Published: April 25, 2008 08:09 am         

Students illustrate why there’s no place like home

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

People come to visit Cooperstown from near and afar for many reasons, but what about the children who live in the village all year long? What parts of Cooperstown are most familiar to them, and what places do they consider most important?

Twelve Cooperstown Central School sixthgraders were selected to reveal the answers to these questions when chosen to participate in the making of the exhibit “My Hometown: A Children’s Eye View of Cooperstown.”

The Fenimore Art Museum hosted a reception for the opening of the exhibit Monday night where the students’ work will be on display until Aug. 10.

Each student was given three 35 mm disposable cameras to go out and take photos of their hometown. The students were told to think about things in the village they might be familiar with that would not be so noticeable to the thousands of tourists that come to visit the village. The final component of the project was having the kids select three of their favorite photos and write an essay to complement their work.

According to Kevin Gray, school programs coordinator at the Fenimore Art Museum, this was the second time the museum collaborated with Diana Garcia, the sixth-grade English language arts teacher, to present a series of photos and essays that reflect the students’ impressions of Cooperstown. ``It worked so well the first time (which he said was about two years ago) that we pretty much kept the model we used the first time around,’’ said Gray.

Garcia, who has been teaching at CCS for 10 years, said she had a hard time choosing just 12 students out of a class of 69 to participate in the project. ``I would have loved to give more kids the chance,’’ she said.

Garcia said the middle school is part of the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELS) program, which combines rigorous academic content and real world projects — learning expeditions — with active teaching and community service. The ELS design focuses on teaching in an engaging way.

``One thing that is nice about this project is it is so authentic,’’ said Garcia. ``It means something. It’s relevant and that means so much in education because the outcome means more, so the students will put more into it. This is something I would like to do all the time.’’ According to Garcia, the students spent a lot of time outside of school to work on the project, so it not only took hard work from the kids, but also required cooperation from the parents.

She said the project took about four months to complete. ``The kids are excited and that’s what you want — to light that fire,’’ said Garcia. Gray said he didn’t think the kids thought taking the photos was the hardest part of the project. Instead, he said choosing just three from those taken was probably most problematic.

Sixth-grader Maggie Hall said she picked her top five photos then started paring down from there.

However, she said the hardest task for her was picking a photo to have enlarged. She said she eventually chose the picture she took of a sap bucket at the Clark Scholarship office on Route 28.

``Collecting sap is something that has been seen through many generations in Cooperstown,’’ said Hall. ``I also thought the background of the picture was nice because there are no cars driving by.’’

Hall said she selected a photo she took of a stone bridge on Lake Street to be displayed in the exhibit because it’s a landmark she never knew existed.

Hall said when she took the photo of the bridge she immediately noticed how old and beautiful it was. She said she could not imagine how long it took for someone to build it.

The third photo Hall chose was one of Council Rock in Otsego Lake.

Hall said she took the picture because she feels the lake and the history of Cooperstown is what is most important about the beautiful village.

Hall said she was excited when she was asked to participate in the project and looks forward to taking many more pictures in the future. She said she believes Cooperstown should not just be known for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and that she thinks there are a lot more things tourists should spend time on.

Sixth-grader Angela Pacherille said she was happy when selected to take part in the project.

Pacherille said although she had to spend quite a bit of time outside of school taking photos, she thought it was fun. She said her dad was a big help because he drove her around and gave her suggestions on photo selections. Pacherille chose to exhibit a photo of her dog Moose in her backyard.

``When I think of Cooperstown I think of my dog,’’ said Pacherille. ``There are many large fields in Cooperstown where my dog runs and plays.’’

Pacherille said she does not know what she would do without her best friend. She said her dog is a loyal companion and when friends and family are not around, she can visit with the dog. Pacherille also chose to a photo of a permit parking sign in Cooper Park. She said the sign reminds her of the summers when her family can’t find a place to park. Pacherille said Cooper Park is important to her because she loves the trees and the all the green.

``It’s so nice just to sit there and have a picnic,’’ said Pacherille. ``I could never live without Cooper Park.’’ Pacherille said when she thinks of Cooperstown she also thinks of the many churches, so she chose to exhibit a photo of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. Pacherille said she has many memories of St. Mary’s, from funerals to Sunday masses. She said nobody can miss the church because it is a big red building.

Pacherille said she feels she learned a lot by taking photos of Cooperstown and she said she was also able to see the village in a ``whole new way.’’