St. Cloud Area Genealogists Invite Students to Explore Family History in Annual Writing Contest

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Area Genealogists is offering students a way to connect with their roots this holiday season through their annual Family History Writing Contest.

Organizers say the holidays present an ideal chance for students to sit down with grandparents, great-aunts, uncles, or other older relatives and capture their school memories before those stories are lost to time.

The contest invites students in grades 4th through 12th from public, private schools, and home-schooled students throughout Stearns County to interview someone age 60 or older about their experiences in elementary, middle, high school, or college, and how education has changed over the decades.

Contestants need to write a maximum of two pages, on double-spaced paper, based on their interview. Essays should clearly answer the interview questions and present the details in an organized, understandable way.

Students will compete in two divisions. A junior division for 4th graders through 7th graders and a senior division for grades 8th through 12th. In each category, first-place winners will receive $100, second-place winners will receive $50, and third-place winners will receive $25. All the place winners will also get a one-year genealogist family membership.

The deadline for submissions is January 20th. Winners will be notified by email on March 17th, with an awards ceremony planned for April 21st, at the Stearns History Museum in St. Cloud.

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