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People of SoIN Paper Memories Lynlee Jerke Peyton Lamb Three from Southern Indiana win awards in Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana contest Story by Julie Engelhardt Photos by Luis Munoz (except where noted) Mar/Apr 2019 • 22 Coping with the death of a loved one is diffcult, yet for younger people the experience can be an especially hard concept to process. Southern Indiana residents Lynlee Jerke, 11, Peyton Lamb, 13, and Gabi Clark, 18, all know what it’s like to experience the death of a family member. They’ve all lost loved ones to cancer. As a way to process their grief and honor these special people, the girls participated in the Write Stuff Teen Essay, Poetry and Visual Arts Program this past fall, a contest sponsored by Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana. Two of the girls wrote essays and one submitted artwork, and all three were winners in the competition. Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana started the contest in 2012. “We want kids to have that opportunity to share and express themselves when it comes to a cancer journey that they, or loved ones, experienced. It’s incredibly meaningful,” said Janet Gruenberg, the organization’s chief operating offcer. Students in grades six through 12 in Kentucky and Southern Indiana are eligible to enter one of six categories: essay survivor, essay middle school, essay high school, poetry, dimensional art and video. Jerke and Lamb entered the contest for the first time in 2018 and it was the second entry for Clark. Jerke received second place and Peyton received third in the middle school essay category. Clark’s 2017 picture won second place in dimensional art and she won an honorable mention in that same category for 2018. Students are informed about the competition in August via schools, churches, hospitals and other cancer support organizations, and then they have until Sep-
tember to submit their entries. Their work is turned over to 45 judges who assess the essays, pictures and videos. Judges come from Kentucky and Indiana and include local educators, librarians, lawyers, stayat-home moms and even TV personalities such as Dawne Gee from WAVE-3 News. The judges follow certain criteria when viewing the work. They are reminded that these young people aren’t professional writers or artists. “We tell them to try to put aside any grammatical errors and really look at the content and heart of the information,” Gruenberg said. “Also, look to see if they have used an original and engaging voice, what insight do they share, and what have they learned during that cancer journey.” Jerke, a sixth-grader at Scribner Middle School, wrote her essay about her grandfather Jerry Nikirk. He was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004 then subsequently diagnosed with leukemia, passing away in August 2018. Her winning essay is titled “My Amazing Papaw.” It begins: “My Papaw was one in a million. It was literally like my Papaw and I were peanut butter and jelly. It all began when my Papaw started babysitting me at just four months old. He would stay two nights in a row just to watch me! My Papaw lived an hour and a half away, but that didn’t change anything about our relationship.” Jerke received a trophy and $250 for her essay. Jerke has fond memories of her grandfather. Her story describes their experiences together, whether her papaw was watching her perform in a production of “The Little Mermaid,” sharing a burger at McDonald’s or sitting together on a bench at Holiday World. She reflected on his selfless nature. “He was very nice and very generous,” she said. “He would tell funny stories about himself and make a joke out of it. He was kind to everyone and he would do something for anyone. He would help you in any way you needed it.” Jerke says that participating in the contest helped her to express feelings about her papaw’s passing. “I don’t like to talk about it,” she said. “I needed a way to express it, so that helped me.” Lamb, who attends Hazelwood Middle School, wrote her winning essay, “One Last Parade,” to honor her grandfather Ronald Dietrich. Dietrich was diagnosed with cancer in October 2017 and passed away on Nov. 30 that year. When Peyton heard about the Write Stuff contest, she knew she wanted to enter. “It’s easier for me to write from my heart,” she said. “I didn’t think I was a good writer until the Gilda’s Club contest.” Dietrich was a float builder who dedicated countless hours to perfecting his creations. Float building was a family affair involving his children and grandchildren. His daughter Carie Lamb says that one of his proudest accomplishments was the construction of a train float. “Dad always wanted to build a float for the Harvest Homecoming Parade,” his daughter explained. “The train is 25 years old and has been in over 200 parades.” Dietrich’s float won awards in every parade, and if he won prize money, he’d take his winnings to build more floats. The family agrees that his favorite was the train float. “He always had a dream that he wanted that float to be in a Christmas parade lit up with lights,” Carie said. His wish came true when the family was contacted by the city of Corydon to include his float in their Christmas parade. He was able to participate just before he died. His final request was to have his casket carried to the cemetery on the train float. His wife, children and grandchildren made that wish come true. Lamb received a trophy and $125 in prize money. She wants to use her winnings to purchase a memorial for her grandfather. “My grandpa loved church. That was his home,” she said. “I was thinking of getting a stone with his name or picture on it to place at Grace Lutheran in New Albany.” Clark’s cancer journey is one she experienced through her cousin, Gabby Lincoln. Lincoln was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 6 and went into remission at age 11, yet according to Clark’s mom, Christina, she was affected by cancer for the rest of her life. “Her respiratory system was compromised because of the turmoil from the leukemia,” Christina said. “As she grew older, she kept having issues.” Lincoln was placed on oxygen full time when she was 15 and had a lung transplant at 17. Shortly after that, she contracted pneumonia and passed away in 2016. She was just 18 years old. Clark recalled that her cousin loved butterflies, so her 2017 entry is a picture of lungs with butterflies. Her second entry, designed using charcoal and watercolors, is a picture of Lincoln looking out of a window with a blue butterfly near her. As a way to process their grief and honor these special people, the girls participated in the Write Stuff Teen Essay, Poetry and Visual Arts Program this past fall, a contest sponsored by Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana. Two of the girls wrote essays and one submitted artwork, and all three were winners in the competition. Gabi Clark Mar/Apr 2019 • 23
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