Wayne Bicentennial Celebration
Wayne Elementary School and
the Town’s Bicentennial Project
by Janet Adelberg
Chalkboard article----
In Wayne, 1998 marks the 200th birthday of
the town’s incorporation by a group
of early pioneers from Sandwich, Massachusetts.
The Bicentennial Committee has
put together a number of special events to
mark this occasion and has made a
special effort to connect with the school
to involve students in the on-going
celebrations. Happily, Bicentennial Committee
member and Wayne School parent
Theresa Kerchner obtained a one year grant
from the Helen and George Ladd
Charitable Foundation and was able to turn
a dream of “involving the children” into
an awesome schedule of age-appropriate, curriculum-based
learning activities tied
into the year-long Bicentennial celebration.
Each grade will focus on a building and corresponding
topical area for this school
year. Kindergarten students will study the
Jennings Homestead and learn what life
was like for a child in the 1780’s. Priscilla
Stevenson and Neala Jennings will tell
family stories and share visits with the
children to the old homestead vicinity.
Students in grades 1 and 2 will focus their
learning on the Swift Homestead, now
Wayne Village Pottery. The Swifts were farmers
and blacksmiths. Local blacksmith
Keith Leavitt will host a visit to his blacksmith
shop, and Dick Lee will show them a
carriage and give them buggy rides in the
spring. Peter Ault visited the class and
shared his stories about the Swifts.
Third grade children will focus their activities
on the North Wayne School House
and learn about education and farming. Many
community members have vivid
memories of their school days there (the
school was open from 1855-1961) and
love sharing them with today’s students.
Last year the Town of Wayne purchased
the old school building and the children
are hoping to be part of the planning for its
future use. The fourth grade children also
will have a North Wayne focus, namely
the North Wayne Tool Company. Resident Paul
Gould shared his knowledge about
the early industry and highlighted for the
children the world-wide commerce thriving
in old North Wayne. Sickles, scythes, Civil
War sword blades and bayonets were
shipped all over the world from the water-powered
factories of North Wayne. With
the help of Robert Fyler and Dorle Gatti,
the students will construct a model of the
tool company.
Fifth grade students will concentrate on
Wayne’s Town House, the site of town
meetings after 1840. This historic building
is currently being restored under the
supervision of a town appointed committee.
Govermental studies is in the fifth
grade curriculum so the students will learn
about town government in the old days
and also about town-operated poor farms.
This spring they will re-enact the 1898
Centennial town meeting, under the guidance
of Wayne resident Arline Lovejoy
who is ensuring that the students will accurately
go through the articles on the
warrent. Parent Doug Stevenson will moderate
their Town Meeting and has taught
the class about Parliamentary procedure.
Boys will be on one side, girls on the
other, when they convene at the Town House
since women did not gain the right to
vote until 1920 when the 19th Ammendment
passed.
Sixth grade students will make the Bicentennial
connection through their science
unit on basic physical forces. Water power
will be their focus as they research the
Wayne Village Dam and Crutch Factory. Youngsters
will meet with former
employees Lila Lincoln and Ken Wells for
first-hand details about the factory.
Water-powered factories such as this one
(now gone) were found all over the state
of Maine in the 1800’s. They have had a guided
tour of the State Museum’s
water-powered mill and have delved into written
accounts about the old mill site.
Their work will culminate in the construction
of a portable working model of a
water-powered grist mill, organized by Curtis
Spencer, Lloyd Irland and George
Bardaglio.
Some of the Bicentennial Committee’s activities
involve the whole school. Ms.
Kerchner has made a timeline (using 70 yards
of clothesline!) in which the
youngsters walk through 14,000 years of Wayne’s
history. Children learn that there
were people here as soon as the last glacier
receded, and they have looked at
authentic artifacts (such as stone tools
and pottery) dating back thousands of years,
and kindly shared by Tink and Lila Lincoln.
During their tour of the Cary Memorial
Library town archives, with volunteer curator
Edward Kallop, they appreciated fully
the meaning and excitement of living history
as they viewed treasured town artifacts
and documents preserved by past generations.
During the month of March, children
will paint a historical mural in Wayne Elementary
School’s multi-purpose room,
assisted by a team of artistic parents. Depicting
the first Rockomeka Indian
settlements and continuing through history,
youngsters will illustrate the chain of
lakes extending from Lovejoy Pond to the
northern end of Androscoggin Lake, as
well as sites of historical interest and
interesting “old stuff” such as carriages, ice
cutting, early automobiles, and so forth.
Ms. Kerchner’s expertise as an educator has
helped streamline these exciting
activities into the regular curriculm activities
of each classroom. She emphasizes
that an army of community volunteers have
come forward to lend their time, their
stories and their expertise to help with
these local history projects. Youngsters are
gaining a unique perspective on their local
history and benefit enormously from their
contact with so many involved volunteers.
In our technology driven world, where
being current takes only the switch of a
computer, students are gaining a new
appreciation for the great satisfactions
of learning about their own intriguing
community roots.
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