Reading all the essays in the Monmouth County Historical Commission’s annual essay contest once again is one of the things that’s made me so happy today.
The fact Glenn Cashion does such a terrific job in managing this contest for the hundreds of fifth graders who enter it, the great variety of places the kids visit and write about and the reminders through these stories of the amount of history in Monmouth County and that they are being recognized by another generation is enough to make anyone proud and happy.
As a Bayshore resident particularly partial to the Twin Lights, I thought Madeline Dougherty’s selection of that site for her story was awesome and her writing a tribute to her English teachers at St. Leo’s in Lincroft.
The same with Julianna Saliga of Middletown, who tied with Madeline for third place with her story of the Vietnam War Memorial. Julianna goes to St. James in Red Bank and lives in Middletown.
James Badishanian’s story about his ancestor in Armenia was a touching and poignant essay from this Oak Hill student that took the top prize, and of course Riley Lanigan’s story about her ancestor’s tilt top table he made as a gift for President Lincoln will always be a favorite among the Atlantic Highlands residents, the second place winner.
Then I picked up Atlantic Highlands Living and saw some great stories written by some of my favorite adults as well. Ellen O’Dwyer, a dynamo who works hard at whatever passion she supports, has a great story on monarch butterflies and the importance of milkweed and all the work of some pretty terrific Atlantic Highlands folks to ensure they endangered species is protected. To get her point across, Ellen told a great story about her own butterfly catchers as a youngster and how that impacted her adult passion for environmental protection and the beauty of nature. She’s offering some free milkweed seeds and seedlings and is loaded with information and a charming way of teaching you more than you need to know about milkweed. You can contact her at ahstrong11@gmail.com.
The second great writer I read was that pharmacist extraordinaire, Richard Stryker…though great, still not quite as good as his father, he’ll have to admit…
But Rich wrote a story about the importance of fruit and vegetables in everyone’s diet, encouraged folks to shop with an open mind, think frozen fruits and veggies sometimes as well as soups and stews, then goes on to talk about being creative with food! His excellence in writing must be the result of all those hard days and nights of study and classes as a Game Cock in South Carolina! Seeing him in print though, did remind me that Bayshore Pharmacy, in addition to having those great pharmacists and offering the latest in Covid vaccines and everything else, has a wonderful gift department with some very unique items, from souvenirs of shore visits to wonderful jewelry and glassware.
In the same magazine, published by Sara Murphy and delivered via the postal system through the Bayshore area, there is a terrific cover story about the Brinley family and the fascinating story of that sensational Shipwreck Rum they started, went through some tough Covid times, and now are successful and sponsor so many events for local charitable organizations. Sounds like a great family with a lot of talent.
