1955 TALENT SHOW

I’ve been doing some sorting of photographs in my archives recently. This week I’d like to feature two photographs that I know were never published. There used to be an annual talent show held in Albion during the 1950s which was sponsored by the Albion Malleable Iron Company, and co-sponsored by the Albion Recreation Department. The Malleable used to publish a monthly company magazine, called the Circle-A-Tor. This publication contained numerous photographs of company workers and their family members. My collection is mostly complete, but I still need issues from the years 1946 and 1947.

The stack of original 4 x 5” black & white negatives from the Circle-A-Tor includes photographs that were never used. From our Historical Notebook this week we present two such unpublished photographs from the Talent Show held on May 10, 1955 at the Washington Gardner High School auditorium.

Our first photo shows the Junior Division winners. The first two girls, Ruth Trice and Lula Mae Hayes, took second place. The next two girls, Edith Woods and Elaine Howard, took first place.

Our second photo features Albion Recreation Director Arnold Spaan on the far left, and Albion city-school recreation committee chairman Earl Cartwright on the far right. Mr. Cartwright is presenting a check to the senior division first place winners Robert and Lillie Wall, who successfully sang a vocal duo for the event. Special thanks to Bob Wall for his identifications in this week’s article.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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