wore into weeks, for the land of the Shawnee was far away. Each day grew more monotonous until finally food became so scarce that the party had not eaten for two days. Then an old bear whom the pangs of hunger had driven from his winter sleep stopped in the trail. Boom', went the old flint lock and the bear was kicking in his tracks. All rushed forth with shouts of joy for they knew that food was at hand, but when they reached the beast it was so poor that the savages refused to touch it. The party managed to keep alive for two days longer on tea made from the inner bark of the yellow poplar. Then one of the savages killed a fat buffalo and Robert and George were for having a fine steak, but the savages knowing that such heavy meat would kill one so near starved, took the intestines of the animal, washed them in the creek and made in Robert's iron kettle a soup. It was not until the next day that the savages would eat or allow the boys to eat any of the flesh. One morning some days later, the savages opened their packs, got out paints and smeared themselves from head to foot. This told the lads that they were near their journey's end and in their hearts, each wondered what his fate would be.