A History Lesson
Helen Caster
The year was 1937, and I was a teacher in the tiny, rural town of Colton. I was an inexperienced, new teacher, trying to make Oregon history come “alive” to my students. I dramatically described my own recent visit to one of Portland’s large parks where I had seen the statue of Sacajawea. I was planning a history test for the next day, in which the students were to identify the participants in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. One test question was, “Who was Sacajawea?”. One student’s answer was conclusive, ” An Indian guide now turned into a statue.”
Three wars and much history later, my niece continues to make Oregon history come “alive” in her third grade classroom in Medford. She often refers to the Portland statue and is now prepared for the “right” answer!!
