Pioneer Day lets students put their hands on history

Looking into a mirror as she donned a black hat, Gracie Hoyle laughed.
“How did they put this on,” the South Central Calhoun Middle School student asked as she tried adjusting it in different ways. “It’s so small.”
Hoyle and her classmates were visiting the Calhoun County Museum Friday afternoon for the annual Pioneer Day field trip.
Museum board member Bonnie DeBolt said the group started allowing students to try on the hats – and this year a fur stole with head and legs still attached – three years ago.
“That’s the best part of it,” DeBolt said. “It’s just fun to see what the older people used to wear. … The boys, they’re willing to try on the ladies hats. They were having a blast.”
Board member Dale Gentry said he appreciates that the teachers take the time to bring students to the museum. The field trip gives the middle schoolers a chance to see history in three dimensions, not just as a picture on a page. 
Read more in the May 18 edition.