Daniel Chapman DAR chapter names essay contest winners

The Daniel Chapman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has selected two winners in its annual American history essay contest.  

The winners are Liam Hale, a 5th grade student at Jonesboro Elementary School whose teacher is Codie Carver and principal is Tom Stark. Liam is the son of Caleb and Terri Hale.  

Also a winner is Robert William “Bo” Schuetz, a 7th grade student at Lick Creek Elementary School whose teacher is Angie Alsip and principal is Brent Boren. Bo is the son of Bob and Kristin Schuetz.

Following the theme, “Celebrating A Century: America’s National Parks,” the students were to use their imagination and also do research on their chosen national park, while pretending to be a visitor there.

Liam selected the Mount Rainier National Park, which is located near Seattle, Wash. The park was established in 1899 and is older than the park service that oversees the location of the 14,000 high mountain, which is actually a volcano.

Liam took a pretend hike, in a 409-word essay, along the Carbon River, in the rain forest, during a foggy morning. Later that day, he would visit Sunrise Visitor Center, which is 6,400 feet above sea level, with a view that offered fantastic sights.

The park contains 235,625 acres, with 26 glaciers, 392 lakes and 470 rivers and streams, which Liam said he would attempt to see on his return visit.

Bo chose to take an imaginative time travel visit to the Joshua Tree National Park, which is located in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in California, and contains two deserts, the Colorado and the Mojave.

He told about his time capsule captain explaining, as they traveled through time, of the founding of the park, in 1936, by a woman, Minerva Hoyt. She sought to protect the cacti and desert plants, including the Joshua tree, when real estate developers began building roads through that desert area; 234,000 acres were added in 1994, when the park was named Joshua Tree National Park.

Using 995 words, Bo provided a pretend trek, as a space pirate, through the expansive park, with its diverse terrain, where 1.4 million people visit each year.

Although students from all the area grade schools were invited to participate in the annual history essay competition, only those from Jonesboro and Lick Creek took part, thanks to their teachers, Angie Alsip at Lick Creek and Codie Carver at Jonesboro, who encouraged their students.  

Over 60 essays were judged by two DAR members and one non-DAR member. DAR regent Juanita Broyles coordinated the essay competition project.

Not only did these two students win first place in their grade category on the local level, but they also won in DAR District VII and went on to be named state winners. Their essays will be submitted to the national contest.

It is hoped by the Daniel Chapman Chapter that more teachers in additional schools will make time next year and encourage their social studies students to participate in the history essay project.

Bo and Liam will be recognized and will read their essays at a special luncheon which is planned April 10, to be provided for them, their parents, teachers and principals, by the Daniel Chapman Chapter at the Camp Ground Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Union County.  

The annual Good Citizens of local high schools will also be recognized at that time, along with a senior scholarship winner.

The Daniel Chapman Chapter congratulates all the students who participated in writing the essays on “Celebrating A Century: America’s National Parks.”