The winners of Deptford’s Come Fly With Us student drawing contest displayed their work at a ceremony on Jan. 9, where Mayor Paul Medany (below, at lectern) told the tale of the hot air balloon flight represented in the contest.
The township hosted the award ceremony for its Come Fly With Us contest on Jan. 9 at the Deptford Recreation Center, an event that saw 131 students from pre-K through fifth grade named winners, according to an event flyer.
The contest challenged students of Central Early Childhood Center, Pine Acres Early Childhood Center and Oak Valley, Good Intent, Lake Tract and Shady Lane elementary schools to draw pictures of the first manned hot air balloon flight in the country, a trip by 18th-century scientist Jean Pierre Blanchard that began in Philadelphia and ended in Deptford on Jan. 9, 1793.
Mayor Paul Medany recounted the tale at the awards ceremony.
“On this day 232 year ago now,” he said, “Jean Pierre Blanchard took flight from Philadelphia, at the old jail yard there, and flew across the Delaware River. He landed right in Deptford Township, across from Clements Bridge Road.”
That site is now occupied by the Deptford Landing Shopping Center, where a clement oak tree present at the time of the flight still stands in the parking lot.
“It was a very historical event,” Medany noted. “It was a very warm day that day, it was 55 degrees in January. Our first president was there, George Washington. A lot of future presidents were there; this was a huge event, and they actually sold tickets to it.
“Think about it,” the mayor added. “Pierre Blanchard was right from France, he couldn’t speak English, but he was going to fly this thing into the air with things never seen before.”
The drawings that won the contest were on display at the awards. Winners were announced by grade and posed for pictures with council. Each winner received a certificate and a $15 gift card.
“It’s a fascinating story and that’s why we’re so glad that you participated tonight,” Medany explained of the hot air balloon feat. “The kids did a fantastic job. Hopefully they learned about a very historical event that happened right here in Deptford.”
