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By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Kids from at least seven counties experienced Indiana history outside Rochester on Friday, Sept. 20.

At its museum grounds, the Fulton County Historical Society had its 25th school day event ahead of its 48th annual Trail of Courage set for Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22.

Homeschooled students and those from Bremen Elementary School, Emmons Elementary School, Lewis Cass Elementary School, Maconaquah Elementary School, Mentone Elementary School, North Miami Elementary School, Northwestern Elementary School, Riddle Elementary School and Taylor Elementary School dipped candles, took canoe rides, played tug-of-war and experienced other aspects of settler and Native American life.

Riddle brought 126 fourth graders.

Fourth grade teacher Alana Adams, who’s 28, noted the corporation’s been taking kids to the school event since she herself was in elementary school.

Her colleague, fourth grader special education teacher Amy Freeman, said the event “is a nice local thing that ties in with (teaching Indiana history).”

She said she hoped students took away “hands-on experiences with what life was like (in the past).”

Adams said she desired for students to have “some real life visuals of the culture and that kind of stuff that they don’t normally see throughout their day-to-day lives and that we can’t give them at school necessarily.”

Fellow fourth grade teacher Lisa Brooks said her students had been “studying Indiana history and the Native Americans that came through this area” to prepare them for the event.

“It’s great because all these vendors are interacting with the kids today, and so it’s not just walking by and seeing somebody dressed like a Native American or like a settler,” said Brooks.

Several Riddle students also shared what they learned.

Gweth Tindi noted he’d learned about Native Americans and “their history, their culture, what tools they used and how they fought the settlers.”

His classmate, Liberty Fox, referenced she learned about weapons used in the past.

“When they ran out of bullets from their guns, they would use the ends and hit people,” she said.

Mentone had around 63 fifth graders come to the event.

One of them was Cooper Mellott.

“It was super hard (for the settlers) because they had to live in small houses,” he said of what he learned.

Mentone fifth grade teacher Layne Early said it was the first time the school had come to the Trail of Courage.

“We study this time period from the 1700s up until the 1800s, and we (hope the) kids just get a better understanding (from this event of) the way that (people) dressed, the way that they did different things with the candle-making and the rope-making, the trading that went on, also the interactions between the English and the Native Americans,” he said. “We talked about that a lot too and how they interacted sometimes in a good way and sometimes not in a good way.”

FCHS Museum Director Melinda Clinger said several new schools were at the event this year.

“It’s always good to know that they are teaching (Indiana) history in schools,” she said, adding the event “teaches … stuff from the past that people don’t want to pay attention to.”

“With the crafters and the demonstrators that are doing this stuff, it’s keeping part of that alive,” said Clinger.

Everyone is welcome to come to the Trail of Courage this weekend at 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the FCHS grounds, 37 E. 375N.

The cost is $10 per adults, $5 for ages 6-11 and free for those five and younger.

“We’ll have programs on both stages all day long, everything from fife and drum corps to bagpipers,” said Clinger, adding there would also be Native American dancers performing.

“There’s lots to see and lots of good food to eat,” she said. “We hope that everybody enjoys the weekend and marks the dates for next year.”