Brooke Larkin, at left, and Evelyn Dice hand out contest certificates to young writers at Pine Knob Elementary. Photo by Phil Custodio

BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
The writing contest created by Evelyn Dice and Brooke Larkin at their old school, Pine Knob Elementary, brought back memories.
“It’s given me flashbacks to the good old days. I used to think the lockers were so tall,” Larkin said.
“It was really fun to see my old teacher (Karen Kumon),” Dice said. “And the winners were really excited. It was fun to see.”
The Clarkston Junior High School students presented awards to six winning writers: third graders Chloe Trotter and Christopher York; fourth graders Kendall Sieradski and Luke Thomas; and fifth graders Katarina Fisher and Noah Wenzell.
They had prizes for the top writers, and contacted The Clarkston News to see if they could also be published in the local paper – the third graders are in this week.
“I thought it was a wonderful thing for Pine Knobbers to have here,” Kumon said. “It’s a practical use of their writing skills, it gives students a purpose for their writing.”
“We wanted it to be fun,” Larkin said. “They were all interesting and unique.”
The students had the idea for the contest a couple months ago as a project in their English Language Arts class. They came up with a prompt, “What is your favorite place in Clarkston and why,” created a rubric focusing on grammar, relevance, and interest, and an entry deadline of May 15.
“The point of our project is to get more kids involved in writing and talking about the Clarkston community,” Dice said. “The writing was impressive.”
They received about 30 entries total.
“Everything was well written, with good responses to the prompt. You could tell why they were their favorites,” Larkin said. “Never underestimate a kid. They go for it, especially with a prize. We learned not to underestimate ourselves either.”
They plan on doing it again next year.
“With a new prompt,” Dice said.
“Keep it interesting and engaging,” Larkin added.

Student-writer’s favorite place: A cool cafe

By Chloe Trotter, third grade

In downtown Clarkston there is a diner called the Olde Village Café. I go there with my mom, Ryan, Rhys, Sam and Emmy. I also go there with my dad and my brother Rhys.
It has great service, excellent food, and the theme of the café is good.
Usually when we go there, after we eat, we go for a walk around downtown Clarkston.
After we walk, we go to Depot Park and play on the monkey bars and the tire swing. The tire swing goes really fast!
One morning when I was at my dad’s, when I woke up my dad said, “We’re going to the Olde Village Café!”
So me, my brother Rhys, and my dad went in the car at 9 a.m. to eat breakfast.
When we got there, we seated ourselves in the same spot that we always go to – the huge table in the corner.
Then our waitress came and asked, “Can I get you anything to drink?”
I ordered hot chocolate with whipped cream. Rhys ordered apple juice, and daddy ordered coffee.
Then she went in the kitchen, a couple minutes later she arrived with our drinks. Then she asked, “What would you like to eat?”
I ordered hash browns and sausage and hot sauce.
Rhys ordered scrambled eggs and sausage, and daddy ordered scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage.
Another couple of minutes later, she came with our food and we ate and ate and ate. Then I said, “This food is great!”
When we finished eating, we got a sucker and started walking.
We walked past the Woodshop and looked in to see what food they were serving. I could smell the spare ribs! When we reached the hill we knew that we were close to Depot Park! I went straight for the tire swing.
After that, I went on to the merry go round. It went so fast I nearly fell off!
Then I played on the monkey bars. I skipped a couple monkey bars. After that I played tag.
I was it, then I tagged Rhys and then he tagged daddy!
Then daddy said, “It’s time to go.” So, we went in the car to leave.
We were driving home and I said, “That was really fun!”
“Yeah! It was really fun,” Rhys said.
So, it doesn’t matter what side of the family you’re with when you go to the Olde Village Café – if I go with my dad and Rhys, or my mom, Ryan, Rhys, Sam, and Emmy, it’s just family fun!

Student-writer’s favorite place: Riverdawgs

By Christopher York, third grade

I’m part of the 2017 Clarkston Riverdawgs 8U (8 years and younger) team. We played other 8U teams named Bloomfield Sting, Rochester Rays and Orion Chargers at the Clarkston Classic this year.
The 23rd Annual Clarkston Classic was our first official tournament of the season. There were seven Clarkston Riverdawg teams that hosted the Clarkston Classic. There were 50 teams in seven divisions ranging from 8U to 14U. All of the teams played very well. The Clarkston Classic is a USSSA World Series Qualifier – Class AAA.
The tournament was April 28-30, 2017, at multiple fields in Clarkston including Clintonwood Park, Sashabaw Plains and the Chief Pontiac American Legion. Two fields, #1 and #2, at Clintonwood Park were redone with new red gravel and brick backstops. My team played on field #7 the whole time.
The weather was cold and rainy. Some championship games were rained out.
This tournament is a special Clarkston tournament they have hosted for 23 years. This is the first time I’ve played in this tournament as a Clarkston Riverdawg. I thought it was fun and there were lots of moments that I enjoyed.
For example, when I had my first at bat and hit a double. That felt really good. Our team played very well and I was excited to be on the 8U team. My coaches have helped me learn to bat and field better. My whole team played their best. We won our first game and unfortunately lost the other two.
This was a favorite spot for me in Clarkston because I learned to play one of my favorite sports there. Some of my family and friends from other teams came to my game and cheered for me. I really appreciated their support.
I appreciate how Clarkston has helped me achieve things I would have never dreamed of and I have so many places that I love, but I feel this is one of the best.