Five Chautauqua Students Celebrate Winning History Projects

Five students, all 4th and 5th graders at Chautauqua Elementary, celebrated their winning entries in the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association’s second annual “History Project Contest” on Friday evening, May 8.

Joe Barnes, son of Chris Barnes and Natalie Kosovac, took first place for his video interview entitled “Baker Bob Long: A Tribute to an Island Icon,” former owner of Bob’s Bakery.  Second place went to “My Vashon Storyboard,” about Colby Merrill’s Mace family heritage.  Colby is the son of Austin and Jackie Merrill.  Grace Smith, daughter of Marla and Jeremy Smith” took 3rd place for her essay “Smith Family Egg Farm.”  Honorable Mentions were awarded to Madison Bradrick for her beach sculpture composed of items found on various Vashon beaches and to Davis Kelly for his essay, “What Makes Vashon Special to Me.”  Madison’s parents are Bri and Matt Bradrick; Davis is the son of Kji and Rebecca Kelly.

Each student considered a variety of topics before choosing.  Colby Merrill’s family has lived on the Island for seven generations and for his sources was able to talk to his several grandparents.

Grace Smith looked at the old buildings from the egg farm which once housed over 12,000 chickens on her family’s property, so chose that topic.

Madison Bradrick’s favorite thing about Vashon is its beaches, especially because each is different: you can find sea glass at Dockton, moon snails at Tramp Harbor, and driftwood at Gold Beach.

Davis Kelly finally chose writing about Native People because, “It’s cool that they lived where we now live.”  He wrote a lot of drafts while trying to fit in all the facts he learned. “I used up a lot of paper,” he said.

Joe Barnes was prompted to write about his father’s good friend and former employer. He hadn’t done a project outside of school before, but it turned out “to be really fun.” Bob Long also gave him several pictures to keep.

In addition to their parents and the people they interviewed, each student had support from their teachers, Kay Burrell, Karen Barich, Matthew Chasan, and Doug Swan.

The VMIHA contest was sponsored by Eagle Eye Editing, Kellum and Montoya Building, Our Community Credit Union, Vashon Bookshop and 4Culture.