Students Earn Cash For History Projects
Six students have won cash awards in a competition sponsored by the Hunterdon County Historical Society and the local Sons of the Revolution.
The students wrote essays, poems, or created art about the American Revolution – the 250th anniversary of which begins this year. Awards were presented at a ceremony at the Historical Society library in Flemington on February 22.
One of two first-place awards in the High School Essay Division – and a $250 check – went to Audrey Ande, a home-schooled 10th grader. Her essay about Abigail Adams emphasized that, although Abigail supported her husband, the patriot and second President John Adams, she had her own strong views and voiced them with conviction. Audrey noted that Abigail Adams supported women’s rights to vote, own property, and be educated – and was, for her time, quite a visionary.
Another first-place high school essay was by Elias Wysong, of Stanton, an 11th grader at North Hunterdon High School. His $250-award-winning essay discussed the effects of the American Revolution on the people of Clinton, N.J. Both rebels and loyalists faced difficulties and violence from one another. Elias discussed Bonnell’s Tavern, where the first New Jersey minutemen were organized, and the ongoing violence between the loyalist Vought family and the rebel Thomas Jones, who kept a tavern at Annandale.
First place in the Arts and Sciences Division, and a $250 check, went to 12-year-old Julian Roznowski (right), of Pittstown, a home-schooled 7th grader. He painted a landscape showing a rebel soldier overlooking a farm field that is peaceful at present, but with signs of trouble to come. The painting’s title is “Tomorrow’s Battlefield.” It will appear on the Historical Society’s website soon.
Honorable Mention in the High School Essay Division, and a $100 check, went to Bridget Torley, age 17, who is a home-schooled senior in Kingwood Township. Her essay on the Boston Tea Party detailed the December 1773 destruction of what would today be more than $1 million in British tea. The culprits were the Sons of Liberty, thinly disguised as Native Americans, and their revolt inspired similar acts across the colonies, eventually leading to revolution.
Honorable Mention for Arts and Sciences, and a $100 check, went to 11-year-old Emma Cresap, a 6th-grader in East Amwell Township. Her poem, “The Great Battle, an American Dream,” cited a meeting at John Ringo’s Tavern that birthed the Hunterdon Resolutions, supporting the people of Boston after the Tea Party, amid growing British crack-downs. Emma wrote, “A nation born from blood and flame, In unity, it forged its name.”
Another Honorable Mention in Arts and Sciences, and $100, went to 12-year-old Olivia Vallejo, of Flemington. Olivia is a home-schooled 7th-grader. Her poem, “Ambush of Geary,” imagined the moment that local militiamen attacked a British squad that had raided Flemington for supplies. “Out leapt Rhea and his small band, with muskets flashing in the sun. This was the time to defend our land! And Geary fell; the Americans won.”
Lending an air of authenticity to the awards ceremony was Revolutionary War re-enactor Greg Latsko, who dressed as a Ranger and carried his musket, named “Bess.” Because the awards ceremony was on Feb. 22 – George Washington’s 293rd birthday – everybody sang “Happy Birthday.”
For this project, the Historical Society and the Sons of the Revolution received financial assistance from the Large Foundation and photography assistance from the D.I.Y. organization of the arts.
For details on the next student history competition, or to support the Historical Society or the Sons of the Revolution, email Society Administrator Dave Harding at hunterdonhistoryadm@gmail.com. The Society’s telephone is 908-782-1091.