MCHS’ 106th Annual Custer Contest Postponed until Sunday

Update: The MCHS Custer Competition has been postponed until 6:30 P.M. Sunday, April 9th.

Madison Consolidated High School’s 106th annual Custer Contest will be held Wednesday, April 5th at the Connor K. Salm Auditorium. This year’s contestants are: Emma Staicer, Aleah Cutshall, Samantha Lanham, Claire Lostutter, and Amber Powers. The contest is open to the public and will start at 6:30 p.m.

In 1911, Mr. A.S. Custer worked as an educator in southern Indiana. As an optimist, he believed that the world would be “rolling on its course millions of years from now.” Emphasizing his belief in a democratic government, he asserted that the “wisdom of the people” will keep such a government viable as long as the earth endures. As a way to translate his beliefs into actions, he chose Madison High School to be the beneficiary of his generosity. He created the Custer Contest based off an oratorical contest held at Wabash College since 1875. He set aside $1,000, which would earn interest and provide a prize for contestants in the annual Custer Contest. Over the years, his $1,000 donation has grown, and $41,000 remains as the balance. This permits prizes of $700 for first place, $350 for second place, and $175 for each contestant of equal rank.

The contestants are chosen based on their rank in their senior year of high school. The top five students within the class are chosen to be the participants in the contest. Each contestant must select a piece of literature from a novel, short story, poem, or play and present the piece as an oratorical speech. The participants must present their piece within 10-15 minutes.

The Custer Contest is judged on delivery alone, and not necessarily on content. Each contestant will be judged on voice, enunciation and pronunciation, feelings, and action. The contestants will receive a score of up to 100 points based on their ability to present their voice in a pleasant way, articulate their words, understand and connect to the meaning of the piece, use appropriate gestures, and use the stage well.

Emma Staicer chose, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as her selected piece to perform. She stated, “I chose this book because I wanted to show the audience all of the adventures that Huck Finn goes on throughout the novel, he is a very boisterous character and I feel like I can relate to him.”

Aleah Cutshall chose, The Book Thief and she stated, “It was the first book to ever make me cry and I wanted to share it with people.” The Book Thief depicts the life of a young orphan girl named Liesel who grows up with a foster family in the midst of World War II.

Samantha Lanham is performing The Help. This book depicts the life of a young writer who returns home from college in the middle of the Civil Rights movement and wants to bring change to Mississippi. Lanham stated, “The character that I am portraying is very different from her peers, and she wants to bring change to her community and I feel like I can relate to her in a lot of ways.”

Claire Lostutter is performing Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This book portrays the life of four siblings who escape family and worldly problems by traveling to magical world called Narnia. Lostutter stated, “I wanted to show people the different perspectives of all four children and what they went through as a family in the book. “

Amber Powers chose A Stolen Life as her selected piece. This book is an autobiography of Jaycee Dugard, a girl who was kidnapped at a young age and held captive for 18 years. Powers stated, “This is a very sad book, and I wanted to perform a piece that was impactful.”

Each year, the Custer Contest celebrates the life of a man who believed in Madison High School enough to invest his savings and create a ritual that would be followed out for more than 100 years. Be sure to come watch these five girls deliver their impactful pieces and make history in the 106th annual Custer Contest on Wednesday, April 5th.