Waitsburg Wins Again

WAITSBURG - What's a patriot?

One of the answers you might expect to get from a member of the American Legion Auxiliary is "service in the U.S. Military."

But that was not the first thought that came to mind when Meara Baker wrote her piece for the organization's "Americanism Essay Contest" last spring.

When faced with the question, "What Is My Patriotic Role As A U.S. Citizen?," the first obligation that popped into the head of the Waitsburg middle schooler was the duty to vote and participate in her country's democracy, which she'll be able to do when she turns 18 in about four years. Baker is now a high school freshman.

"Having the right to vote is an important right, and we should take it more seriously," Baker wrote in her essay. "Many people vote for a person just because they like the way they look or talk. I will learn about the person and what he, or she, believes in before I will vote for them."

Besides being a wellinformed citizen, Baker mentioned the importance of supporting the troops, keeping the country clean, encouraging hope throughout the world and caring for friends and neighbors.

The Auxiliary liked it - so much, in fact, that her writing was selected from 10,000 essays as the best in the Western 13 states. At a school-wide assembly on Thursday, the soft but well-spoken Baker was recognized by auxiliary officials for her passionate writing, while the district received kudos for generating a big winner in the contest for the second year in a row.

Last year, Emma Philbrook won the same regional Auxiliary recognition for her essay "Soldiers Past And Present: America, Honor Your Veterans."

"It's pretty amazing for the same school to have two winners in a row," said Lorna Deckert, president of the Auxiliary's District 12 in Benton City, who addressed the assembly. "You have a wonderful school and wonderful teachers here that make this possible. Continue to write. You can all make a difference in the world."

Waitsburg School District Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke said having two winners back to back reflects a community that nurtures kids who can express their love of country and "how much they value what they have: their heritage, their present and their future."

Waitsburg's B.A. Keve, who was the first to select Baker's essay from 74 school-district entries and submit it to the region, said the piece stood out for its maturity and "heart."

"We were touched because it showed her own deep-rooted patriotism," said Keve, the Auxiliary Unit 35's president.

Keve said though most people think of the Auxiliary as purely focused on military service as a cornerstone of patriotism, her organization's choice of Baker's essay and the values it articulates echo the way many Legion members feel about citizenship these days. In turn, Baker's wide interpretation of the concept reflects her own, her family's and her teachers' perspective on patriotism, Keve suggested.

"Everybody can be a patriot," she said. "It's about honoring and respecting your country."

Baker's award-winning composition is no accident. Aside from her school's broadminded academic environment, her life at her family's home near the Lewis & Clark State Park off Highway 12 is all about articulating views, participating in society and absorbing a variety of strongly held values.

Sponsored by the YMCA, Baker's older brother Fletcher, a junior at Waitsburg High School, went to Olympia last year for the four-day Youth & Government program under which youths from all over Washington "take over" the capital and mimic functions of state government.

"We all talk freely all the time (about current affairs)," said Tim Baker, Meara's dad who is a computer networking specialist raised in Portland.

Baker's parents met in Portland but moved to the Touchet Valley because Meara's grandmother lives in Kennewick whence her mom, Heather Baker, hails. They looked in Walla Walla, but settled on the Waitsburg area because its school district has such a good reputation, they said.

Baker, whose 19-yearold brother Isaac attends Washington State University, seems to be thriving at the high school and wants to become an elementary school teacher. She plays the flute in band and sings with the Salt & Light choir, plays volleyball on the C squad and writes prolifically.

Since she started keeping a journal, she has filled two spiral bound notebooks with her thoughts. What does she write about? Lots, she exclaimed. "I'm a teenage girl."

Or as her mom puts it: Just like her 9-year-old sister Leena, "Meara has never had any trouble expressing herself. She knows how to put herself into her writing."

The values she wrote about in her essay came from being around her parents, who are conscientious campers, recycle household waste (a habit reinforced at school by Baker's fourthgrade teacher Margie Douglas) and honor the sacrifices made by their country's servicemen and women.

Tim regularly goes up to uniformed personnel in public places to thank them for their service, and at home, the family talks about Baker's grandfather's role as an aircraft mechanic in World War II. Ed Hay was stationed in Alaska at the time of Pearl Harbor. His brother landed at Normandy.

Last year's award to fellow Waitsburg student Philbrook inspired Baker to do well on her Americanism essay, but she never thought she would actually win a similar honor. Thursday's assembly was a complete surprise to her.

"I thought it was odd that I was the only one whose parents were there," she said. But when one of the Auxiliary officials threw a glance in her direction, it dawned on her that this might be about her essay.

She went up to read her piece before the crowd and admitted she was a bit nervous but noticed appreciatively that everyone listened to what she had written.

After getting applause from her fellow students in Mrs. Liv Leid's class and congratulations in the hallways throughout the day, she came home and finally relaxed enough to realize the significance of the honor just bestowed on her.

"It's quite something" to be recognized for expressing your personal values, she said. "This is a really big deal."