Grand-Prize Baby

MANNERS & MORALS

When Detroit's Junior Board of Commerce began a citywide "better baby" contest two months ago, a 32-year-old Negro foundry worker named George Messengill decided that opportunity was knocking--the big prize was a four-year college scholarship. His wife Claire, a comely, red-haired white woman, agreed that it would be a wonderful chance for their 2 1/2-year-old boy, Lester. Since the winning baby's popularity was to be decided by the sales of admission tickets, George began a one-man ticket-selling campaign.

Last week, sitting in a crowd of 3,500 who had gathered to hear the outcome of the contest, George and Claire Messengill had their reward.

Little Lester, who had passed the "health & beauty" aspects of the contest earlier with flying colors (on the basis of doctors' measurements), was named Detroit's "grand-prize baby"--winner over 5,244 other Detroit children.

Claire Messengill rose and led the baby down the aisle. Husband George followed her. Until then, those in charge of the contest had had no intimation that the winner was the child of an interracial marriage. Fearing trouble, one of the judges hastily called, "Only one parent on the stage, please!" Otherwise, the discovery made no difference to the judge. Lester got his scholarship, a crown, a big silver cup, and a trip to Jim Crow Miami for the whole family. Said father George Messengill proudly: "The selection of Lester will go a long way to solving the racial problem."

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