The Gettysburg Address

Aug., 1999

Stephanie Carter Bistritz '05 carried on a patriotic family tradition when she delivered the Gettysburg Address on Memorial Day at Evergreen Cemetery in Chagrin Falls. The Chagrin Falls Middle School sixth grader is the sixth member of her family in 58 years to give the famous address at the cemetery's Memorial Day ceremony. Stephanie's grandfather, Ralph Beattie '43 started the patriotic legacy when in 1941 he won a competition to give President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 speech. Her mother, Martha Beattie Bistritz '77 followed suit in 1971; then came second cousin, J.B. (James Beattie) Raftus '78 in 1972, aunt Susan Kent Beattie '82 in 1976 and Stephanie's sister, Jennifer '02 in 1996. Her father is Rich Bistritz '77.