In a somewhat roundabout way, the topic for the 2019 Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship derives its inspiration from the essay submitted by last year’s first place winner. Julia Fish chose to write about Captain Benjamin Merrill, because she remembered seeing a marker near her childhood playground in Hillsborough about the hanging of Merrill and five other Regulators on that site in 1771. It’s easy to imagine how an intelligent and inquisitive child could have remained intrigued for years to come by the sight of a plaque bearing the grisly phrase, “On this spot were hanged…”.

If the Regulator marker at Hillsborough could inspire Julia Fish, it stands to reason other markers elsewhere in the state might have the same affect on other students. Such was the thought of the Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship chair, Louise Ripple. Thus, taking a cue from the 2018 winning essay, Ripple composed the following topic for 2019:

“Most counties in North Carolina have revolutionary sites or historical highway markers depicting events that date back to revolutionary times.  Please locate a site or marker in or near your county and expound on the event that took place.  Your essay should be about the revolutionary war era, events leading up to it or soon after the war ended.  Why did you pick this particular site or marker? Who were the people involved?  How did the event affect the outcome of the war?  What remains at the site today?   Where is the site/marker located?  If feasible, a picture of the site/marker attached to your essay would be appreciated.”

Prompting the applicants to visit the scene of a historically significant event also has its perks, potentially making the subject matter of their essays both more real and relevant.

More information about the Florence Kidder Memorial Scholarship and the online application are available at https://nscdasnc.memberclicks.net/florence-kidder-memorial-scholarship. The deadline to apply is February 3, 2019.

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Tor read the 2018 winning essay by Julia Fish, click here.