Seventh-graders learn about their agricultural heritage

By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer
    The seventh-grade students in SAD 29 have been learning about their community and the significance of agriculture. The face of the area has changed in the last 60 years. No longer are the majority of families involved in farming. However, without the farmers, where would one be?
    The teachers at Houlton Jr. High School prepare students for this particular unit by having them interview friends and relatives that grew up during an earlier time, recalling their experiences in school, shopping in the downtown and working during the harvest, before mechanical harvesters were introduced. Students also create several projects as part of the unit.
Houlton Pioneer times Photo/Karen Donato
HARVEST — Former Wellington School principal, Nancy Wright, talked about her family’s farm as part of the community unit taught in SAD 29 seventh-grade classes. Students also learned about the development of the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum by viewing a PowerPoint presentation. Pictured with Wright is seventh-grade student, A.J. Thorne of Monticello.
    This year rather than take the students on field trips to visit points of interest, guest speakers were invited into the classrooms to share knowledge on a variety of topics. Those speakers included: Leigh Cummings, retired Houlton postmaster and volunteer at the Aroostook Historical and Art Museum; Angie Wotton, district manager of the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District; Nancy Wright, retired elementary teaching principal, who is a member of the Maine Agri-Women and whose family raises potatoes and Karen Donato, Wellington School librarian who grew up on a farm and now volunteers at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton.
ALL ABOUT HOULTON — Former Houlton postmaster, Leigh Cummings brought a wealth of information to the junior high classes about the establishment of Houlton along with several items from the Aroostook Historical & Art Museum located on Main Street in Houlton. Pictured with Cummings are from left, Nathan Young and Hunter Sargent.
    Cummings shared information on the establishment of the town of Houlton in the early 1800s and many interesting facts about the architecture of the downtown area.
    Wotton accompanied the students outside to observe the fields and woods located on the former Bird Farm where the high school is located. During their walk they were required to observe the area and their surroundings and later share their observations in a writing assignment.
    Both Wright and Donato shared their experiences of working in the fields as children and teenagers and their roles now in preserving the tools, machinery and furnishings of the farm families of the area. The students learned about the development of the agricultural museum where they both volunteer. They stressed the importance of volunteer work in the community and how rewarding it is to hear comments from guests who visit the museum and see items that they remember having or using in their own families years ago.
    As a culminating activity all students viewed the popular documentary film, “The Story of Houlton.”
Houlton Pioneer times Photo/Karen Donato
LEARNING ABOUT NATURE — Angie Wotton, district manager of the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District, fourth from the right shared her expertise with seventh-grade students in SAD 29 as part of their “Learning About Our Community” unit.