Students from seven schools in Greene and Hawkins had the opportunity to show what they have learned about the past and take part in a Civil War re-enactment recruiting camp as part of Northeast Tennessee Regional History Day on Feb. 2 at Tusculum College.
While the regional event has grown steadily, this year’s event saw a doubling in both in the number of students and schools represented with more than 120 students participating from seven schools in Greene County and one in Hawkins County. Schools represented included Baileyton Elementary School, Chuckey-Doak High School, Chuckey-Doak Middle School, Greeneville Middle School, McDonald Elementary School, Mosheim Middle School and Rogersville Middle School.
Students illustrated what they had learned about their selected topic through the creation of exhibits, documentaries, websites and plays. A part of the National History Day program, students created projects related to this year’s national theme for the program, “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences” to meet the requirements of the national program.
The Regional National History Day event also gave the students the chance to learn about the Civil War in an interactive way. The students participated in a Civil War recruitment camp, conducted by re-enactors Mack Cothran, Wes Jester, Artie O’Neal and Lewis Whaley in an effort coordinated by local re-enactor Carlos Whaley. The new troops were then visited by President Abraham Lincoln (portrayed in first person by Chris Small of The Lincoln Project) for a review.
The Andrew Johnson Heritage Association funds the National History Day program in the region with support from the Tusculum College Department of Museum Studies. Volunteer George Collins is the regional coordinator for National History Day events. Darlene McCleish, National History Day resource coordinator, worked with the students and teachers at each of the school throughout the academic year to create their projects. McCleish’s position was created with funds from the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association and the Niswonger Foundation,
The top two places in each category advance to the East Tennessee District event to be held at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on March 4.
Projects advancing to the district event are (by category):
Documentary: individual – first place, “The Monkey Trial” by Jonathan Nicholson, a student at Mosheim Middle School, and second place, “Time to Reform: Too Many Birthdays Spent in Foster Care” by Macie Heck of Mosheim; group – first place, “Revoking Honor, Purge of 1917” by Meghan Lamb and Erica Reynolds of Mosheim, and second place, “Operation Eagle Claw” by Chace Carter and Alex Reed of Baileyton Elementary School.
Exhibits, individual: sixth grade – first place, “Highway to the World, A Highway Robbery” by Jada Hensley of Mosheim; second, “Lincoln-Douglas Debates” by Eric Roberts from Chuckey-Doak Middle School, and third place, “Building Tellico Dam: The Debate of the Snail Darter” by Mason Price of Chuckey-Doak Middle.
Seventh grade – first place, “President Johnson vs. Congress” by Sandi Inscore of Mosheim; second place, “Holocaust, Auschwitz Concentration Camp” by Dawson Russell of Baileyton, and third place, “Animal Rights: It’s Not Black and White” by Amee Hankins of Chuckey-Doak Middle.
Eighth grade – first place, “The Place Where They Cried” by Amelia Schroeder of Chuckey-Doak Middle; second place, “The Lincoln and Douglas Debates” by Taylor Cooper of Chuckey-Doak, and third place, “Japan’s Doomsday Weapon Against North America” by Christian Smallwood of Rogersville Middle School.
Exhibits, group: sixth grade – first place, “From Tennessee Divided to Bridge Burning at Pottertown” by Kristen Dixon and Emily Kirk of Chuckey-Doak Middle; second place, “Iran Hostage Crisis” by Caroline Beals and Reeve Han of Chuckey-Doak, and third place, “The Atomic Bomb by Sara Davis and Hayley Willet of Mosheim.
Seventh Grade – first place, “Cuban Missile Crisis by Corben Bernard and Billy Stevens of Baileyton; second place, “Debating the Tennessee Valley Authority Then and Now” by Justin McCravey and Maddux Southerland of Mosheim, and third place, “To Secede or Not to Secede” by Caleb Moon and Kori Smith of Chuckey-Doak Middle.
Eighth grade – first place, “Debate Over Women’s Suffrage” by Caitlin Gosnell, Kendra Quillen and Andrea Vasquez of Chuckey-Doak Middle; second place, “Debated Diplomacy: The Cuban Missile Crisis” by Erika Hammers and Devan Johnson of McDonald Elementary School, and third place, “Nine Soldiers” by Katie Hale and Makayla Lynch of Baileyton.
Performance – individual – first place, “Rebecca Nurse: A Dramatic View of the Debate Over the Trial of Rebecca Nurse” by Ariel Davis of Chuckey-Doak Middle, and second place, “The Debate of the Emancipation Proclamation” by Taylor Dean of Chuckey-Doak, and group, first place, “Revolution Birth of a Nation” by Daniel Beddingfield, Austin Fillers, Parker McCrary and Kelly Russ of Chuckey-Doak Middle, and second place, “Woman’s Rights” by Hana Aucterlonie, Brittany Everhart, Tyler Puffenbarger and Brodie West of Mosheim.
Web site – first place, “Woman’s Suffrage” by Alexis Gibson and Michaela Myers of Chuckey-Doak Middle; second place, “Segregation in Baseball” by Danè Adams and Kenny Ball, Chuckey Doak, and third place, “Camp David Accord” by Dylan Carter, Luke Keasling, Caitlyn Powers and Noah Wagner of Mosheim.
The middle school students compete in the junior level of the National History Day event. High school students compete in the senior level.
Advancing to the district competition to compete on the senior level is Matt Hensley, a student at Chuckey-Doak High School, which his exhibit, “3 – 2 -1 Wait a Minute.”
Hensley was also presented a special award for his use of primary sources in his project.
Also receiving this award for the best use of primary sources were the group that placed first in the group performance category – Daniel Beddingfield, Austin Fillers, Parker McCrary and Kelly Russ of Chuckey-Doak Middle.
A monetary award was presented to these students, sponsored by the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association.
Judges for the event included Debra Jo Boles from the Greene County School System, Amy Collins from East Tennessee State University, Jennifer Pierce from the National Park Service, retired teachers Carolyn Gregg and Lynn Hartman, volunteer Connie Whaley and from Tusculum College, Dollie Boyd, Joyce Doughty, Marilyn duBrisk, Eugenia Estes, Dr. Paul Fox, Davis Smith, Jean Stokes, Mark Stokes and Heather Tunnell. Doughty also serves as president of the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association.
Students placing in the top of the district competition will advance to the state competition to be held in Nashville on April 2.