Background Shelby post
cards were published during her years in Shelby.
February 6, 1914
Samuel Guyley Powell, Dawn's grandfather, was struck and killed
by a Lake Shore train in Sandusky, Ohio, leaving Julia Ann Sherman
(died c 1921) as Dawn’s only living grandparent. Julia ran
a boarding house at 51 East Main St (see photo below) and was
available for her visits during the time of Dawn's stay in Shelby.
This section of Shelby played a major role in several of Dawn's
future "Ohio" novels.
courtesy of private owner
Dawn kept busy with
school activities: Daily Globe - May 23, 1914:
"SHELBY HIGH
"School Annual
has Been Issued And to Tell the Truth It is a Beauty!
"The High School
Annual was issued yesterday and is now on sale. For the first
annual ever published here, it is a most praiseworthy effort
and cannot be spoken of too highly. The material is cleverly
written up, the photos are excellent, and the cuts are par excellence.
These drawing were made by Gilbert Brucker, a former member of
the graduating class, who graduated this year from the high school
in Lansing, Mich. The editorial board consists of Dawn Powell,
Ada Haun, Hobart Winbigler, Henry Weber, William Hood, and Edward
Shaw. Other members of the senior class contributed freely. The
book was printed by the Dickerson Printing company, and the engraving
work was done by the Indianapolis Engraving and Electrotyping
company. The class of '14 is the first to publish anything of
this kind and it is to be hoped that the custom will continue
as this first annual is such a good one. The book presents a
very neat appearance and is sold for fifty cents a copy."
Shelby Museum
And less than a week
later - Daily Globe - May 27, 1914:
"Senior Class
Play
Purple and White
"The members
of the Senior class of the Shelby High School last night presented
their class play, 'Purple and White' and the Shelby opera house
was packed to the doors for the event. The only disagreeable
feature of the evening was the extremely warm weather, but the
play was presented in such an excellent manner, that the large
audience soon forgot about the stifling heat and enjoyed the
occasion immensely.
"Dawn Powell
as Dorothy Randall proved equal to the occasion in every emergency
and although she listened to Weber's (the villain) gush all through
the drama, she finally discovered that the villain was stuffing
her with a pack of lies and she awoke to the fact that Hood (the
hero) was the young chap intended for her and everything ended
happily. No better home talent production has been staged in
Shelby than 'Purple and White' and the class of 1915 will have
a high standard to measure up to."
About this time Dawn
began providing school news articles to the Daily Globe: school
plays, sports, and sometimes
a bit more, such as these
excerpts from an August 27, 1914 Shelby Daily Globe article headed:
"SHELBY FOLKS
"Some Things
That Happen in the Town That does Things Are Interesting.
"A young lady
of North Broadway has a custom to keep the window shades up while
keeping company with a Crestline young man. Last night the young
man came over from Crestline and called on the young lady. After
a short walk about town the couple proceeded to the home of the
young lady. The evening was way too cool to sit on the porch,
so they went into the parlor. The light was turned low, and according
to those who passed the home both were sitting on the same chair.
Each seemed to be in a loving mood. Hereafter it would be a wise
thing if the shades would be lowered, because everyone in town
knows that the girl has a "fellow."'
"A Shelby girl
with a 'voice' invited a lot of young folks to a party lately
for the special purpose of showing off her voice, and all day
long the day of the party she practiced trills and difficult
runs so as to paralyze her guests in the evening. But when she
went to the piano to sing the young folks all crowded around
the piano and sang with her. Young folks at a party do not go
to parties to listen to anyone sing; they want to do the singing
themselves."
She continued as
a Globe reporter prior to entering Lake Erie College that Fall.
