Local students shine in history competition

Twelve Camp Sherman students and one from Sisters advanced to the National History competition by winning a first or second place at the state History Day event on April 15, at Willamette University.

The national competition will be held this June in Maryland.

The year 2000 theme "Turning Points In History: People, Ideas, and Events" challenged students to develop a museum exhibit, a dramatic presentation, or a documentary depicting some event in history which proved to be a turning point in history.

A high school team made up of seniors Matt Adams and Linda Nagle, and juniors Tiffany and Emily Sims created a dramatic presentation titled, "A Pressing Point in History."

Their work focused on Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press, and on the benefits of the moveable printing press rendered to the Catholic church -- and the commoners -- of the 1500s.

Sophomore Paul Head, will return to the University of Maryland competition for his fourth year.

In his video presentation, Head asks his audience to see the transition from radio to television as a turning point in history. The infusion of television into homes across the country began shaping the perceptions of people -- from how a family should behave to what one should eat and wear.

Eight elementary school students from Black Butte School move on to Nationals as well.

Kyle Benhower and Ryen Schneringer chose a museum display approach in their project "Highway Across the Sky."

Both boys researched the Post-World War Two Berlin Airlift which, in cooperation with France, England, and West Germany, saved West Berliners from starvation in 1948, when Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union blockaded their supply routes.

Complete with miniature planes and parachutes, the boys' display sought to convey the magnitude and cooperation of the air operation where planes, loaded with coal and basic food provisions, landed and took off at Berlin's Tempelhof airport at three minute intervals, round the clock, for over a year.

Chad Horning tackled a difficult and complex subject when he embarked on research of United Nations Resolution 181, which partitioned Palestine and created Israel in 1947.

Horning's presentation noted that the Palestinian Arabs were to have had a homeland created by the resolution. To this day, they do not. Horning corresponded with a Palestinian friend who lives in Jordan and whose family has had a home in Jerusalem for over 1,500 years.

Through the friend, Horning had access to primary resources who gave him first-hand accounts of the Palestinian Diaspora.

Jarett Hancock performed an individual 10-minute drama to depict the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989, as a turning point event for the native Alutiq peoples of Prince Williams Sound, Alaska.

In "The Day the Waters Died," Hancock incorporated direct quotes from Alutiq Chief Maganak, who upon viewing the oil stained water, asked, "If the water is dead, maybe we are dead also?"

Hancock noted the event as a turning point for the natives because of the loss of their subsistence way of life. He also viewed it as a loss of innocence as they now know the waters can die and take with it a part of their culture.

The team of Liz Dale, Ande Phillips, Annie Hancock, and Nicole Sonnier produced an original drama about Anne Pamela Cunningham's successful efforts to save Mt. Vernon from its state of ruin in 1853.

Cunningham and the ladies she enlisted formed the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association, the first ladies preservation organization, which still oversees George Washington's home today.

The team focused on the plight of Mt. Vernon because the topic is non-violent while also pointing to how one individual's effort can have an impact on history.

The Camp Sherman students and their parents now face the challenge of raising enough money in six weeks to travel to Maryland. Each student's expenses will range near $1,000.

Fund-raising activities such as a garage sale, pancake breakfast, and a fun run are scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in Camp Sherman.

The history buffs will gladly accept donations made to the Black Butte School Foundation, P.O. Box 102, Camp Sherman, OR 97730.