Yesterday, several students from U.S. Jones Elementary School and West Alabama Prep School received awards for their participation in the art contest sponsored by the Marengo County Historical Society.

The event was sponsored by the society in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month.

“I liked doing it,” WAP fifth-grader and first place winner Susan Walker said.

The events celebrating National Historic Preservation Month are aimed to help the community become mindful of the importance of historical preservation, and to help others recognize the valuable role that history plays in everyone’s life.

“We want to bring awareness to the public and help children see the historical preservation can be fun,” Kirk Brooker, Marengo County Historical Society operations manager, said.

The society’s art contest included a coloring, writing and poster contest. The society recognized the children participating by awarding individual certificates and gifts.

The art competition category for the third-graders was a coloring contest, and at U.S. Jones, the coloring was evaluated in the creative and traditional art categories.

Third-graders at U.S. Jones winning awards for the event were creative coloring art winner Lekiyah K. Tucker and traditional coloring art winner Wynter Thurman.

The fourth-graders had a poster contest using a historical theme.

U.S. Jones students receiving awards for the poster contest were first place winner Hunter Smyly, second place winner Austin Crepps and third place winner Christopher Henton.

“One of the winners was of the old Marengo County Courthouse in Linden,” Kirk Brooker said.

The fifth-graders participating in the art contest had a writing competition and had to base their writing on their most memorable historical experience.

“A lot of them wrote about Bluff Hall,” Kirk Brooker said.

U.S. Jones first place writing contest winner was Fallon Martin, second place winner was Jack Kerby and the third place winner for the writing contest at U.S. Jones was Cedrick Simmons.

There were several students at WAP that participated that also received awards for the art contest yesterday.

The WAP creative coloring contest winner was third-grader Spencer Martin.

The fifth-grade writing contest winners at WAP were first place winner Susan Walker, second place winner Stathon Wilson and third place winner McKenzie Kay Cramer.

In honor of National Historic Preservation Month, the Marengo County Historical Society has supported a number of different events throughout the month, including an event that is being held today at Lyon Hall, which will honor all the personnel of schools throughout the area for their help in the society’s effort this month.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation organization initiated national Historical Preservation Month.