For some, the history of North Canton might not sound appealing. However, one group of Hoover students delved deep into the history of North Canton for a recent project with the North Canton Heritage Society.
Twelve junior AP English students were given the opportunity to interview 12 North Canton senior citizens who worked for the Hoover Co. when it was in full swing.
Students were able to meet with their assigned seniors, take pictures with them and interview them for hours about what life used to be like in North Canton before the Hoover Co. went out of business.
The students’ works will be contributed to the North Canton Heritage Society near the end of May.
Kathy Fernandez, director of the North Canton Heritage Society, said the grant for the project was written through the Key Bank Foundation. Students were provided with tape recorders so they could record the interviews with the senior citizens and then save the files for the exhibit.
“We’ll add these stories to the small file we have already, and we’ll have the auditory and written stories,” she said. “Since there are only 12 pieces, the exhibit won’t be huge, but we’ll have it open so that the public can see the work put in.”
AP English teacher Miss Tiffany Walker said the work the students did was good for them, as it allowed them to go out in the community to hone their writing skills.
“Kathy [Fernandez] e-mailed me and asked if I would be interested because she thought we should get either junior honors or AP students involved,” she said. “We had around 16 who were initially interested and they went to a class that taught them interview techniques and writing skills to really enhance their writing.”
Walker said the assignment required students to write about the life of one senior citizen from the North Canton area.
“They had to write about a person’s life while including details about the history of North Canton and this area. The project documents the 20th century through the senior citizens,” Walker said.
Fernandez believes the experience was valuable in helping the different students learn history.
“Most kids just aren’t interested in history today,” she said. “It’s hard to get kids interested and keep them interested. At first, I was planning on having the seniors write their own stories. But then I thought it would be good to have a younger generation connect with the seniors and hear their stories.”
Junior Michael Renner was one of the students who participated in the project and said he learned a lot about his senior citizen, who once worked as the Vice President of Engineering at the Hoover Co.
“He was able to tell me so much about the Hoover Co.’s work ethic and about how they were so detailed and focused with the work they did,” he said.
Fernandez also said that the lessons learned from the seniors were valuable for the students.
“It was good for everyone involved,” she said. “We’ve had people come from all over the place, even The Washington Post, looking for information on North Canton and the Hoover Co., and now we have even more primary sources to help them.”
Walker said she’s just glad that her students had the opportunity to go out in the community and work with the seniors.
“I think it was really good for them to go out in the community and write about someone other than themselves,” she said. “It was a good learning experience.”