MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA SCHOOL NEWS

Transcribed, by Beverly Witmer on September 20, 2019

Page 18

SPEECH ACTVITY

        The juniors presented their play, “Lady Spitfire”, November 7, 1943, to a large and appreciative audience.

        The cast included Marilyn Wolf as Kay Sutton, Marie McBroom as Cynthia Dale, Rodney Hadley as Tom Brown, and Donald Passmore as Bud Jones. Also Dick Miller as Jed Buell, Shirley Miller as Miss Prudence, Calvin Schmidt as Mr. Sutton, and Raymond Oepping as Henri Du Frayne. Delores Herscher as Flobelle Benthon, and Erma Sterner completed the cast. Stephen Hobbs and Edwin White were the business and stage managers.

        When Tom Brown and Bud Jones, two college boys, learned that Miss Prudence must close her school because an influential sub-deb, Kay Sutton, had changed her mind about entering, they act to save the school. They meet an attractive girl and ask her to pose as Kay Sutton. The prank appeals to the girl who happens to be the real Kay Sutton. She enters into school affairs with gusto and Miss Prudence’s troubles seem to be over. But the boys are worried. Kay acts as if she really were the heiress. She even signs Kay Sutton’s name to checks! The fireworks get going when Mr. Sutton hears that an imposter is posing as his daughter. He is mad, and when he arrives and finds his daughter up to her usual pranks, he’s even more angry. Tom urges Kay to admit who she really is and forget this nonsense of impersonating as heiress. But Kay insists she is really Kay Sutton. All complications clear up in the end, with Du Frayne exposed as a fraud and the four happy young people—Kay and Tom, Bud and Cynthia—driving off in Tom’s “Tin Lizzie”

Page 19

II

        On April 21, the senior class play was given in the A. H. S. auditorium. “Shiny Nose” was a radiant comedy which delighted the large audience who saw the seniors in their last dramatic performance for A. H. S.

        As the play opens, Janey (Geneva Foster) is primping for a most important date. But her parents (Genevieve McKillip and Robert Ervin) have decided she’s too young to “go steady” and that this must be her last date with George Anderson (John Ellsworth). Janey drags her younger sister Zip (Marilyn Wolf), the family nuisance, away from her swing records, to help her plan a last impression on George who is entering the air corps.

        Meanwhile her older sister Helen (Twila Van Horn) tricks George into going to the dance with her. Janey gets Helen’s ex-boyfriend, Allen Rogers (Ray Sterner), to make George jealous. This backfires with a terrific bang, and with everything going wrong, Janey decides to leave home. Then, when she asks her father if he doesn’t want to “reason” with her, he just says “well, goodbye”, she’s in a worse fix.

        A final happy twist makes all troubles vanish with Janey and George together again.

        Other characters are Coach Brown (Dean Sterner), Madge Grant (Laurine Burns), and Peggy (Joyce Garvin).

        The seniors wish to thank all who have made this Great Production possible!! The time and efforts spent on this play have been sincerely appreciated.

Page 20

III

        Members of the speech class presented two plays for the Community Club on March 23. They were both humorous and the audience appreciated them fully.

Cook’s Night Out

        Two mothers-in-law (Shirley Miller and Genevieve McKillip) are visiting in the home of their daughter (Twila Van Horn) and son (Donald Passmore). At first the fond parents are jealous of each other, but when the young married couple quarrels, too, the mothers scheme to make everything calm again. This is accomplished cleverly and the play ends with an affectionate couple and two peaceful mothers.

Seeing Double

        The curtain first opened as an angry play director (John Ellsworth) was told by his cast (Marilyn Wolf, Geneva Foster, Rodney Hadley, Robert Ervin) that they refused to act that night because he hadn’t given them suitable parts in the play which was to be presented in a few minutes. The director then calls a second class (Erma Sterner, Dolores Herscher, Ray Sterner, Ed White) who have been secretly coached to act in the play. The first cast then insists on acting and, after a heated argument, the curtain parts on a play in which each character has two actors.

        Mrs. Merridith, our coach for all of the plays and choral reading, has done fine work and the speech class wishes to express their appreciation.

Page 21

Junior-Senior Banquet

        The seniors and faculty were guests at the annual banquet sponsored by the junior class and held in the gymnasium on Friday evening, April 28.

        After dinner, the toastmistress, Shirley Miller, welcomed the guests with a talk titled “Peace Pipe”. The response, “Ceremonial Fires”, was given by Robert Ervin. Other speakers on the program were Geneva Foster (“Smoke Signals”), Donald Passmore (“Council Fires”), Twila Van Horn (“Happy Hunting Grounds”), and Superintendent Hartung (“The Great Spirit”). The themes of the speeches were built around the title of the school teams, “The Indians”, and the senior class motto. Following the speeches was THE PROM! Held for the first time in the school’s history! The undergraduates and special guests, as well as the formally dressed seniors and juniors, danced to the music of “Harry Jones’ Happy Hicks”.

Baccalaureate

        The Baccalaureate service was held on Sunday evening, May 7, in the A. H. S. gymnasium. Reverend Schempp was the speaker. The girls’ glee club presented some musical numbers.

Commencement

        The annual exercises for Atalissa’s graduating class was held Thursday evening, May 11, in the gymnasium. The speaker, Dr. Samuel George of Rock Island, Illinois, will spoke on the subject, “Do You Have What It Takes Today?”. The glee club again sang.

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        Atalissa Public Schools contributed $27.22 to the Infantile Paralysis Fund, $10.11 to the Junior Red Cross, and the sale of Christmas Seals amounted to $30. The sale of war stamps and bonds for the junior and senior high school has totaled $760.65 to date. By April 1, the total for the entire school will have passed the $1000 mark!

        An unusual number of improvements have been made this year in the Atalissa Public School. A list of the most important ones follows: 1. Fan-shaped steel basketball backboards; 2. New doors on the gym; 3. Blackboards added to the English, typing, and science rooms; 4. Athletic room arranged more conveniently; 5. New trunk for transporting athletic equipment; 6. New bulletin boards and a new table in the primary room; 7. New drinking fountain on the first floor; 8. New duplicating machine purchased; 9. Large number of books added to the library; 10. Reference table and new pictures added to study hall; 11. Pump house insulated to prevent freezing in the winter; 12. New table for science room and room 301; 13. Book case, bulletin board, and trophy case in study hall; 14. Two large maps in room 301 and 201.