Video: Students Take Trip Back In Time On Special Field Trip

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – When Timothy Gillespie tells grade schoolers about the days of picking cotton, he doesn’t speak from book knowledge.

Gillespie actually lived it.

“I started when I was about four years old picking cotton. I lived over in Schooner Bottom in Pontotoc County,” Gillespie said.

He is one of the presenters at the annual “Living History” Days.

“We can take history out of a textbook and make it real to students, make it exciting and fun,” said Rae Mathis, curator of the Oren Dunn Museum.

Students were able to see a blacksmith in action, there was a demonstration on baling hay and visitors were able to test their skills at corn cob darts.

Volunteers, teachers and students say there are a lot of lessons on this field trip.

“We certainly don’t want to go back to this but they do need to see where we come from, how labor intensive, work was back then, that’s why farmers could eat so much, and stay trim cause they worked so hard,” said Harry Collins, who showed the students how farmers used to bale hay.

“The more we know about history and again, what people have gone through, different periods, World War II, Vietnam, civil rights movements, the more we know the more we can appreciate and strive to continue to protect our freedoms,” said Plantersville Middle School teacher Deborah Mahaffey.

“It was very hard to live back then because they had to grind, and put stuff there, we just go to the store today and buy it,” said Plantersville Fifth Grader Courtland McCoy.

All of the exhibits are based on curriculum and guidelines approved by the Mississippi Department of Education.

The Living History Day is opened to the public Saturday. Cost is 2 dollars per person.