Students step back into 1861

By Elise Franco

efranco@vindy.com

Austintown

Eighth-graders at Austintown Middle School stepped out of the classroom and into 1861.

All day Friday 400 students experienced what it was like to live and fight on both sides of the Civil War, said Ron Johnson, American history teacher at AMS.

“This day gives the kids a chance to know what it’s like,” he said. “They get to live the story.”

The students were given a reprieve from attending class and instead spent their day visiting stations set up with real Civil War artifacts, such as guns, cannons, ammunition, knives and other tools, Johnson said.

They were also able to interact with history buffs who were dressed to represent folks of that era.

“These are real artifacts, so these things were actually used during the war,” he said. “We do this because the history books don’t tell the complete truth.”

Mitch Riggs, of Pulaski, Pa., said he was there representing the 37th Mississippi Jasper Guard — a southern infantry company.

“I’m here because my ancestors believed enough in the cause that they laid down their lives,” he said. “The least I can do is teach these kids what I know.”

Johnson said he’s been participating in Civil War reenactments for more than 20 years and has been a history teacher for 14 years.

“I’ve been doing this event for about 11 years, and it started over at Frank Ohl,” he said. “History has always been in my blood, and I thought ‘How can I get these kids interested?’”

Chase Leventry, 14, explored the artifact tables and found the old, authentic weapons particularly interesting.

“It’s cool to be able to figure out what happened,” he said. “I can look at all this stuff then figure out who owned that sword and what it was used for.”

Lenvetry said he’s taking a trip to Gettysburg soon and hoped to use Friday to learn as much about the war as possible.

“It’s just really cool,” he said. “I learned that the war was fought over states’ rights.”

Johnson said its that type of enthusiasm he loves to see from students.

“I need them to be historians themselves,” he said. “Without them knowing the past, they’re destined to repeat it, the good and the bad.”