Written by: Newberg Graphic
Colby Hess is this year's winner in the annual American history essay contest sponsored by the Yamhill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Hess, an eighth-grade student at Chehalem Valley Middle School, submitted "Celebrating a Century: America's National Parks," a tome about his family's June trip to Yellowstone National Park.
"We drove around Yellowstone for seven hours and saw lots of wildlife," he wrote. "We saw tons of bison, a herd of white tailed deer, and a black bear. …
"The ranger told us that Yellowstone National Park was one of our national treasures because it was the first national park created in America and had led to the creation of many more national parks. Tomorrow I go home and I'm kind of sad, but I'm really happy that I got to come to Yellowstone National Park."
For his efforts Colby received a winner's certificate and a bronze Excellence in American History medal, as well as $50, at a luncheon today at a retirement home in McMinnville.
The contest was open to fifth- through eighth-grade students in public and private schools in the area. Winners were charged with keeping a journal of their family's trip to a national park, then writing an essay on their experience. The DAR received 27 entries.
Hess' entry is now being pitted against winners from other DAR chapters in the state. Should it win, it will advance to the division level, then the national level if it is successful.
