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History Gathering Brings Together Generations

Tuesday March 30, 2010

By Cookie Steponaitis

   On a warm spring night a group gathers at VUHS to talk about the past. The members of the Ferrisburgh Historical Society and the VUHS History Club spend an evening sharing, discussing and probing the past through the lens of the student projects set to compete in this year’s Vermont History Day Competition.

    The theme of this year’s projects is Innovations in History and the presentations are as varied and unique as the students. The project choices included a website, documentary, skit, an exhibit and thesis paper resulting in having a lot to see, read and share. Each student researched a topic, created an individual project, an annotated bibliography and 500 word essay documenting their choices, research process and connection to the competition theme. Each student then presents their project with a fifteen minute question and answer session with the adult Historical Society members acting as practice judges.

    This year’s entries included Daredevil Reporter Nellie Bly: Innovations in Investigative Journalism, Innovations in Underwater Explorations: SCUBA, Innovations in Print: Johann Gutenberg and the Printing Press, Eleanor Roosevelt & The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Nelson Mandela: Innovations in Race Relations. As each teen took their turn presenting to the assembled historians, the questions were thoughtful and demonstrated the passion of both groups for the topics. “Imagine,” remarked senior Marissa Andersen. “Nellie Bly got herself committed to Blackwell Insane Asylum and then spent ten days undercover recording the treatment of female inmates by the doctors and staff. Her articles not only brought attention to a part of the population previously ignored and forgotten, but it led to new legislation protecting the rights of people with mental illness.” Her sister, senior Courtney Andersen added, “As if that was not enough, Bly convinced her editor to let her travel around the world by ship, train, camel and hot air balloon, repeating the route from the famed novel of 1898, Around the World in 80 Days. Bly returned home in 72 days to ticker tape parades and newspaper sales that topped one million papers a day.”

    The pair was asked about the software program they used and the process involved in creating a historical website. The role of teacher and student switched and the teens became the instructors, taking the historical society members on a journey of new technology and computer programming language. Both sides benefited immensely from the exchange and the teens gained valuable insight on how to present and defend the premise of their project. The questions came in the form of dialogue and not testing. The conversation was deep and the dialogue intriguing, linking the modern news women of Katie Couric and Barbara Walters to their 19th century counterpart known simply by her nickname of “Pink.”

    Next the group descended into the depths of the ocean by experiencing the documentary created by Nathan North, who presented the developments of undersea exploration from the earliest drawings of Leonardo da Vinci to the current breathing and underwater systems. The documentary included interviews with professional divers and Lake Champlain Maritime Museum divers about the steps involved with surveying, cataloging and preserving the vast collections of early American ships that lay at the bottom of America’s ‘sixth great lake.’ As the historical society members questioned further, they learned of Nathan’s research and his own securing of several diving certifications with his father. He spoke of diving on the General Butler wreck in fifty-five feet of water in Lake Champlain and further plans he has for continuing in this growing sport and career. “The equipment really makes all the difference,” explained North in his presentation. “Since SCUBA was invented in the 1970’s the depths and types of undersea exploration have grown immensely. Still,” he added, “Ninety-five percent of the world’s oceans have not been explored. There is so much to do and learn.”

    Rounding out the first series of presentations was sophomore Julian Hattler who presented the innovations of a German printer named Gutenberg. Before his printing press, manuscripts were copied by hand and only the very wealthy could afford to own books. The revolutions of thought and science that followed Gutenberg’s invention allowed the printing of over twenty million books in the twenty years following the first printed Bible. The change in technology ushered in changes concerning thought, wealth, power and the education of the masses. “I have on my exhibit the works of Martin Luther, Copernicus, Thomas Paine, and Napoleon,” shared Hattler. “They represent the changes in the Protestant Revolution, Scientific Revolution, American Revolution and French Revolution that were all brought about by the exchange of ideas and thought from Gutenberg’s invention. His innovation truly changed the world forever.”

    While the students will venture off to Spaulding High School on Saturday to compete in the Vermont History Day, the prize was already won at the gathering. Joined in passion and commitment to history and its application to the world today, the adult and teen Historical Societies met, discussed, shared and empowered each other to continue on in their life long appreciation and exploration of the heritage that is our world. “They did an incredible job presenting,” remarked historical society member Charles Langworthy.

    “That is certainly a skill that will go with them wherever they go and whatever they do.” Already looking forward to summer projects and next year as well, the evening ended not with an eye to the past, but with an eye on the present and all kinds of plans for the future.

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