St. Paul students to present program on New Ulm history at museum

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The unique historical tapestry of New Ulm will spring onto the national stage on June 8, when five students from Christ's Household of Faith, a private school in St. Paul, will represent Minnesota in Washington, D.C. on National History Day.

The students will be presenting the same program 7 p.m. Monday, May 22 in the annex at the Brown County Historical Society, along with the second place winners from the same school and two students from New Ulm.

Also presenting will be Holy Trinity Middle School eighth graders Katy Moeller and Julie Seifert, who will present a program called "The Effects of the Dakota Conflict on the New Ulm and Brown County Area," which was a junior media class project.

The winning presentation, known as "Our Town: Bill of Rights Held Prisoner of War in New Ulm," was developed through extensive research, personal interviews, and a field trip to New Ulm. The goal was to study the effects of the United States entry into World War I.

"The main focus was on German suppression," Teacher Pamela Alsbury said. "World War I marked a turning point in the suppression of individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution."

World War I was the first war fought by Americans on foreign soil, and the president wanted to remain neutral as long as possible and this was the first time America went to war with Germany, despite the German heritage of so many, she said.

"The draft was not a new concept, but fighting somewhere else was," she said. "the Constitution was set aside and basic freedoms were suppressed, especially in New Ulm. So, the students decided to focus on how this happened to German people in America."

The five students involved in the project, four seniors and one junior, were Raphael Carlson, Adella Alsbury, Jayne Bluhm, Kevin Warneke, and Anna Gustason.

"We had to develop some type of program that focused on the theme of History Day 2000, which is Turning Points in History," Alsbury said. "It could be about people, ideas, or events."

The students have 10 minutes to present their program, with 60 percent of the score being for history, 20 percent being for presentation, and the remaining 20 percent on how the events were used and put into and understandable context, and documentation of research, she said.

"The groups compete at a region event, then at a state event," she said. "The top two teams go to nationals. It's quite an accomplishment having both teams from our school."

The second place winners, who will also present, seniors Jonathan and Nathan Otten, did their project in New Ulm as well. It is entitled Turning Off the Tap: The Impact of Prohibition on the Beer Industry. It focuses on the beer industry in Minnesota, and New Ulm, where it was a major industry at the time.

"Their sister won first place a couple of years ago for her presentation on Wanda Gag," Alsbury said. "The entire goal is to have the students use available primary sources and dig deeper than the surface."

While the students were in New Ulm, they interviewed four people, visited Turner Hall, the Brown County Historical Society, Hermann and Schell's Brewery, and studied the Turner tradition of laying out the streets, Alsbury said.

"It was a neat experience that really helped the students get a feel for the town, which helped with the presentation," she said. "One of the students had an aunt in South Dakota whose house was painted yellow, because she was of German descent."

The project took a lot of research and footwork, but the students learned much in the process, such as how to check naturalization records and letters to the Public Safety Commission, in order to create a balance, she said.

"There was a lot of publicity about New Ulm during World War I," Alsbury said. "Many of the events that were going on at the time gained the attention of the national press."

The mayor, the city attorney, a college professor, and the editor of the newspaper were all suspended following anti-draft protests at Turner Park, she said.

"This is very exciting for us, and it becomes an education experience for the students," Alsbury said. "The trip to Washington is a well-rounded experience, because we visit many other historic sites along the way."

The school has been involved in history day for about many years, and this is the eighth time Alsbury has gone to nationals as a teacher.

Following each of the presentations, there will be a brief question and answer session.