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Blast from the Past exhibit

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PDF of a book produced by Wendy Colsen's Douglas Elementary sixth grade language arts class in 2009. The project was in conjunction with the SDHS museum exhibit "Summertime." Samples of the student creative writing and drawings were printed as banners for display at the Old School House.
Blast from the past -mini color1.pdf 5.5MB; Blast from the Past: A History of Summer Fun is a collaborative project involving the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society and Saugatuck Public Schools. This is the fifth year of collaboration between the two entities involving a child-generated exhibit, but the first to be displayed at the Old School House Discovery Center. Please visit the Pump House Museum to see the Summertime exhibit. Special thanks to the following for making this project a reality this year:  The Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society for having the foresight to involve students in their exhibits.  Jim Schmiechen sharing his knowledge of the area with the students.  Kit Lane for also sharing her knowledge of the area with the students.  Artist Bruce Cutean who sparked the kids’ creativity and helped them make models of their landmarks.  Dwight from Overisel Lumber who donated the lumber for the model boxes and who also generously cut the wood.  Industrial Arts teacher, Vince Heyser, who had his high school students sand and assemble the boxes that contain the models.  Ron Soule and Darrell VanVleet for assembling and painting the pedastals.  Parent and local artist Michelle Maicki who volunteered her time to work with students on illustrating their projects.  Parent Kris Vernier for formatting and editing our final project.  Alonzo Hannaford for assisting with many, many aspects of the project.  Dick Haight for advice on publishing our final product.  Fred Schmidt for help in promotion and countless other things.  Steve Hutchins for all his behind-the-scenes work.  Rob Carey for assisting with the publishing.  Jack Sheridan for also assisting with the publishing.  Ken Carls for advice on the banners.  John Peters for helping to promote the exhibit.  My sixth grade students for being so excited to work on this project each day and for their endless creativity.  The parents who donated their time to bake and help set up the museum for the opening night, and those who volunteered to be docents.  The Local Observer and The Commercial Record for their coverage.  Greg Janik and The Saugatuck Township Fire Department for letting us open as planned.  The Saugatuck Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Wood, and Principal Travis for allowing our teachers to teach the curriculum in a creative manner, and to allow the students to experience a real-world application of their knowledge.  My former principal, Kathy Herrick, for her continued kind words, encouragement, and support  And last, but not least, my parents Ron and Carole Colsen for always believing in me and passing on the strong work ethic that got me through this project. The final product is an example of collaboration at its finest; working together to enhance the educational experience of our students and to create memories that will last a lifetime.
4 banner fish.pdf 3.6MB; A sample of the banners used in the project exhibit.

2021.41.40

Example of a collaborative project to bring history to life for 11-12 year old students, namely Marie Pena, Derek Brockington, Shelby Laarman, Nick McDuff, Connor Rasmussen, Jacob Vermeulen, Hannah Schwartz, Efren Jimenez, Nick Brown, Reese Bohn, Shanna Strowenjans, Rita Maslanka, Monica Gonzalez, Lydia Battjes, Fya Redinger, Amber Rewa, Rachel Pate, Kailey Gehres, Skylar Fucile, Jacob Pettinga, Barbara Rasmussen, Isabelle Van Wieren, Sophia Maicki, Taylor Slais, Kishan Patel, Caroline Finn, Michaela Sweigart, Danielle DeMond, Marena Tedaldi, Madison Walston, Ashton Greene, Danielle Schlock, Katie Slayer, Sydney Vernier, Analise Avalos, Devon Castillo, Veronica Troyer, Elsie Hayden, Jordan Overway, Jessica Francis, Alex Segovia, Sean O’Malley, Logan Fritz, Cody Shriel, Ryan Nye, Josh Jones, Chris Strowenjans, Mary Cappelletti, Ivy Gibson, Louie Kiss, Jacob Holtsclaw, Joseph Brown, Dayna Gresham, Morgayne Wilson, Emma Mikolitis, Josie Oren, Mikayla Lacy, Emily Claeboe, Kerensa Hofmeyer, Emily Schutzenhofer, Adam Kimball, Alex DeWitt, Aubrey Darling, Kyle Harbison, Jennifer Kelly, Megan Biller, Rachel Sutherland and Morgan Bush. The teams of students wrote about the Air Dome, Big Pavilion, Big Pool, Camp Gray, Chain Ferry, Coral Gables, Fishtown, Hotel Butler, Interurban, Island Queen, Keewatin, Koning Hardware, Mount Baldhead, Oval Beach, Oc-Bow, Rootbeer Barrel, Soda Fountain, Tenting, Venetian Night and a 2009 tourist trip.

Education and schools1930+ Tourism, activites, tours and attractions

Winthers, Sally

2021.41

Schmiechen, James A.

Donation

digital asset

Digital data in CatalogIt

Colsen, WendyDouglas Elementary School 1957-

08/23/2025

08/23/2025