The Visor

Society for the Preservation of Ohio History produces another successful film

May 18, 2010

Jay Hillery

History has a way of repeating itself. Fortunately, Hoban has a group of dedicated students who are working to make sure that doesn’t happen. The Society for the Preservation of Ohio History is dedicated to ensuring that future generations are educated about important Ohio history.

“It’s very frustrating to be a historian in a culture that teaches that history doesn’t apply to current events,” history teacher Jason Anderson said. “In the Society we try to create movies and lesson plans that would be appropriate for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The society is a dominated by majority rule and the students decide what topic they want to work on next.”

“The idea is to have the students really take ownership of the project,” Anderson said. “The students don’t only get to make the decisions but they also get to use the equipment that the society owns. We really have a small studio in the back of the room,” says Anderson with a chuckle.

The society continues to encourage students to find ways that technology can help teach students history.

“It’s locked safely in the metal cabinet which is locked in my room.”

Not only do they have cameras, microphones and backdrops but they also have animation software which opens up new opportunities for teaching in the films created by them. Animation technology allows the society to literally show students what happened during the Battle of Ft. Laurence.

“We have used the animation in Ft. Laurence film as well as the Battle of Lake Erie movie,” Anderson said.

To film parts of the Battle of Lake Erie film the society had to travel to Lake Erie and shoot part of the scene there. The most recent project that the society did was the “Rosie the Riveter” documentary.

This documentary profiled the women who during WWII took on the men’s jobs while men were away fighting the war. This subject was chosen after an article was published in the Coshocton Tribune about one of the women who was honored in a parade.

“I really don’t think we could’ve won the war without those women who worked in the factories,” Anderson said.

Looking to the future, the society thinks of what they will work on next. The next project is a movie on the Ohio & Erie Canal.

“We’re really looking forward to making a model of a working lock for this project,” Anderson said.

For a club that looks to the past for lessons, the future looks bright for the Society for the Preservation of Ohio History.

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