The Nashua-Plainfield High School National History Day group of Drew Moine, Abby Poppe, Tyler Anderson, Jayne Levi, and Lucas Pierce (with advisor Suzan Turner)
National History Day Students Receive Award from Iowa Governor for WWI Project
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Great news from our friends at National History Day in Iowa.
The State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees recently selected the Nashua-Plainfield High School History Club as the winner of the 2019 Loren Horton Community History Award Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Youth Project, for their video "Who They Were: Dedicated to Nashuans Who Served in World War I."
The project was truly a remarkable one. During the fall of 2018, five members of the Nashua-Plainfield National History Day program and their adult advisor, utilized a program sponsored by the World War I Centennial Commission and National History Day, to produce a seven-minute film about their local community's role in the Great War commemorating the 100th year anniversary of the war's armistice on November 11, 2018.
The film,"Who They Were: Dedicated to Nashuans Who Served in World War I," profiled a local fallen hero, a World War I veteran, and included information about the local community's support of the war effort.
The student group spent several hundred hours in all phases of the project, which was focused on providing an accurate, moving, and permanent account of our community's contribution to the war, as well as the personal stories of community natives who served and sacrificed on the nation's behalf.
The resulting film was shown at a community Veteran's Day ceremony attended by over five hundred people, to local organizations, and is profiled online as part of the World War I Centennial Commission's program, "Who They Were." Additionally, it is available on YouTube where it has been viewed nearly 1000 times and is posted on the Citizens of Nashua Facebook page, where it has been shared over 50 times. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1378266655718045/
The Loren Horton Community History Award is named in honor of Loren Horton, who represented the State Historical Society of Iowa in many capacities from 1973 until his retirement in 1996. As the Society’s field services coordinator, and later, as senior historian, Horton’s work brought him in close contact with many local historical organizations. In keeping with that legacy, this award recognizes the best project that increases awareness and participation in Iowa history on a local level.
The award-winners were honored by the State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg, in a special ceremony that took place in the Governor’s Formal Office at the State Capitol on Wednesday, April 24.
The 2019 Loren Horton Community History Award Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Youth Project for the video "Who They Were: Dedicated to Nashuans Who Served in World War I."