Anyone that knows me knows I love our local history! So I am so excited that a Forks student has won the first “Hands-on History” competition for Clallam County area students. The selection was made Sunday in Port Angeles.

FORKS STUDENT WINS TOP HISTORY PRIZE

Cecilia Estrada Elena scanned a list of Clallam County historical figures. “I chose to study and write about Minerva Troy because what caught my attention about her was that she was a World War I nurse,” she wrote in a resulting paper. “I never knew anything about the medical field in our county back then, or people who worked in it.

“Now I know one person and that is Minerva Troy,” also an artist and politician.

That paper by the Forks 11th-grader won first place in the Hands-on History student competition senior division and a $1,500 scholarship from the North Olympic History Center, formerly the Clallam County Historical Society.

Hers was one of five papers about Clallam County history submitted for judging Sunday. About 100 attended and asked the students questions about their topics.

The other papers included:

“The Ferries of Lake Crescent” by Peter Zelenka, a Port Angeles sixth-grader, which won first place in the junior division and a $500 scholarship

“Unleashing the Beast: The Elwha River Restoration Project” by Talia Anderson, Abby Sanders and Maize Tucker, that won second place in the junior division and a $500 scholarship for the Port Angeles ninth-graders

“The Manis Mastodon Site” by Raven Taylor, Port Angeles ninth-grader; and “Scandinavian Settlement at Lake Ozette” by Emaleigh Smith, a Port Angeles eighth-grader, which both won commendation awards and $75 gift cards from Port Book and News.

All five papers will be posted on the website, clallamhistoricalsociety.com.

“This was our first year,” said Patrick Noonan, the center’s education chair. “These kids did a great job and the community learned from them. We hope they will join many other students for our second competition, beginning this fall.”

For more details, contact Noonan at papanoon@gmail.com.

In other news …

Three Rivers Restaurant to open

If you have had a hankering all winter for a Bogie or Quill Burger, you are in luck. Three Rivers Restaurant will open again on Thursday, April 19. Owner Ruby Swagerty said, “We will not close next winter.” She also shared that milkshake prices have gone down! She is also considering offering some special deals for locals. Hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

FHS Drama Club Production

The Forks High School Drama club will present a production called “The Network,” a timely-themed work about social media and its impact on our society. This is the first production under the direction of Tracy Gillette.

Show times are Friday, April 27 at 7 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., at the FHS Commons; admission is $5. More details coming next week.

Orlando to be ‘Chief for a Day’

As many are aware, a young boy from Forks named Orlando German has been battling cancer in Seattle since last winter. He has been asked if he would like be Chief in the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Chief for A Day Event. This event will be held in Burien, Wa., on Thursday, Aug. 16. In addition to the activities in Burien, local Chief for a Day participants also get to ride in the Forks Fourth of July Parade in a patrol car in their very own custom uniform.

Christi Baron, Editor