Wednesday, May 2, 2001
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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 |
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Students booklet takes reader on walking tour 'Through Historic Fayetteville' By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
When you look past the new shopping malls and restaurants, you realize that this county is full of history. Students at Fayette Middle School also learned this lesson recently as they completed a booklet on historic homes in Fayetteville. Three eighth grade gifted/interdisciplinary classes combined their efforts on the project beginning in November of last year. The classes took a walking tour of downtown Fayetteville, stopping at several houses and learning a little bit about the homes' history and architecture. The students then paired up and each took on a house. They researched the homes at the Fayette County Historical Society, spoke with the homeowners and neighbors, and wrote a piece on each house. The resulting booklet, "Walking Through Historic Fayetteville," covers 30 houses in downtown Fayetteville that can all be seen on a walking tour. The homes include the Holliday-Dorsey Fife house, the Stinchcomb house, the Long Avenue house and the Edwards house. Through their research, the students heard many stories some fact, some legend about the former residents and the history of the town. One story concerns a tornado in which a baby was born and the father's hat ended up in McDonough. Other stories involve Confederate soldiers hiding in the walls, governors residing at one of the homes, and even ghosts. The project took three months but the students found the project to be a good learning experience and very interesting. It also got them interested in their community. Recently, the Dorsey house was torn down and the students wrote letters to local newspapers and county commissioners. The students also found that many of the people who currently live in the houses appreciated the project and were cooperative. The booklet was the idea of three teachers at Fayette Middle School Doris Carey, Julie Ann Penny and Jane Hannan. They kept the students interested in the project and made sure that the results were top notch. Though the students sometimes found the project to be time-consuming and frustrating, they ultimately saw it to be rewarding. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the project was being told by several people that their booklet was better than the high school's annual project, Fayette Portraits. "Walking Through Historic Fayetteville" is available at Fayette Book Shop. The booklet costs $5 and features stories on 30 houses, pictures and a map of the walking tour the students took.
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