Mapleton boy published in national magazine
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
CHASE GUERRETTE, of Mapleton, was included in the June 2011 issue of “Highlights for Children.”
The national magazine published a comment on nature and the wilderness by the 7-year-old in the “What Makes You Happy?” feature. Chase, the son of Ryan and Renee Guerrette of Mapleton, will be a second-grader at Mapleton Elementary School this fall.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
MAPLETON — One of the big moments of young Chase Guerrette’s life so far is being included in a recent issue of “Highlights” magazine.
The June 2011 issue of “Highlights for Children” has published a comment on nature and the wilderness by the 7-year-old in the “What Makes You Happy?” feature. Chase, the son of Ryan and Renee Guerrette of Mapleton, will be a second-grader at Mapleton Elementary School this fall.
Each year, “Highlights” readers send the magazine more than 35,000 submissions. The magazine selects work by boys and girls of all ages and from many different places in the world. By showcasing a representative sample of all the work, “Highlights” hopes to foster children’s creativity.
In response to the question “What Makes You Happy?” Guerrette replied, “Things that make me happy: Allagash Wilderness—Maine Woods, Fishing, Sunny days and Nature.”
Photo courtesy of the Guerrette family
THE ALLAGASH WILDERNESS is a special place for Chase Guerrette and his family. Guerrette’s great-great-grandfather, Sam Jalbert, had a camp there and was a tour guide, while Chase himself is actually named after Chase’s Carry, a set of rapids that you have to carry a canoe over. The June 2011 issue of “Highlights for Children” has published a comment on nature and the wilderness by the 7-year-old in the “What Makes You Happy?” feature. In response to the question, Guerrette replied, “Things that make me happy: Allagash Wilderness—Maine Woods, Fishing, Sunny days and Nature.” Here, Guerrette is pictured with his father, Ryan, during a fishing trip to the Allagash last year.
The Allagash Wilderness is a special place for the Guerrettes.
“Chase’s great-great-grandfather, Sam Jalbert, had a big camp up there and was a tour guide,” said Renee. “He was published in ‘National Geographic’ doing a headstand in a canoe. Chase is actually named after Chase’s Carry [a set of rapids that you have to carry the canoe over], so it was special for him to write about the Allagash.”
“Plus we go there every summer,” Chase said. “We take a tent and go camping. Sometimes I go with my Dad and grandfather and sometimes I go with my Dad and grandmother. It’s fun.”
Chase said it was his idea to submit the writing to the magazine.
“I hoped that it would be chosen, and it was,” he said.
‘Highlights’ mailed a letter to the family, as well as a few copies of the magazine, letting Chase know his comments had been chosen for publication.
“I was excited to see it [my writing] in a magazine,” said Chase. “It was pretty cool.”
Guerrette, a member of the Boy Scouts, enjoys playing hockey, baseball, board games, Wii, doing crafts, drawing, reading, riding 4-wheelers, painting, collecting old things, camping, fishing and hunting. He would like to be a carpenter or an artist when he grows up.
Highlights for Children, Inc. has helped kids become their best selves for generations. Its flagship publication, “Highlights” magazine, is one of the most recognizable and widely-read children’s magazines in the nation. It printed its 1 billionth copy in June 2006.
The June 2011 issue celebrated the 65th anniversary of “Highlights’” first issue, so Guerrette was part of a collector’s edition issue.
