Sisters students shine in history competition

Thirteen local students, 10 from Black Butte School in Camp Sherman and three from Sisters High School, took first place honors at the state History Day competition at Willamette University on April 14.

The win allows these history buffs to represent Oregon at the National History Day contest in College Park, Maryland, June 10-14.

In keeping with the contest theme "Frontier in History," seventh graders Ryen Schneringer and Chad Horning produced a 10-minute documentary titled, "Fat Man and Little Boy" in which they show that the dropping of the atomic bomb was the "frontier event" that has led to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The students trace the history of the development of nuclear weapons to our present day worries about the use of these weapons by rogue nations.

Ande Phillips, Elizabeth Dale, Annie Hancock, and Charlie Phillips created a dramatic presentation to present the 18th Amendment as a frontier in constitutional history.

The drama, "Prohibition: A Noble Experiment," is set in Chicago in 1933, just after the ratification of the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition.

Characters including ladies from the Roaring '20s era and gangster Rafer "Barefoot" Dooley show that the Prohibition Amendment was a "frontier" because, unlike the other Amendments, it took away personal liberties.

In their analysis, the students tie this lesson from history to questions about today's issues like gun control and drug trafficking.

Jarett Hancock, inspired by an oral interview with his grandfather who fought in World War Two, developed a museum exhibit, "New Eye for the Allies," which outlines the history and impacts of RADAR. Developed quickly during the early years of war, cooperative efforts between England and the United States resulted in the pioneering use of RADAR, which became a significant operational advantage for the Allied Forces.

Kelcy Blann, Kelsey White, and Katie Taylor prepared an exhibit to show a frontier in transportation history: The Transcontinental Railroad.

The girls note the concurrent events of the time including Lincoln's signing of the Railroad Act of 1862 and the Civil War. The students call the viewers' attention to the use of migrant labor for the railroad's construction and to the positive and negative impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad.

In a dramatic presentation, Sisters High School students C.J. Adams, Wil Hanson, and Laura Leis tackled the idea of the Emancipation Proclamation as a Frontier in History. The students capture the tension of the times by playing multiple roles representing the opinions of both northerners and southerners.

By conducting in-depth research, they uncovered attitudes about the impacts of this document rarely presented in history textbooks.

For students to be successful with a History Day project, they must gather most of their information from primary resources and submit a lengthy annotated bibliography and a 500-word essay on how they conducted their research.

In selecting a topic from recent time, students are also expected to conduct oral interviews as a part of the process.

Fund raising events are scheduled to earn money to send these students to Maryland.

On Saturday, April 28, there will be a dessert social at the Camp Sherman Community Hall at 6:30 p.m. Dessert may be purchased, and students will present their projects. More events are planned for the Memorial Day weekend.

Students may still take interviews if any within the readership are familiar with the topics and are willing to be interviewed. For more information call Black Butte School, 595-6203.