Day Six

Inside of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum 4

マーク・トウェイン少年期ミュージアムの内部　その４

[Note] If this page is too small to be readable, please enlarge it to 120-125%. Thank you.

One corner of Mark Twain Boyhood Home is dedicated to The Tom and Becky Program. This program was first organized in 1956, when KETC-TV, a public TV station in St. Louis, brought 1,200 school children from St. Louis to tour Hannibal. To attract the children from St. Louis, the program held a contest for seventh-graders in Hannibal to portray Tom and Becky. The contestants were selected from all Hannibal schools, and the contest was held on May 5, 1956, in front of those children from St. Louis. Chris Winkler and Perva Lou Smith were crowned the first Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.

Since then the program has continued for 60 years! Today, five boys and five girls are selected as Tom and Becky ambassadors each year. They are dispatched to many places all over the world to portray Tom and Becky. And on June fourth during the five-day National Tom Sawyer Days event, one boy and one girl are crowned the Official Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher among those ten ambassadors.

This is a description board that explains the history of The Tom and Becky Program. The story that I wrte above is taken from this board. You can enlarge the photo to read the full story, but I fear the print is still too small for some people. Sorry about that.

Chris Winkler and Perva Lou Smith pose on this old photo. They won the first Official Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher contest held in 1956. They stand in front of Tom Sawyer's Fence which is annexed to this Mark Twain Boyhood Home. They were both seventh graders at the time.

Do you see Perva Smith holding a slate in her right hand? That reminds me of one famous scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After Tom enjoyed a chat with Huck, he arrived at school very late. The teacher beat him with a stick as a severe punishment, then made him sit by a yellow-haired beatiful girl whose name was Becky Thatcher. Tom loved her at first sight and tried to draw her attention by drawing a very childlish picture of a house on his slate. Becky couldn't resist to seeing it, further asking him to add a man and herself on the picture. Finally Tom wrote some words, blocking Becky's sight. Now you read the climax of this scene by yourself because I show the scene in the following.

And she put her small hand upon his and a little scuffle ensued, Tom pretending to resist in earnest but letting his hand slip by degrees till these words were revealed:"I LOVE YOU." "Oh, you bad thing!" And she hit his hand a small rap, but reddened and looked pleased, nevertheless.

This is the Tom Sawyer costume that was actually used by a boy who won the official Tom Sawyer for 1959-1960. Every year seventh grade school boys from Hannibal wear similar costumes to be selected as five Tom Sawyer ambassadors.

This is the Becky Thatcher costume actually worn by a girl who won the offical Becky Thatcher for 1959-1960. Just like the case of boys, seventh grade school girls from Hannibal wear similar costumes and join in the contest for selecting five Becky Thatcher ambassadors.

A typical straw hat for the Tom Sawyer costume was displayed on the floor of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home. Isn't it beautiful? Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Two of our tour members are sticking their heads from the Tom and Becky comic foreground. We spent a happy time seeing tons of Mark Twain memorabilia here in The Mark Twain Boyhood Home.

Day Six continues to the next page.

六日目は次のページに続きます。