Bio: Schade, Lester (1931)

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Surnames: SCHADE THIEDE WEGE HOOVER COPELAND

----Sources: COLBY PHONOGRAPH (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 23 Jul 1931

Schade, Lester (1931)

Lester Schade, 14-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Schade, farmers living in the town of Holton, east of Dorchester, has arrived home from Washington, D.C., where he represented Marathon county in the first national test and demonstration of the educational value of sound pictures, and won the distinction of being classed as one of the smartest boys in the country.

Tests were held in George Washington university, and were conducted by a film corporation and the United States commissioner of education.

Scoring first in one test and second in the finals placed Lester and three others as winners, and each was awarded a white gold watch.

Lester graduated this spring from the eighth grade at the Bruckerville school, and his teacher the past year, was Gilbert Copeland. He is also a member of the Bruckerville 4-H club.

Accompanying Lester to Washington were A. R. Thiede, Wausau, the county superintendent of schools, and Mete Wege of Norrie, winner of the girl’s contest in Marathon county.

While in Washington the contestants visited Arlington National cemetery, the naval academy, and the capitol, and had their pictures taken with President Hoover on the White House lawn. They also enjoyed a brief cruise on a destroyer.