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Fourth-graders write history
When I got the call from Eddie Greer a few months ago, I didn’t think much about the reason behind it.
“Where did the name ‘Addie’ come from?” he asked. “I’m trying to help my granddaughter with a school assignment. His query triggered a memory that the community east of Sylva was named for a little girl who used to wave at the passing trains. So I asked a few questions, looked in “The History of Jackson County” and checked “Jackson County Heritage.” Then I did what any journalist would do – I turned it into a column and moved on to preparing stories for the next week’s paper.
But then I got another call. This one was from Fairview art teacher Gayle Woody, the teacher responsible for the assignment that prompted Eddie’s question.
“What’s in a Name?” is the title of a booklet on the origins of local place names that was prepared by Fairview art teacher Gayle Wood, left, and the school’s fourth-graders. Woody and fourth-grader Sarah Henson, right, presented copies to each county commissioner, including Commissioners’ Chairman Brian McMahan, above, during county leaders’ Monday meeting. – Herald photo by Derek Hodges
Because fourth-graders study North Carolina history, Woody wondered how familiar her students were with their own county’s past. When she asked them if they knew how Sylva got it’s name or why “Wayehutta” is spelled that way (and pronounced like “worry hut”), she found out that most of her 9-year-olds had never learned much in the way of local lore.
Woody hit on a plan that would take advantage of the kids’ natural curiosity: she would divide them into groups and let each team research, write and illustrate the story of one Jackson County community or town.
Her plan worked well, ant the results are compiled in a little booklet titled “What’s in a name?” because the focus of each section is on where their names came from.
I’m proud that my “Addie” column helped them a little. Woody said that information I included that week about Sylva’s namesake, William D. Sylva, kept her students from making the common mistaken assumption that Jackson’s county seat derives its name from “silva,” the Latin word for tree.
The fourth-graders’ finished effort is a charming little book. My copy even arrived with hand-tinted illustrations – Woody had some of her young artists color the pictures they drew before she brought it to me. I’ll treasure it because of that and also due to the fact that it’s a limited edition – only 120 copies exist, and I’m lucky enough to have one.
Woody and her students, who are justifiably proud of their accomplishment, have already presented copies to county commissioners and plan to do the same for school board members.
“They were so excited to see the end result,” Woody said.
Down here at the Cafe, we know that feeling. No matter how many papers we’re part of, we still get excited every Wednesday when the paper comes back. And, given that publication of our new Jackson County magazine, “Across the Mountains,” just three weeks off, we’re almost beside ourselves in anticipation.
Another reason I was pleased to see the fourth-graders book with its emphasis on local names arrive this week is the neat way it fits into what is apparently evolving into a Cafe trilogy. Last week’s column featured the various names local plants go by and why it takes a system of scientific naming to pinpoint which exactly which plant is meant in a given situation. And next week, North Carolina’s poet laureate, Kay Byer of Cullowhee, will share her views on the importance of names and places to a writer.
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