Honor the Past, Preserve for the Future

As the 2003/2004 school year begins, CWPT invites all students in grades 4-12 to compete in our annual Poster and Essay Contest. Why should people in the 21^st century care about the past? Why would the loss of our treasured battlefields be a national loss? Shout it out! Tell us why the disrespect and destruction must stop!

The 2003/2004 Poster and Essay Contest theme is based on the 2004 motto for a national event known as Park Day. With the assistance of CWPT, sites from the Civil War Discovery Trail recruit volunteers to help restore their local Civil War battlefields and parks. Restoration tasks can include mending fences, picking up trash, building trails, and painting signs. The 2004 motto is, “Honor the Past, Preserve for the Future.”

Poster entries may focus on Civil War battlefields or depict people at Park Day, involved in various clean-up activities. They can also highlight the first part of the theme (Honor the Past) by portraying a scene from the Civil War and then the second part (Preserve for the Future) by illustrating a preserved park or battlefield as it is today. Each poster will clearly state this year’s theme.

Essays can relate the importance of the Civil War, and why we are proud to preserve Civil War battlefields and continually restore and maintain these treasures for future generations. Each poster will clearly reflect this year’s theme.

There are three poster contests: Elementary, for students in grades 4, 5, and 6; Junior, for students in grades 7, 8, and 9; and Senior, for students in grades 10, 11, and 12. There are two essay contests: Junior, for students in grades 7, 8, and 9; and Senior, for students in grades 10, 11, and 12.

Prizes: First, second, and third-place winners will receive a free one-year junior membership in the CWPT. All first and second-place winners will be published in Hallowed Ground and on the CWPT website. One of the winning posters chosen from the poster categories will be used on the t-shirts sent to Civil War Discovery Trail sites all over the nation for Park Day 2004!

Additional Prizes will be as follows:

Individual Poster Contests (Elementary, Junior and Senior Levels)
First Place: $200 to student; $200 History Channel gift certificate to teacher
Second Place: $100 to student; $100 History Channel gift certificate to teacher
Third Place: $50 to student; $50 History Channel gift certificate to teacher

Individual Essay Contests: (Junior and Senior Levels)
First Place: $200 to student; $200 History Channel gift certificate to teacher
Second Place: $100 to student; $100 History Channel gift certificate to teacher
Third Place: $50 to student; $50 History Channel gift certificate to teacher

Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by January 31, 2004.

Rules: Where applicable, students may enter either the poster contest or the essay contest in their age group, but not both. Students may only submit one entry in their category of choice.

The student’s name, grade, return address, and phone number and/or e-mail must be clearly printed on the back of the poster or on the cover page of the essay. If a teacher is submitting materials for one or more students, each entry must be clearly labeled with all of the student’s identifying information as well as the teacher’s name, school name, and school address.

Posters will be judged for originality, quality of artwork, visual impact, and strength of message. Posters:

• May not be larger than 14” by 22”
• May be made with markers, crayons, paint, paper cutouts, pen and ink, or any other media that will not smear and will leave the finished poster flat and easy to handle and scan (no chalk or charcoal, no gluing rocks, sand, glitter, or other three-dimensional items to the poster, etc.)
• Designs should be submitted on heavy paper or poster board.
• May not use copyrighted materials such as comics, TV characters, professional photographs, images downloaded from the Internet, etc.
• Should include the entire motto, spelled correctly, exactly as listed
• Should be historically accurate (i.e., Civil War soldiers did not dress in green camouflage or red tri-cornered hats.)

Essays will be judged for originality, persuasive quality, clarity, and strength of message. Essays:

• Must be approximately 300 words long
• Must use proper grammar and correct spelling
• Must consist primarily of the student’s own words
• Should focus on preservation and the relevance of the war today, not just historical facts.
• Must include the theme, exactly as listed

Entries will not be returned unless requested. Winning entries become the property of CWPT. Entrants will be notified of contest results early in June of 2003 via letter and Hallowed Ground.

Mail Entries To:
CWPT Poster and Essay Contest
Civil War Preservation Trust
11 Public Square, Suite 200
Hagerstown, MD 21740