Students rapt at Living History Day

Students and adults alike enjoyed a special moment earlier this month as members of the Sisters community shared their personal experiences during the Great Depression and World War II at Black Butte School.

The upper-class students, under the direction of teacher John Kostecka, had been studying this time period for several weeks. When a parent suggested organizing a Living History Day, Kostecka readily endorsed the idea.

The stories held the students spellbound and rendered the adults teary-eyed during Black Butte School's Living History Day on May 1.

Camp Sherman resident and historian Erhard Dortmund began the morning by presenting a thorough but concise narrative of the time period from The Great Depression to the end of World War II. Dortmund's personal experiences included living through the Dust Bowl in the Midwest. Some students grew squeamish as he described the invasion of locusts that covered everything in his town for weeks and the crunching sound they made underfoot as he walked to school.

Next up were presentations given by two World War II veterans who saw action in different theaters. Wally Hunter chose as his theme "The Fog of War" as he recounted the confusion that often accompanied the landings and occupation by his marine unit of enemy-held islands in the Pacific.

When commended for his sacrifice and service, Mr. Hunter's consistently humble response was, "We just did what anybody else would do."

Self-described ski enthusiast, Bill Miller, explained to the audience that he volunteered for the newly-formed 10th Mountain Division because skiing sounded like fun. His unit trained intensively until finally being called into action to displace the Axis forces from the heavily-defended Italian Alps.

Miller's light-hearted tone grew more solemn as he described the sight facing him the first time he crested a snowy cliff and witnessed the losses from the previous night's battle.

Students listened intently. The respectful silence was broken only by a few eagerly asked questions.

A unique perspective from non-combatants rounded out the day. Peter Storton, who was a boy in England during the war, described returning home from primary school to discover that enemy "buzzbombs" had blown the roof off his house, forcing him and his sister away from their family to an evacuation camp.

Illustrating that the war was truly a team effort, Ruth Lovegren described stateside life which included victory gardens, war stamps and rationing. Sugar rationing complicated plans for her sister's nuptials, causing her family to frantically trade ration cards in order to be able to bake a wedding cake.