It happened every spring, and during that time, thousands of students within the Jackson City School District have participated in the musical heritage known as The Eisteddfod.

For more than 30 years during that time, Mr. D. Merrill Davis would crisply announce the name of each contestant, just as the founder R. R. Thomas did before him did and those after him, such as Raymond Lynn Boothe, have done as well, and the specially selected song was sung to parents and classmates alike.

But few might know the history of the Eisteddfod in Jackson, and how it drew the attention of the nation back in 1930.

The Eisteddfod is a Welsh Singing Festival that has its roots dating back nearly 1,000 years. The first Eisteddfods in Jackson County were held in 1863 near Oak Hill, and the tradition of the Eisteddfod moved to Jackson in 1924.

That year, the local Welshmen brought in R. R. Thomas from Portsmouth to develop a program for the community and school. It was also that year the first Eisteddfod was held for the Jackson City Schools. With this came the Southern Ohio Eisteddfod Association, which just two years earlier in 1922 had begun to conduct competitions.

With Mr. Thomas at the helm, interest continued to grow in the Eisteddfod in Jackson, so much so that in 1928, an Eisteddfod Auditorium was built in Jackson where currently the parking lot is located behind the Jackson County Job And Family Services building on South Street.

At the National Eisteddfod in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. in the fall of 1928, John Jones of Jackson, who was an officer in the national organization, suggested that the 1930 National Eisteddfod beheld in Jackson. Then, on November 19, 1928 at a meeting in Utica, New York, Jackson beat out such cities as Utica, Chicago and Pittsburgh to hold the national event.

One of the reasons for the selection of Jackson was the Eisteddfod Auditorium, believed to be the only building in the world devoted to the practice of the Eisteddfod. The building had been built entirely through subscriptions from local citizens and the Welsh "iron masters".

Jackson soon began to prepare for the national event. A new floor was constructed in April, 1929 and the first event in it after that was the Annual Automobile Show.

Then came the big event, the National Eisteddfod on October 23-25, 1930. The newspaper was asking all homes with extra rooms to make them available, as it was predicted that 500 singers would participate in the national event, including 11 ladies' choirs, nine male and seven mixed choruses along with three bands.

Interest was so great that a special edition of the newspaper was published announcing that Lima and Cleveland were the winners of the big money at the event, Lima groups winning the Ladies' Chorus and Mixed Choir competition and the Cleveland Orpheus Chorus having the top male chorus.

The month of October, 1930, proved to be a big month in the history of Jackson for new and exciting entertainment as it was the weekend before the National Eisteddfod that the Markay Theatre opened for the first time, having as its initial attraction "Playboy In Paris" with Maurice Chevalier.

The Southern Ohio Eisteddfod Association events brought to Jackson in 1924 contained competition for choirs, poetry, readings, piano and recitations. During its existence, artists from as far away as New York, Chicago and Canada came to perform, and in 1941, with the advent of World War II, the competitions came to an end.

The Eisteddfod building was destroyed by fire in the early 1970s.

As for the Eisteddfod itself, it continued to live on in the Jackson City Schools throughout the 20th century, giving young children in all grades a chance to perform and display their musical talent.

Almost each and every community has a tradition or two that is unique, contains fond memories and is special to all who took part.

In a community where musical appreciation has been held in such high esteem throughout its existence, The Eisteddfod maintains that place in Jackson lore.