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Hike through History receives statewide award for "organizational excellence"

18 Nov 2013 9:13 AM | Anonymous member
The Old Berwick Historical Society and MSAD 35 were recently recognized for "organizational excellence" for their joint educational program, the Hike through History.  In a ceremony in Falmouth on November 14, Greg Paxton, director of Maine Preservation, presented the award to Vicki Stewart, representing the school district, and Nina Maurer and Nicole St. Pierre representing the historical society.

Maine Preservation promotes and preserves historic places, buildings, downtowns and neighborhoods, strengthening the cultural and economic vitality of Maine communities. The Hike through History route travels through a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the winning award nomination, "The South Berwick Hike through History, a unique local history program led by the Marshwood school system in collaboration with the Old Berwick Historical Society, has galvanized awareness of and public support for South Berwick's historic village over the past two decades, helping to stabilize a fragile corner of Maine's architectural heritage."

For almost 20 years, the South Berwick Hike through History has been an annual event for South Berwick Central School.  For each stop on the Hike, the Old Berwick Historical Society has researched stories of real South Berwick citizens who lived or worked there. In recent years, younger children on the Hike have "met" local residents from the past, portrayed by older students, including eighth graders from Marshwood Middle School.

In a recent joint project, the Old Berwick Historical Society and teachers of the two schools have incorporated improvements to the Hike, including better integration of curriculum goals; use of historic documents and artifacts from the society's Counting House Museum; development of teacher workshops and an eighth-grade training program; and creation of companion museum programs and a website of student resources, www.hikethroughhistory.org .

Donors to the special planning project include the Marshwood Education Foundation, Kennebunk Savings, People's United Bank, Central School PTO, Maine Community Foundation, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and Davis Family Foundation.

"We think the Hike through History is unique in New England," said Nina Maurer, project coordinator for the Old Berwick Historical Society. "Each year we are astonished by the remarkable achievements of students interpreters and the extraordinary outcomes of a hard-won collaboration between three schools, two museums, 60 teachers, dozens of business and property owners, town officials, and a phalanx of presenters and volunteers."

"Both the eighth grade and third grade interpreters do a fantastic job, first conducting their own historical research, and then communicating what they learn to a younger audience," added Nicole St. Pierre, the historical society's project curriculum coordinator.

Last spring, when the Hike's theme was "Journeys," children investigated a Native American bark canoe at a place on the river where Wabanaki Indians paddled 300 years ago.  They cared for a horse at the house of Sarah Orne Jewett, where the author learned to ride as a child in the 1850s.  At a building that was once a stagecoach tavern where Gen. Lafayette stopped on his visit to Maine in 1825, pupils staged a re-enactment of that event.

Old Berwick Historical Society members have already begun "Adopt-a-Prop" fundraising for historic replicas students will use during "Trades," the theme of next year's Hike.  Over $1000 was raised for props at the society's recent fundraising event, the Lighting Up Fall.

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