Wilma Heiden,
Raisinville Champion,
Wins Gold Medals in
Both Oral and Written Spelling Bees
- 1935 -

When School Commissioner Clyde O. Hatter introduced the officials in the spelling contest this morning, everyone in the high school auditorium knew that the bees were the only School Day events which could be held. There was disappointment over the cancellation of the athletic events, there was confusion and nervousness as county pupils and teachers crowded corridors, but when the bees started the audiences were treated to excellent performances.

For the third time in four years, a double winner was determined. Wilma Heiden of the Bridge School in Raisinville Township, who has won a medal each year the contest has been held, won both the gold medals today.

Wilma is 12 years old, has hazel eyes and honey colored hair, and is in the seventh grade. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. William Carl Heiden, whose farm reaches the River Raisin a mile north of the Bridge School. Her spelling ability has been marked, ever since she won her first school championship. She has responded ably to the tutelage which she has had from Harrison Dentel, her teacher.

When she first appeared on the platform in a county final, as a fourth grader, Wilma was one of the smallest contestants the bees have known. She is taller now; an attractive girl with a quiet manner.

In the oral bee, there were two ties to work off, one for sixth place and another for fourth and fifth places. In the written bee, there were no ties among the 15 contestants until but two spellers were left.

The competition between the two - Wilma and Fred McCarron of the Stone school in Bedford was so intense that to the officials and the teachers it had almost the atmosphere of an oral bee in which, turn after turn, difficult words are handled with skill.