Hide Article Text (OCR)
Harold Wright Delivers Eloquent Address on Educationat Opera House.Grammar School Baccalaureate Service Occasion of Admirable Entertainment—Impromptu Musical Reeltal By Visiting Singer and Accompanists Follows Regular Program.filled again aoon aft or the first notes of her wonderful voice were hoard. Miss Oowan in a nuiHlcal artist of high ordor and her voice has a quality that Is rare among the boat singers. The Impromptu recital was a* delightful as It wan unexpected.The eighth grade clans of the 151Centro grammar school may well he proud that It was the means of giving to the people of the city the opportunity to hear Harold Hell Wright and a singer of Miss Gowan’s quality in the same evening. The members of the class- were: Joe Conkllng,George Forrester. Clifford Hand. Carl Miller, Harry Newton. Edwin Pearson, Frank 8tockton, Rollie Clark. Robert Homan, Reginald Northcott, Nettie Huttram, Essie Fowlkes, Wanda Greer, Anna Gilbert, Mildred Hand, Callie Hell, Jessie Jones. Rose Julian, Marie McClure, IJllle Jones, Eleanor Egge.Baccalaureate service is au innovation in grammar school pedagogics to be credited to El Centro. The eighth grade of the El Centro grammar school held services of that aaturo at Holt Opera House last Sunday night, and the occasion proved to .be an excuse for one of the most enjoyable entertainments ever offered to the public in the county seat.Prof. Ragan had the good luck to persuade Harold Bell Wright to deliver an address, and announcement of that feature of the program caused the Opera Hou^e seats to be filled. Mr. Wright has been a resident in the valley for about two years, but he has declined all invitations to speak, in public and devoted himself wholly to the literary work that he prefers to other inodes of expression and that has brought him no small measure of fame—not to speak of substantial rewards.The author of the Ozark trilogy — That Printer of Udell’s, “The Shepherd of the Hills and The Calling of Dan Matthews—was one of the famous pulpit orators of the Middle West not so very long ago, but he did not find church work, as carried on in these days, what he thinks it should be, and he no longer answers to the title of Reverend. Ilis ‘‘call” is to the pen and the brush, and through forms of art he is trying to express the truth as he sees and feelsMr. Wright’s first public address in El Centro justified the reputation accorded to him in his pulpit days, when he bewildered, not to say scandalized, conventional church people by preaching Christianity instead of creed and dealing with life and humanity in place of dogma.Mr. Wright spoke without notes, diffidently at first, but as he got into the swing of his subject and forgot himself, the eloquence of sincerity possessed him and held his audience in rapt attention. He talked of education and what it means, and none of his audience ever heard the subject dealt with in the same spirit and so simply and clearly before. Wright’s eloquence is not that of the elocutionist, from the lips outward, and his effects are not premeditated. The impression he makes is that of one giving utterance to his inmost thoughts and convictions regardless of effect and almost oblivious to the presence of an audience.At the conclusion of the address, Prof. Ragan, thanking Mr. Wright, declared that he had derived from his words a broader conception of the work of a teacher and could go on with renewed enthusiasm and confidence.The full program of exercises was as follows:Hymn, “Come Thou Almighty King, invocation, Rev. Fraser; Solo, Mrs. Black; Scripture Lesson, Rev. Burnham; Male Quartette, Messrs. Morton, Bell, Clark, and Waile; Baccalaureate Address, Harold Bell Wright; Ladies Quartette, Misses Carr, Davis, Whitescarver, and Williams; Hymn, America; Benediction, Rev. Tout.At Prof. Raguu’s request, the audience joined in singing the hymns. From a box on I he* right a rich, powerful, perfectly trained contralto voice dominated and took the lead, and most of the audience forgot to sing in listening to the splendid voice. The singer was Miss May Gowan, o? Redlands, who was one of a hou^o party i his week at Tecolote, Mr. WrlglP’s ranch home at Meloland.After the services, Miss Gowan was persuaded by the music-lovers who lingered in the hall to give au impromptu musical recital, and Miss Helena Long, sister of Mrs. Wright and organist of a Chicago church and Miss Chloe Holt assisted as accompanists. Miss Gowun sang the “Blave Hong,” “The Prodigal,” “Loch LuH-oud,” “My Alu Folk and other selections, and the auditorium was uearlv!SMUGGLER TURNED LOOSEI 5Customs Inspector Refuses to Assist in Suppression of Bootleg LiquorT raffic.IIIICity Marshal Bradford has been watching a bootlegger, one Forbes, for several weeks, and last o'unday *ie caught the fellow smuggling whiskey over the border from Mexicali.Bradford reported the matter to the customs officers and asked their assistance in suppressing the saloon-on-the-hoof that nad been bothering him so long. An inspector went to the train, seached Forbes and found two bottles of liquor, but he paid no intent ion to Bradford’s demand that the fellow be placed under arrest. The inspector confiscated the whiskey, told of the awful things he would do to Forbes if he should catch him again, and turned the bootlegger loose.The inefficiency of the customs service at Calexico is asserted by peace officers of the valley cities to be responsible for failure to suppress the petty retail liquor traffic that accounts for the prevalence of drunks on the streets. They say smuggling whiskey in bottles is the easiest trick imaginable. A receipt for duty paid on one bottle is made to serve for as many bottles as a man can pack across the line one at a time.IiI«iI iiII !I,FARMERS GET TOGETHERIPlan of Organization to be Presented at Next Meeting in El CentroI 51A meeting of farmers of the valley was called for Wednesday afternoon at the school house in El Centro for the purpose of organizing au exchange or cooperative association. So many farmers were busy plant ing cotton and harvesting hay crops that the attendance was not large. Mr. I. Mayfield, of El Centro, presided, and W. F. Dil-lett, of Holtville, acted as secretary.The benefits to be derived by the farmer from an organization that gathers and distributes information of crop and market conditions were discussed, and all present were in favor of systematic work along that line. No final action in the direction of organization was taken, but a committee, consisting of Messrs. Mayfield, Sprouse and Dillett, was appointed to correspond with associations of citrus growers, formulate a plan of organization and articles of incorporation, and report at a meeting to be held in El Centro on Satur day. May 29.!«!! it lt;IPROGRESS ON POWER PLANTWilliam Uehr, of the Allis Chalmers Co.. has arrived In 151 Centro from Milwaukee to take charge of the erection of the machinery at the Holton Power Co’s, plant iu Holtville. Mr. Behr will have full charge of the work until the plant Is put in operation. which will probably be in 20 or 40 days.IMISSIONS 8ECRETARY PREACHESIRev. George C. Butterfield, secro- . tary of the Southern California Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, preached In the El Centro Presbyterian Church last Sunduy morning.EAGLE HALL IMPROVEMENTSIDr. J. C. Ulackiuton is constructing a 25x50 foot extension to the upper tioor of the lilackiutou block. Thiswill be used by the Eagles lodge fortyth rooms and a recreation hall
Newspaper Details
Imperial Valley Press
El Centro, California, US
Sat, May 15, 1909
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 09 Jul 2020
Other Publications Near El Centro, California
Imperial Valley Press
