The grade 3/4 class at Hemmingford Elementary School recently visited Archives Hemmingford, and its exhibit on the 1998 Ice Storm, to learn more about their community’s experience 25 years ago. A total of 22 students were joined by teachers Carolyn Schmidt, Jen Healey, and Natalie Moran during their visit.
“I was teaching some of their parents when the ice storm happened,” says Schmidt, who vividly remembers when the school was transformed into a Red Cross shelter following the storm. “People were living in all the classrooms,” she recalls, noting that when the school board insisted that students return to school, a “one-room schoolhouse” was set up in the United Church so students could attend classes.
During the visit, the students were able to see a display of photographs taken following the storm. “Some of them even found pictures of their parents,” says Schmidt. The students then gathered in the Archives boardroom where they eagerly participated in a scavenger hunt prepared by former teacher Carolyn Marlin. “They are a really good group,” says Schmidt, who reports the visit led to some interesting spin-off conversations. (SR)
