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The Hershey Story Museum on May 27 announced the first- and second-place winners of the 2021 History Contest for Young Writers.

First-place winners were recognized at a ceremony held at Hershey Gardens, according to a release from Anthony Haubert, communications and public relations manager for the M.S. Hershey Foundation.

Now in its 21st year, the writing contest is offered by the museum to encourage students to communicate their interest in and knowledge of history. Submissions were reviewed by a 32-member panel of judges, consisting of historians, educators and community leaders.

The competition this year received 24 submissions from fifth- through eighth-grade students from Adams, Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties.

The following 16 students have been named this year’s winners. Links are provided to the winning submissions.

Senior Level – Fiction

First Place – Caleb Tinsley, Hershey Middle School, “The Battle of Britain”

Second Place – Juliana Graziano, Eagle View Middle School, “Becoming Free Again”

Senior Level – Non-Fiction

First Place – Karin Popdan, Elizabethtown Area Middle School, “The Presidency of Richard Nixon”

Second Place – Sadie Robeson, Eagle View Middle School, “The Hero of Bladen County”

Senior Level – Poetry

First Place – Alexander Baturin, Camp Hill Middle School, “Death Ain’t Nothing”

Second Place – Samuel Stahl, Camp Hill Middle School, “The Infamy”

Senior Level – History of Science and Health

First Place – Mary Haley, Annville-Cleona High School, “Katalin Karikó: The Rise of Messenger RNA”

Second Place – Viseth Meng, Cedar Crest Middle School, “The Forgotten Pandemic”

Junior Level – Fiction

First Place – Abby Keller, Kraybill Mennonite School, “One Dark Morning”

Second Place – Kiera Navarich, Ephrata Intermediate School, “Fate of a Nail”

Junior Level Non-Fiction

First Place – Arman Kazi, Hershey Middle School, “Infinity in Finite Terms”

Second Place – Madison Lehman, Bear Creek School, “The Hero of Bennington”

Junior Level – Poetry

First Place – Alfred Nazeeri, Palmyra Area Middle School, “Amelia Earhart (July 24, 1897)”

Second Place – Evelyn Sabatini, Lower Dauphin Middle School, “Harriet”

Junior Level – History of Science and Health

First Place – Annelyse Bogart, ELCO Intermediate School, “The Spanish Flu”

Second Place – Joshua DeSteno, ELCO Intermediate School, “Surgery Through the Years”

The M.S. Hershey Foundation exists to preserve and enhance Milton Hershey’s legacy and community vision and to provide educational and cultural enrichment to residents of Hershey. Hershey Community Archives, Hershey Gardens, Hershey Theatre and The Hershey Story, The Museum on Chocolate Avenue are operating divisions of the foundation. For more information, visit www.mshersheyfoundation.org.

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Tom has been a professional journalist for nearly four decades. In his spare time, he plays fiddle with the Irish band Fire in the Glen, and he reviews music, books and movies for Rambles.NET. He lives with his wife, Michelle, and has four children: Vinnie, Molly, Annabelle and Wolf.