PORT ANGELES — Papers about skiing in the Olympic Mountains, Port Angeles artist Minerva Troy and the Spruce Division Railroad won scholarships during the second annual Hands on History presentations.
The event Sunday was sponsored by North Olympic History Center.
About 100 people packed Lincoln Center and saw seven Clallam County history topics presented and judged, said Patrick Noonan, education chairman of the history center.
Winners were:
• Alden Gale, ninth grade, who won in the senior division for his paper on the Spruce Division Railroad, earning him a $1,500 scholarship.
• Peter Zelenka, seventh grade, wrote about skiing the Olympics. He shared first prize in the junior division and won a $500 scholarship.
Celbie Karjalainen, sixth grade, wrote about Minerva Troy and also earned a $500 scholarship;
Other entries were from Eva Jolly, eighth grade, who presented G. M. Lauridsen’s impact on the local economy during the 1893 Depression; Hannah Anderson, eighth grade, who wrote about the Port Angeles Opera House; Talia Anderson, Abby Sanders and Mazie Tucker, 10th grade, who presented the spotted owl controversy; and Ethan Jolly, sixth grade, who presented the Sequim railroad bridge and park.
The students gave 12-minute presentations to rotating groups and answered questions about their topics.
“These kids put their hearts into their projects,” Noonan said.
“It was apparent that they cared more about their topics and teaching history to our citizens than they did about the scholarships.
“The kids were the teachers today and we all learned some of the history we missed along the way.”
The 2020 competition is open to all Clallam County students, sixth grade and above.
“If students don’t have a topic, we have about 50 ideas,” Noonan said. “Once topics are chosen, mentors and tutoring will be available, and our research library will be open to them.”
The deadline for the 2020 competition is Oct. 19.
For information and entry forms, contact Noonan at papanoon@gmail.com or at the Clallam County Fair.
