thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Carpenters Middle School eighth-graders have turned their eyes home.

Students were recently given three weeks to complete a research project on a local historical topic, said English teacher Courtney Whitehead. Students selected their own topics and were required to have at least five sources with at least one interview, one internet source and one printed source, she said.

Whitehead, reading teacher Beth Brown, social studies teacher Pam Herron and science instructors worked together on the project. Brown had students write poems reflecting on their community. Herron helped students gather resources. Science classes went on an electronic field trip and learned about local ecosystems and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Students also had to create a visual aid and give a speech to their peers. Teachers were thus able to hit about half of the new state standards with this research project, Whitehead said.

Cades Cove Preservation Association members also visited the school for Thursday’s Local History Extravaganza. President Ruth Davis, Treasurer Mary Gregory and member Dorothy Sutton spoke to students about three areas of history.

Gregory talked about the Civil War. Nearly 2,230 men between the ages of 18 and 100 lived in Blount County during the Civil War, she said. About 1,100 men served in either the Confederate or Union armies, Gregory said.

Her great-great-grandfather Walter Gregory fought for the Union Army in the 6th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. Her great-great-uncle Charles Gregory fought for the Confederate Army in Thomas’ Legion of Indians and Highlanders, which was commonly referred to as the 69th North Carolina Regiment.

Her great-great-great-grandfather Russell Gregory was later killed by men in Thomas’ Legion of Indians and Highlanders.

History can explain things about our lives today, but people should not judge their ancestors, Gregory said. “Don’t prejudge these men and blame them for the war. There were circumstances, and they were caught up in them. You don’t need to judge history by today’s standards,” she said. “They were just people trying to establish a country and survive. I personally don’t feel qualified to judge people in the past.”