Young parishioners earn first place in U.S. Catholic Textbook Project contest
By Claire Collins
Two homeschool students in the Diocese of Knoxville were named the winners of the Catholic Textbook Project’s annual History Essay Contest.
Anna Hargett and Julian Crace, parishioners of Holy Ghost and members of the St. Benedict Co-Op, were the fourth- and fifth-grade winners. Their essays featured influential members of the Diocese of Knoxville and highlighted their contributions to the region.
In the fourth-grade division, students were asked to write about their state’s history, an important historical figure in their state, or an important historical site in their state. Anna chose to write about her grandfather, former state representative Bill Dunn, and the contributions he has made to Tennessee.
When asked what inspired her to write about her grandfather, Anna said, “He always was really good to me, and he just popped into my mind. … It was kind of hard because there were so many things that I had to put in it. But in the end, it turned out to be a really good experience.”
Anna Hargett, 9, center, is joined by her mother, Elizabeth, father, Zac, and siblings, John William, 7, Josephine, 5, and Benjamin, 1. Top photo: Julian Crace, 11, center, is joined by his mother, Lindy, father, Morgan, and siblings, Elena, 13, and Marguerite, 3.
She chose two areas of focus for her essay: how Mr. Dunn helped students and homeschool students, too, and his contributions to the pro-life movement in Tennessee. She used newspaper clippings for her research and even sat down for an interview with him.
In her essay, Anna said, “While he was in office he helped Tennessee become a more pro-life state. Although he respected life in the womb he also deeply cared about children after they were born, which made him care about their education. Most significantly, Dunn let his faith guide him during his time in office. Boldly, Dunn worked to make Tennessee a great place to live. Many Tennesseans were proud to call Dunn their state representative. I am proud because he is my grandpa.”
Anna, who is 9, had first-hand experience with her grandfather’s work as a state representative, remembering campaigning for him when she was younger.
“We would put on our Bill Dunn shirts and walk around and campaign,” Anna recalled. “It was really fun.”
Anna’s mother, Elizabeth Hargett, is proud of her daughter’s hard work and thankful for the encouragement of her teacher, Lindy Crace.
“I was very excited,” Mrs. Hargett said. “I put it all to Mrs. Lindy Crace. It was a lot of hard work, but she really helped the kids grow as writers, and it was just really great to see the fruits of Anna’s hard work. You can write well when you’re excited about the topic that you’re going to write about. And she was really excited to let people know about her Paboo and what he had done. So, it was neat to see her excited about it and her hard work and then get to be rewarded for it.”
When asked how she found out about winning, Anna shared, “We were having rest time, and my mom called me down. I thought it was an emergency. So, I came down and she said, ‘Anna you won!’ and I just couldn’t control myself.”
The prize, $100, was another added bonus to the win. Anna spent her winnings on a camera because she likes taking pictures.
Another winner from Holy Ghost and the St. Benedict Co-Op was Julian Crace. In the fifth-grade division, students were asked to write about a historical figure who lived before the 1950s in North America who “made an impact on the Church and country.”
Julian chose to feature Father Patrick Ryan, a priest at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Chattanooga who died serving those with yellow fever in the late 1800s and whose cause for canonization is being promoted.
When asked what inspired him to write about Father Ryan, Julian said, “I heard a lot about him, and it’s really cool because I thought his story was really cool, and I wanted to help him get canonized.”
As Julian wrote in his essay, “(Father Ryan) was a role model to all U.S. citizens and to all faithful Catholics. Because of his burning love for his flock, he should be recognized as a saint.”
To write the essay, Julian, who is 11, used a number of sources.
“We got a bunch of books and mainly online sources,” Julian said. “There’s a video of Bishop (Richard F.) Stika at a council of bishops, and there was another video of a representative of Tennessee talking about him.”
Julian learned many interesting facts about the heroic priest, but two stood out to him.
“Two main things were that it was dangerous what he was doing because at the time you got $25 if you handed over someone who was taking care of someone with yellow fever or someone who had yellow fever and hadn’t gone into the mountains or some isolated place. And then the other thing was that the bell that he used, and the one that is now in St. Peter and Paul’s Basilica, was his bell, and it was a second-class relic. Which means that if he gets canonized, the sound waves coming from the bell are third class relics.”
After watching his sister win the same competition last year, Julian was eager to hear about his victory. When asked how he found out he won, he responded, “This is a funny story. So, I was mowing the lawn and Mom got a text from Mrs. Hargett that Anna had won, so Mom decided to check one last time and saw that I won. Then she figures that she better not tell me while I’m mowing the lawn or else I’m gonna like, go crazy.”
After waiting through a few distractions, including a nest of baby rabbits, a lawn mower on the fritz, and a phone call, Julian overheard his mom talking on the phone about him winning.
“I’m putting the dogs back outside,” Julian recalled, “and I overhear that I won, so I just ran around the yard screaming.”
With his winnings, Julian invested in new golf equipment. He also hopes to bring a showing of the new movie, “Father Ryan: A Higher Call,” to Holy Ghost so that more people can hear the story of the courageous priest.
