The "Knowledge is for all Time" Essay Contest

Sylvia Myers has established a history award in honor of her late husband, Nicholas G. Myers. This annual award commemorates Nick's devotion to passing on his knowledge and passion for local history to successive generations.

The Mr. "Nick" Myers History Award is administered through North Light Community Center at 175 Green Lane in Manayunk. Students in grades eight through twelve who reside in a primary residence in zip codes 19127 or 19128 are eligible to submit a 300-500 word essay about a person/s, place/s or event/s significant to the history of the 21st Ward of Philadelphia along with a recommendation form completed by a teacher or counselor at the school that he/she attends. Guidelines are available each January with a late March to early April submission deadline for selection in April. In addition to receiving a certificate and a cash award in the amount of $200, the winner's name will be added to a plaque commemorating Mr. Nick and his/her essay will be posted on North Light's Web site.

Although Nick & Sylvia Myers have both been longtime North Light supporters, Nick's involvement increased considerably when he was asked to help North Light develop a curriculum in 1995 for day campers around local history. "Manayunk was rapidly changing and redeveloping and the staff at North Light felt that it was important to invest neighborhood children in their local heritage, but I had some serious doubts about how children would relate to this camp theme", commented Arte Verbrugghe, North Light's Associate Director. "All of my doubts vanished after our first meeting with Nick. His vast knowledge and contagious enthusiasm put those worries to rest." Nick agreed to lead a few of the lessons that he helped to develop, but in a very short time, "Mr. Nick" became a day camp regular.

"Then and Now and What Will Be…Getting to Know Our Community" was a community study from a kid's point-of-view introduced over eight weeks of summer camp in an interactive format. The children's impressions from the camp are captured in the chronology of images in the 100 foot painted mural that spans the back of North Light's facility. In subsequent years, history themes were expanded Our Place in the Schuylkill River Heritage Corridor, Neighboring Neighborhoods, Lifemarks/ Landmarks, WaterWorlds and, Mills and More, and finally Pathways of Schuylkill Settlers, to further explore the concepts introduced during the summer of 1995. Once again, the children's images from their camp experience culminated in public art with the installation of several mosaic tile murals on North Light's property. One of the most beautiful mosaics installed around North Light's main entrance includes brightly colored ceramic tiles, handmade by campers. The tiles depict the origins of local settlers, including the earliest Leni Lenape stick figures through flags of the countries of origin of our Swedish and Quaker settlers. The tiles also depict the heraldic symbols of prominent community founders and feature some major historical events and figures throughout local history. One prominent tile reads "This mural is dedicated to Nicholas "Mr. Nick" Myers whose love of history is a living contribution in the lives of all with whom he shared his passion and knowledge".

Read last year's winning essay by Julia Gambaro.

For more information, including Applicant Requirements and References, please download the application [PDF].

For information about obtaining guidelines contact: Irene Madrak, Executive Director
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