News

Living history: Nellie Reed students reenact prominent people from across

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 10:05 AM EST

Argus-Press Photo by Anthony Cepak Dressed as Albert Einstein, Tyler Quirk describes his experiences and accomplishments as a world renowned physicist to classmates at Nellie Reed Elementary School in Vernon Friday morning during the schools annual wax museum.

the decades

By SEAN ELY, Argus-Press Staff Writer

VERNON - Fifth grader Walker Alchin sat in a dark hallway with his head down and chin resting on his chest - completely relaxed, not moving a muscle.

A group of students, parents and teachers crowded around his corner and shined a flashlight beam onto him, illuminating his costume and bringing a new persona to life.

Walker lifted up his head and transformed into Walter Elias “Walt” Disney, rattling off an in-depth, three-minute biography on the film producer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and international icon.

At Nellie Reed Elementary School, the end of October is not only dedicated to Halloween, but its annual Wax Museum, put on by fifth-grade teachers Lesley Brieger and Kevin Sturgis.

At the end of a long hallway, a constructed entryway allowed access to the museum, with pillars and brick that emulated Washington D.C. architecture.

The event combines dressing up for the holiday and learning about U.S. history, as each student chooses an influential American figure from the past.

“The kids have gone through this their first four years as spectators so they've had a lot of time to think about what they want to be,” Brieger said. “They really get into it.”

Inside, Avery Lovejoy, dressed as Margaret Brown, wore a dress that could be seen on women during the early 1900's.

She described Brown's bravery in surviving the 1912 RMS Titanic and instructing a lifeboat to return to search for survivors.

“I like her so much because she fought for women's rights too,” she said.

Avery used Google to navigate to various Web sites and learn as much as possible about her character. She is even going as Brown for Halloween this weekend, not only because she loves her costume but for her mother's sake too.

“I'm not going to make my mom go out and buy another $50 costume,” she joked.

Not far away, sitting around the corner in the entryway of a classroom was Albert Einstein.

Tyler Quirk, playing Einstein, told passerbys about his inventions, such as the atomic bomb and refrigerator. He published hundreds of books and his life of hard work earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics as well.

Quirk said he knew he wanted to be Einstein for years leading up to the fifth grade.

But for Seth Ferzo, “influential historical figure,” didn't mean Nobel Prizes or surviving a boat crash.

It meant popcorn - lots and lots of buttery, salty popcorn.

Seth came to life as Orville Redenbacher when the light hit him, talking about his struggle to find the perfect bag of popcorn, trying more than 10,000 recipes in his lifetime.

Seth sported thick black glasses, a middle-parted hairstyle and old-time suit jacket just like Redenbacher can be seen wearing on commercials, popcorn boxes and advertisements.

Ferzo said Redenbacher appeared on countless talk shows promoting his product and his hard work and determination is an inspiration.

He enjoyed telling listeners that the popcorn guru died in 1995 from a heart attack in his hot tub.

“The kids just do a great job bringing history to life,” Brieger said. “Seeing them do that and be excited about it is amazing. They were so prepared for this and we never know what to expect, because they don't talk about it until they come walking through the door, since it's all done at home.”

Kyle Brady dressed up as Johnny Appleseed, an American legend who he says is impressive for his ability to storm the countryside barefooted, planting apple seeds.

His grandmother - a true advocate of Halloween - helped him prepare for the role. Although he originally wanted to be Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley, he was happy with how it all turned out.

Brieger said the children's' weeks and months of preparation was obvious, making the event special once again.

- Contact Sean Ely at 725-5136 extension 231. Post comments about this stroy online at www.argus-press.com.

Comment on this Story

Amira Lovejoy wrote on Oct 31, 2009 12:57 PM:

" As a parent of a Nellie Reed fifth grade student I just wanted to congratulate all of the fifth graders on a fantastic wax museum! They all worked very hard and put in a lot of time and energy researching their characters and it was evident in there outstanding performances! Great job kids and Great job parents!!!! "

Brian Quinn wrote on Oct 31, 2009 11:43 AM:

" Michael Jackson is more suited to Halloween than Elvis Presley. Jackson looked like a Ghoul and sang like one. "

procesecuted wrote on Oct 31, 2009 12:17 AM:

" maybe you should have been in court the day Mr Cobry basically called me a piece of crap after defending my country in 5 different areas of operation he needs to take a long hard look at himself and realize that he has not seen anything like our vets have "