PALMDALE — The Antelope Valley Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution presented 13 awards at the chapter’s annual award event held May 11 at the Palmdale Vineyard Church. The awards presented included two American History essay contest winners in Tropico Middle School sixth-grader Isabella Cherpin and Joe Walker Middle School STEALTH Academy eighth-grader Aiden Duenas. The essay contest was open to students in fifth through eighth grades.
Students were invited to write essays on an assigned topic. This year’s topic asked the young writers to imagine it’s May 14, 1897, when John Philip Sousa debuted his new march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. They were reporters for The Philadelphia Times , whose editor asked them to write an article about Sousa’s life and the story behind the song.
“It is the first performance of the song, so make sure your article includes thoughts about the music and how the audience reacts to what was seen and heard that day,” the instructions said. More than 90 years later, on Dec. 11, 1987, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” would become the official march of the United States.
Three junior ROTC awards went to cadet Christian Ayon of Lancaster High School, cadet Emilia Bonilla of Pete Knight High School and cadet Danica Seager, Highland High School. The bronze Junior ROTC Medal is awarded to either a junior or senior in a high school/secondary school Junior ROTC pro.
