Black Butte School students triumph

Black Butte School (BBS) students in Camp Sherman spent their winter and spring examining triumph and tragedy in history. Their performance at National History Day state finals was all triumph.

Ten students placed in the competition on April 14, qualifying to compete in national finals in College Park, Maryland, later this year.

"We've had this many compete before, but we've never had this many place," said BBS teacher Kandia Cross.

Cassy Stephens and Zoey Wavrin took first place in the Group Exhibit category with a presentation on The Children's Aid Society Orphan Trains, noting that the 19th Century charity effort sought "to get children off the streets but what started out as a caring gesture often turned horrendous leaving the children in a worse place than where they had started."

Max Hedren placed second in the Individual Exhibit describing how the 1956 Federal Highway Act drastically altered the landscape of the nation.

Kallee Cross and Haley Hedren presented a first-place Group Documentary on the program to aid children left orphans by the Korean War.

Elize van der Laan notched a first-place finish with her Individual Documentary on the triumph and tragedy of Pan American World Airways.

Lauren White placed second with an Individual Documentary on the efforts of Dian Fossey to protect mountain gorillas in Africa - an effort that saw triumphs and ended in an infamous personal tragedy.

Paris Draheim and Tyler Nisco offered a first-place Group Performance on the great Chicago fire and its impact on building codes and fire safety in urban America.

Danielle Lovegren won first place in Individual Performance depicting how the tragic death of her four-year-old son led Autumn Alexander Skeen to push forward a booster seat law.

History Day competition has been a centerpiece for the small school in Camp Sherman for some 15 years. The school's guiding light, the late Toni Foster, promoted the event as an educational device that not only teaches history but cultivates research skills, teamwork, public speaking ability - all capabilities that serve students throughout their lives.