Exploring the past: Bethany students learn about colonial America

By Steve Lawson

Published: April 24, 2008

Dressed in a ruffled shirt, striped vest, knee-length yellow jacket and pants, Todd Southard looked the part of a respectable Colonial gentleman. Holding his tri-cornered hat, Southard glanced around the room to spot the bright red coat of a British soldier standing at a table beside a soldier from the Continental Army.
Such strange juxtaposition was common Tuesday as Bethany Community Middle School held its third annual Colonial Days Celebration. The usual quiet of the school’s library gave way to the noisy atmosphere of an information fair as students in sixth and seventh grades moved from location to location to learn about life in Colonial America.
“Each eighth-grade student here represents a different trade or occupation from the Colonial period, around 1770,” said Southard, the social studies and drama teacher at BCMS. “The
students started studying the Colonial period back in January, and today’s the day they have to bring that time to life.”
Like Southard, the eighth-graders dressed in costumes representative of the person they portrayed from Colonial times. Since some would have had a more affluent lifestyle, the clothing depicted that difference. Scattered at tables around the library were a governor, tavern keeper, baker, teacher and even an indentured servant.
“They’ve spent about three months researching their particular occupation from the Colonial period,” Southard said. “Now’s their opportunity to demonstrate to how much they learned and pass along some of that knowledge.”
Vicky Bethel, principal of BCMS, was amazed at the detail in many of the costumes and projects designed by the students.
“What they’ve accomplished here is really remarkable,” Bethel said. “This just shows how
creative some of these students can be when challenged to go a little beyond the normal classroom activities.”
Several guests joined the students in playing roles from Colonial America for Tuesday’s event. Lowell Curry played the part of a British soldier alongside fellow retired teacher Don Saunders, who was dressed as a soldier in the Continental Army. Arrayed on the table in front of the two Colonial combatants were items common to their field packs.
Using pieces of steel and flint, Curry demonstrated to students crowded around the table how the flintlock muskets carried during the time period worked. But the instructions were accompanied by a few warnings.
“The two worse cuts you will ever get are a paper cut and a flint cut,” Curry said. “But I can tell you from experience, the flint cuts are the worst. After they get chipped from use, they’re like a serrated knife and leave a jagged wound.”
Among things such as shaving kits and writing utensils on the table in front of Curry and Saunders were several items made of horn materials. Traditional cow horns were most commonly used as powder horns to carry the black powder used to fire muskets.
“These horns were lightweight and, when fixed properly, were also watertight,” Curry said. “More importantly, the horn material was spark proof.”
Sitting at a nearby table was Dale Swofford. A pastor and part-time teacher at BCMS, Swofford played the part of a Continental volunteer rifleman. The primary emphasis of his demonstration for students was how important it was to those living in the Colonies in the 18th century to get maximum use of everything.
“Everything was important and nothing was wasted,” Swofford said. “The hide of an animal killed for food was also used for clothing, footwear or any of a dozen other things around the home. You couldn’t go out to the local store to buy what you needed. You had to learn to make what you wanted from what you were able to find.”
Swofford said he tried to impart those same lessons to the Boy Scouts he worked with as a Scoutmaster.
“We can learn a lot from the pioneers that helped form this great country,” he said.

News Editor Steve Lawson can be reached at .