POLAND School district plans gala event to celebrate past

Organizers are hoping to spice up the event with a creative format.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Pupils, faculty and residents will be celebrating 200 years of Poland history with song, dance, re-enactments, games and other activities starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Poland Middle School.
Event organizer Dan Flood said Poland School District is the oldest school system in the immediate area. Officials say this early beginning can be traced to the Land Ordinance of 1785, eventually leading to the creation of Town 1, Range 1 in 1802. The name was eventually changed to Poland in honor of Polish officers who served in the Revolutionary War.
New format: Flood said school officials did not want the celebration to be dry or boring, so they decided to change the format a bit from the ordinary.
For starters, four pupils will be dressed as four of Poland's most memorable and influential residents -- William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States; Ida Tarbell, author and magazine editor; William McGuffey, best remembered for the "McGuffey Readers," which sold more than 130 million copies; and J. P. Kirtland, Poland's first school superintendent. The pupils will deliver speeches to the audience as if they are actually one of the famous Poland natives.
The program will then move into the early 1900s, and speakers will give detailed accounts of how the school district got smaller, after giving some areas originally in the system to other areas such as Lowellville, Struthers and Youngstown.
Moving onto the 1930s, Flood said, two pupils dressed in typical construction worker clothes of the time will give an account as to how the buildings in the school system were built. As an example, Flood points out that the gym in the middle school was added during the Great Depression. He said tradesmen were paid a daily wage to perform various tasks.
War efforts: Flood said another important aspect of the celebration will be the various speeches on how Poland participated in the war efforts during World War II. He said the community actively sold war bonds, and Poland Middle School was at one time set up as a casualty center.
Flood said four Poland Seminary High School graduates, who had won a state title in track several years before, served in the war. One of those men lost his life, and in 1945 the former Poland Seminary Athletic Field was renamed the Beard Mitchell field after that young man.
There will also be a quiz show to represent the 1950s as pupils, on a set made to look like that of a TV game show, will answer questions on the history of Poland. Participants will also enjoy dance re-enactments from each era, some to the sounds of pupils' performing as the Beatles.
According to Flood there will also be a surprise guest from the past.
The event will conclude with a tribute to America and the lives lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
jgoodwin@vindy.com