The Clarkson Historical Society will be celebrating National Handwriting Day for the first time in January with a Handwriting Contest. The contest will be open to everyone in the following three categories. Students in grades 4-5, grades 6,7 and 8, and grades 9-12 with small cash prizes awarded to the top three winners in each category. Look for rules and entry information about this event in the January 4 edition of this newspaper.
National Handwriting Day was first created and sponsored by the National Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association in the early 1980s. They chose John Hancock’s birthday, January 23 as the perfect day to celebrate. Hancock’s signature was the largest and most distinctive one on the Declaration of Independence. His signature has since been used as a way to refer to anyone’s hand written signature, as in “Put your John Hancock right here,” when signing a document or contract.
The Historical Society has been dedicated to teaching cursive to the more than 400 elementary school students who have visited their restored Academy building over the past two years. They have found that the children, and many of their parents and teachers have been enthused about this opportunity for them to learn to write and perfect their cursive and their signatures in particular. Research has shown that writing in cursive improves thinking and fine motor skills in a way that no other form of writing is able to do.
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