Kentucky students were rewarded for their talents in history at the Kentucky Junior Historical Society (KJHS) 2011 Kentucky History Day (KHD) recently in Frankfort.

KHD is part of the National History Day program, which is an annual, year-long program designed to promote teaching and learning history in America’s schools. Students analyze the historical significance of their topics and present conclusions in dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries, websites and research papers to audiences throughout the country. The theme for this year’s contest was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures and Consequences.”

In all, 512 students representing 37 counties participated in the 49th annual Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference. The weekend culminated in an awards ceremony with a keynote speech delivered by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Mary Noble.

Winners of the 2011 Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference and Kentucky History Day Awards are as follows:

Carroll County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Trent McGuire; Cartmell Elementary; third place; Division I; History Test
  • Justin Tuttle; Cartmell Elementary; second place; Division I; History Test
  • Cartmell Elementary; KJHS Chapter of the Year

Clark County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Rachel Sames, Sierra White, Makenna Denham, Hailey Barnett; Clark County Middle School; first place; Junior Group Performance; “Mockingbird: The Banning of a Gem in the Civil Rights Movement”

Estill County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Logan Beckler, Will Burkhart; Estill Springs Elementary; first place; Youth Group Documentary; “Fitchburg Furnace”
  • Logan Napier, Jay Thacker; Estill Springs Elementary; second place; Youth Group Documentary; “Union and Confederate Generals at the Battle of Richmond”

Fayette County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Anne Marie Coriale; Winburn Middle School; second place; Junior Individual Website; “Japan, USA, and the Atomic Bomb: Tactic or Tragic”
  • Jacob Ferguson; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Individual Documentary; “The Treaty of Versailles: When Diplomacy Failed”
  • Ben Gardner, Andrew Tapia; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Group Documentary; “Pearl Harbor: Causes and Consequences”
  • Janet Guo, Ji-Hae Kim, Jasmine Liu, Saikeerthi Naidu, Samantha McGehee; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Group Exhibit; Junior Group Exhibit; “Less is more, or is it?”
  • Nia Johnson; Tates Creek High School; first place; Senior Individual Exhibit; “Freedom’s Cry: The Debate on Aid to Camp Nelson Refugees”
  • Eric Lowry; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior (6th-8th grade) Paper; “Ping Pong Diplomacy: Successes and Failures”
  • Daniel Ma; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Individual Website; “Treaty of Versailles: Peace Treaty or War Instigator?”
  • Brianna Mayo, Dimitri Leggas; Winburn Middle School; second place; Junior Group Performance; “Language is a Tool to Conceal the Truth”
  • Elizabeth Minor; Henry Clay High School; first place; Senior Individual Website; “Henry Clay: Saving the Nation”
  • Nathan Russell; Russell Homeschool (a nonpublic school); second place; Senior Paper; “Debate and Civil Rights: Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Major League Baseball”
  • Kaylyn Torkelson, Jasa Harris; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Group Website; “A Fearless Indomitable Womanhood, A Fearless Indomitable Race”
  • Jonathan Tungate, Karl Werner, R.G. Humphreys, Garrett Uebelhor; Winburn Middle School; second place; Junior Group Exhibit;  “Bottoms Up”
  • Julia Wilson; Winburn Middle School; first place; Junior Individual Exhibit; “Giving Women a Voice”

Floyd County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Brittany Hurd; Betsy Layne High School; second place; Senior Individual Documentary; “The Struggle for Women’s Rights”

Franklin County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winner

  • Bondurant Middle School; Division II; History Bowl Champions

Green County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Autumn Bishop; Green County Intermediate; first place; Division I; Impromptu Composition
  • Kelson Griffith; Green County Intermediate; second place; Division I; Impromptu Composition
  • Kaitlyn Riddle; Green County Intermediate; third place; Division I; Impromptu Composition
  • Green County Intermediate; KJHS Membership Award

Grayson County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Shannon Carter, Misty Geary, Madison Arndell; Grayson County High School; first place; Senior Group Exhibit; “America’s Stronghold for Democracy in the Vietnam War”

Harlan County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Alex Howard, Brooklyn Collins; Harlan County Christian School (a nonpublic school); second place; Youth Group Exhibit ; “A New Face for Kentucky Basketball”

Harrison County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Jake Jones; Harrison County Middle School; first place; Division II; History Test
  • Will Marsh; Harrison County Middle School; third place; Division II; History Test
  • Eastside Elementary School (Harrison Co.); Division I; History Bowl Champions

Jefferson County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Alexandra Bewley; F.L. Olmsted Academy South; second place; Junior Individual Documentary; “Nuclear Dawn: The Cuban Missile Crisis”
  • J. Kevin Combs II; Combs Homeschool (a nonpublic school); second place; Junior Individual Exhibit; “Eve of Destruction: Diplomacy and the Cuban Missile Crisis”
  • Bronte Murrell; Academy for Individual Excellence (a nonpublic school); second place; Senior Individual Exhibit; “The Amistad Debate: People or Property”
  • Rupika Narain, Kelly Pfister; duPont Manual High School; first place; Senior Group Website; “Breaker Boys”
  • Samantha Warford, Evan Allgeier; Academy for Individual Excellence; first place; Senior Group Performance; “Wet vs. Dry: The Debate on Alcohol Prohibition”

Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Dae Lynn Combs; Jefferson County Homeschool Chapter; KJHS Sponsor of the Year
  • J. Kevin Combs II; Jefferson County Homeschool Chapter; KJHS Achievement Award
  • Shelley Zhou; duPont Manual High School; KJHS Outstanding Board Member Award
  • Jefferson County Homeschool Chapter; KJHS Chapter Challenge Award

Kenton County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Alexis Bitter, River Ridge Elementary; second place; Youth (4th-5th grade) Individual Exhibit; “How Schools Have Changed”
  • Paige Brewer; Notre Dame Academy (a nonpublic school); first place; Senior Paper; “Nakita Khrushchev: A Lesson in Diplomatic Contradictions”
  • Ryan Brock, River Ridge Elementary; first place; Youth (4th-5th grade) Individual Exhibit; “Columbus of the Woods”
  • Anna Gregory, Leigha Moore, Emily Witt; Notre Dame Academy; second place; Senior Group Performance; “Women in Society: Wollstonecraft vs. Rousseau”

Letcher County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • James Hopkins, Mitchum Whitaker, Daniel Patterson, John Maxie, Matthew Gregory; Letcher County Central High School; second place; Senior Group Documentary; “The Mountaintop Removal Debate: Prosperity vs. Impact”

Logan County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winner

  • Cody McElfresh; Logan County History Hounds; first place; Division I; History Test

McCracken County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Chandler Emmons-Smith; Paducah Tilghman High School; second place; Senior Individual Performance; “Madeline McDowell Breckinridge: Kentucky’s Champion of Women’s Rights”
  • William Hancock; Paducah Tilghman High School; first place; Senior Individual Documentary; “Religion, Wealth, Culture and Power: Byzantine Diplomacy”

Menifee County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Catherine Prater; Menifee County Middle School; second place; Junior Individual Performance; “A Promise Kept”
  • Mandolyn Wells, Taylor McGuire, Karissa Alaca; Menifee County Middle School; second place; Junior Group Website; “Anne Franke: The Inside Story”

Metcalfe County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Elizabeth Decker, Britney Coe, Megan Thurman, Haley Leach, Kylie Milan; Summer Shade Elementary; first place; Youth Group Exhibit; “The Underground Railroad in Kentucky”
  • Barkley Firkins; Summer Shade Elementary; first place; Youth Individual Documentary; “The Kentucky Headhunters”

Pendleton County
Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Seth Longworth; Phillip A. Sharp Middle School; third place; Division II; Impromptu Composition
  • Phillip A. Sharp Middle School; KJHS Rookie Club of the Year

Pike County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Ryan Hall, Dalton Stevens, Allison Simpson, Erin Edwards; Pike County Central High School; second place; Senior Group Website; “Science vs. Religion: The Monkey Trial and Other Tribulations”
  • Nicholas Worrix, Austin Casebolt; Pike County Central High School; second place; Senior Group Exhibit; “Affirmative Action: A Cure with its own Disease”

Rockcastle County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Anna Poynter, Hannah Hillard; Rockcastle County Middle School; second place; Junior Group Documentary; “Brown vs. Board of Education: The Debate over Racial Segregation”
  • Casey Walker; Rockcastle County Middle School; first place; Junior Individual Performance; “Where is the end of the Debate?”
  • Will Walker; Rockcastle County High School; first place; Senior Individual Performance; “Who can I Trust? A Decade of Doubt and Deception”

Shelby County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Logan Johnson; Shelby County High School; second place; Senior Individual Website; “TPAJAX: A Root for Middle Eastern Terror”
  • Jeron Russell; Shelby East Middle School; second place; Junior (6th-8th grade) Paper; “The Fight in the Black Patch: Passion vs. Power”

Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference winners

  • Zach Brown; Shelby Saddlebreds; second place (tie); Division III; Impromptu Composition
  • Zach Brown; Shelby Saddlebreds; third place; Division III; History Test
  • Adrienne Holtzworth; Shelby Saddlebreds; third place; Division III; Impromptu Composition
  • Logan Johnson; Shelby Saddlebreds; first place; Division III; Impromptu Composition
  • Logan Johnson; Shelby Saddlebreds; second place; Division III; History Test
  • Ethan Russell; Shelby Saddlebreds; first place; Division III; History Test
  • Ethan Russell; Shelby Saddlebreds; second place (tie); Division III; Impromptu Composition
  • Jeron Russell; Shelby Saddlebreds; first place, Division II; Impromptu Composition
  • Jeron Russell; Shelby Saddlebreds; second place; Division II; History Test
  • Emma Saarinen; Shelby Saddlebreds; second place; Division II; Impromptu Composition

Spencer County
Kentucky History Day Awards

  • Allen Oder, Joseph Snider; Spencer County High School; first place; Senior Group Documentary; “The Napster Debate: The Sad Song of Free Music”

The National History Day program culminates with the national competition at the University of Maryland each June.

For more information on KJHS or KHD, visit www.history.ky.gov/kjhs and click National History Day, or contact Tim Talbott at (502) 564-1792, ext. 4428.