One of the first occasions Carl Sandburg spoke from a platform was at the Mission. It had been established by several Galesburg churches to provide religious services for the residents in his neighborhood. The occasion was the Demorest Medal contest which was sponsored by the Mission’s Sunday School. Booklets containing prepared speeches were given to the children to memorize. Each and every speech was devoted to discouraging the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

On the appointed evening, four boys and four girls stood up and “spoke their piece.” Judges evaluated each speaker and a silver medal with the name Demorest engraved on a bar above a shield was awarded. Supposedly, the winners could advance to the next level to compete for a gold medal and ultimately, a diamond medal.

Carl picked the shortest article in the booklet and memorized it. His sister Mary also participated in the contest. While speaking Carl forgot the words about halfway through. After a long pause, he was able to finish. He knew he had lost the medal before he left the stage.

The judges announced that Mary Sandburg had given the best speech and she received the silver Demorest medal. She didn’t go to the next level of competition.
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William Jennings Demorest (1822-1895) was a total abstinence man. In 1886 he established the National Bureau of Prohibition to publish anti-alcohol tracts to be used in the Demorest Medal Contests.

He had conducted a dry goods store in New York. Next door a young woman named Ellen Curtis had a millinery shop. She became Demorest’s second wife in 1858. They began publishing a magazine entitled Mirror of Fashions in 1860. It became very popular because of the tissue paper dress pattern fastened inside. Even though the pattern was in only one size, it was useful to women making their own clothes.

Mrs. Demorest had an astute understanding of the fashion business. She invented a comfortable corset, an inexpensive hoopskirt and a model drafting system for making dress patterns. Mr. and Mrs. Demorest also invented a sewing machine which could sew backward providing a means for securing the ends of seams.

Mr. Demorest ran for mayor of New York on the Prohibition Ticket, but was unsuccessful. He also helped establish the town of Demorest, Georgia, a community where no drinking was allowed and anyone who misbehaved could be deprived of his property.

Today, Demorest is little known, but there are many examples of his medal available for sale on the Internet.