It all began at State Street Elementary School in Skaneateles, New York when Luke was 8 years old. His class assignment was to read a biography of a famous American, but Luke couldn’t locate a book about the person he’d chosen, Theodore W. Case, inventor of sound-on-film. What Luke did find, however, were articles written by Dr. Lee DeForest declaring himself as its inventor. Luke knew that information was incorrect, and that Case died at age 54 without refuting De Forest’s claim. Luke, at the suggestion of his mother, determined to set the record straight by writing Case’s biography.

This was a difficult task for a ten year old, especially since a lot of the information was in “scientific” jargon. Antonia Colella, Luke’s single mom and a reading teacher at the school Luke attends, helped simplify the jargon and co-authored the book, which took two years to complete. The mother-son team consulted the Case family, Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Case Laboratory, the Seymour Library in Auburn, Cayuga Community College, St. John’s Military Academy, Yale University (where Case attended), the internet, and numerous other sources. “Luke asked the guide at the laboratory a lot of questions,” Antonia explains. “Instead of brushing him off, the guide treated Luke just like an adult, answering every single one.”

Luke and his mom self-published their book and have promoted it in numerous ways. They’ve held book signings and participated in Art Wenzel’s Authors Exposed program which promotes works of the Finger Lakes region authors. Luke has also dressed up and posed as Theodore W. Case at the school’s Living Wax Museum. Luke’s Letter to the Editor, urging local residents to promote their city as the talking pictures capital of the world, was published in the Auburn Citizen. He’s been interview by WCNY-TV talk show host Dave Valesky and spoke before the Auburn City Council, proposing that the city be officially titled “The Birthplace of Talking Movies”. The council voted unanimously in his favor. Luke’s effort are fueled by the fact that Ithaca, New York is known as “The Birthplace of Silent Film”.

Currently, Luke is focusing on getting Hollywood to officially recognize Case as the true inventor of sound-on-film. Author and screenwriter Nick Sagan and his wife Clinnette are assisting with this effort. Now We’re Talking is “an important contribution to the Motion Picture industry,” says Fay Vincent, former president of Columbia Pictures. Ted Case III, Case’s grandson, was so proud of the book that he wrote its introduction. Luke’s grandparents, Lucian and Stella Colella, the Greens, and the Auburn’s citizens add to his rock solid support team. In addition to his research and literary skills, Luke plays the piano and violin, is an alter boy, and loves playing baseball with his friends.

Her writing is exceptionally descriptive, factural, and always well researched. Anca is always willing to provide extra bits of information that makes a selection fascinating and keeps her readers interested. Her aesthically beautiful style is always uplifting.

During the floods in Romania, Anca reported on the kind gestures performed by many children in her country. She also reported on how Romania was helped by people in other countries. When Anca writes, she gets right to the heart of the issue. Regarding the floods, she reported, "The most impressive moment was when a group of children from an orphanage came and gave their personal belongings to help the people in need."

Anca enjoys foreign languages, especially English. She says, "I love it!" She happily corresponds, via e-mail, with young people in America.

He started learning to play bridge at age 4 and vowed to surpass his 11-year-old brother, Sam, who had earned the title of Youngest Life Master in 1988. Dan lost interest in the game for a few years then retuned to it when he was nearly 9. By then, Joel Woolbridge of Snyder, New York topped Sam's record.

Players gain Life Master title by winning 300 master points in the American Contract Bridge League, that has a membership of over 200,000. An average player takes 20 years to reach that level, but Dan aced it in 15 months competing against opponents in the 50 year old range.

The Hirschman brothers learned the game from their father who's a lawyer and professional bridge instructor. The family traveled 11,000 miles on the bridge circuit chasing the title. "Some people took their kids fishing," Mr. Hirschman explains. "I took them to play bridge."

Dan, then an A+ fifth grader who took 7th grade math class, considered school "B-o-o-o-ring." He enjoyed mental games but "Nothing physical. No sports," he says. Such firmness is the result of spending a summer in a body cast, after breaking his leg playing soccer during first grade.

Within a short time, Allison noticed that her students learned much faster when she made the learning experience fun. Based on that realization, Allison decided to make 30 learning games to be used at the center. After finishing only a few, she then realized that completing the job was going to take a long, long time if she didn't get help. "So, I recruited members from our different 4-H clubs to help color, cut, and glue the hundreds of tiny game pieces. We used bright colors on the game boards so young children would be excited to use them. Then we laminated the pieces to make them last longer. The neat thing about making the games was that when I told people about what I was doing, they got excited and jumped in to help." More than 40 people worked a total of 130 hours completing the 30 games, which will be used to teach the alphabet, numbers, counting, sequencing, and money skills to young students.

Allison helps the community in other ways as well. During the last several years, she has shared her love of stories and book with hundreds of children during library story times at three local libraries. She's also donated the $500 she won at the Pillsbury Kids' Bake-Off competition, that was ear-marked for the winner's favorite charity. The Literacy Center used the funds to upgrade computers and purchase much needed computer software. Allison continues making a major positive difference in her community.