Congratulations to all the elementary schools students who took part in the 2010 St. Clair County History Fair, an annual project of the St. Clair Historical Society.

Fourth-graders across the county created more than 400 projects about the county’s history. They ranged from first-place winner Angel Drake’s exploration of the history of Fort Strother and the Creek Indians to Jacob Hazelwood’s project on the boll weevil to Ethan Redden’s research on Chandler Mountain Baptist Church.

The learning involved in creating such projects goes far beyond the specific information they gather about their home county, as important as that is. Even more important is what they learn about how to do research, how to find out the answers to their questions, how to use sources besides Google. As History Fair chairwoman Carol Waid pointed out, “They get a chance to interview some of the older citizens across St. Clair County who have a wealth of knowledge about our history. This is a great benefit for the older person and the student.”