Hempfield boy wins Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest

Joseph Bonomo IV’s creativity on an unfamiliar subject netted the Hempfield boy a big honor.

An essay he penned about the women’s suffrage movement — from the perspective of a family discussing the matter over Thanksgiving dinner in 1919 — was named the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s top submission from a fifth-grader in the organization’s eastern division.

“I had to do a lot of research to make sure all my facts were correct,” said Joey, who will start sixth grade in the fall at Aquinas Academy. “It paid off.”

The big win was a shock to him and to the members of the Greensburg-based Phoebe Baynard Chapter of the national service organization. They honored him Saturday at a Flag Day luncheon.

“We knew (the essay) was good,” said Mary Ellen Vornbrock, chapter chaplain.

Members of thousands of chapters in the national group volunteer for service projects around the country and hold contests for students as a way to get them interested in historical events. Membership is open to any woman who can prove they are a descendant of someone who was involved with fighting or supporting those fighting the Revolutionary War.

“It gives us a connection — to how the United States began,” Vornbrock said.

The Greensburg chapter helps with Wreaths Across America in North Huntingdon, which places wreaths on the graves of veterans in two township cemeteries, in addition to other events and contests.

The Phoebe Baynard Chapter is growing, said regent Debbie Eggleston.

“The women who are joining our chapter right now, they’re getting involved with it,” she said. “It’s like a sisterhood.”

“It’s not the rigid Daughters of the American Revolution that people think,” she said.

The chapter seeks American history essay submissions annually from area students in fifth through eighth grades. This year’s topic was the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote and hold public office.

Joey wasn’t daunted even though he didn’t know much about the subject. He was appreciative of the help from his parents, Keira and Joseph Bonomo, and teachers to turn in a winning essay.

“I was not expecting that at all, but I was happy,” he said.

It thrilled Vornbrock and Eggleston, too.

“It’s nice to see how happy it made them,” Keira Bonomo said.