Ansonia mayor honors students who penned winning essays

Pictured from left: Mikayla Wiacek, Jenna Davis, Kristina Gecaj, and Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti /Contributed photo

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti received a history lesson Thursday at City Hall as he congratulated three winners of the Ansonia Historical Commission’s annual essay contest. 

The winners were:

1st Place – Kristina Gecaj – Assumption School

2nd Place – Jenna Davis – Assumption School

3rd Place – Mikayla Wiacek – Assumption School

The contest, in its 15th year, was open to middle school students throughout Ansonia and Assumption School. 

A total of 34 entries was submitted for review by Historical Commission Judges Loisann Marazzi and Chairperson Mary Gibson.

This year’s 500-word essay theme was a fictional/factual interpretation of being an eyewitness to pedal bicycle inventor Pierre Lallement as he rode his bicycle through downtown Ansonia in 1865, his hometown. 

Cassetti told the winners, “I am extremely proud of you and your accomplishments in winning these awards tonight. It tells me that you love Ansonia as much as I do.” 

For their creative writing skills, each winner received a certificate and monetary award of $100/First Place, $75/Second Place, and $50/Third Place.

Below is the first place essay:

The Ride of the Wooden Horse

First Place Essay

Kristina Gecaj    Gr. 7    Assumption School

I got to the beautiful Main Street of Ansonia, Connecticut three hours before the big event began.  Today was the day that the crowd would finally get to see my brother ride the first Velocipede down this very street.  Before the big event started, I thought about how Pierre got to this day and how he had made this magnificent invention.  Pierre and I lived near Nancy, France.  All his life, making new and helpful inventions that would make people’s lives easier fascinated Pierre.

Pierre first was employed building baby carriages in 1862 when he was only 19; this had started his interest in creating new ways to move oneself or others.  When he saw someone riding a dandy horse, he immediately thought of how he could make that invention better and help people move around.  He modified what he saw by adding a transmission with rotary crank mechanism pedals to the front.  After spending countless hours to perfecting this, he created the Velocipede.  In 1863 Pierre moved to Paris and showed the Oliver brothers his likely invention.  The Oliver brothers saw the potential in Pierre’s invention and assisted him with getting the news about it out to the public.

In July 1865, Pierre left France for the United States and he settled in Ansonia, Connecticut.  While he was there, he perfected the build and design of the Velocipede.  In April 1866 James Carroll made a patent application for the Velocipede.  I remember Pierre being excited about receiving the patent.  It made this invention his own; nobody could steal or use his design or methods.

Now, Pierre is about to ride the Velocipede.  The streets of Ansonia are filled with people cheering and waiting for this unique event.  Nobody has ever seen anything like this in the past.  As I look to my left I see a little girl holding her mother’s hand jumping up and down.  When I look to my right, I see an elderly couple looking onto the street with amazement in their eyes.  This was the first time they have ever heard of an event like this.  It felt like a parade was about to begin.  I was right in the front row and had a great view of all the beautiful buildings.  Everyone decorated their little shops with flowers and other decorations to show support for Pierre.

Finally the crowd began to cheer louder when they saw Pierre settle into the beginning of his riding course.  He grabbed onto the wooden handles and started pushing the pedals with his feet.  The Velocipede had two large wheels, one in the front and one in the back.  Pierre began his ride at a slow speed so he could wave to the large amount of people that were there as he drove by, but he quickly picked up speed and demonstrated how fast his invention could go.  With amazement and excitement, the crowd clapped and cheered and transportation would never be the same again!

This is a press release from Cassetti's office.

My congratulations go out to the three winners! Keep writing!