The legacy of several strong women, along with some hard work by three Bigfork eighth-graders, have earned the trio a chance to compete at National History Day in Maryland this summer.

National History Day is an academic program that engages young people in advanced history projects.

For their interpretation of the national theme “Leadership and Legacy in History,” Anya Young, Ahna Fox and Alicia Kalenak chose to do exhibits on women who didn’t merely pass through history, but instead blazed trails.

Fox and Kalenak took first place at state in March for their interpretation of Montana suffragettes: The first U.S. congresswoman Jeanette Rankin, of Montana; journalist Belle Fligelman and teacher Maggie Smith Hathaway. 

“We wanted to have three women who were fearless, had amazing courage and perseverance to take on whatever was in their path, and they eventually made it happen,” Fox said.

Young placed second for capturing the essence of French heroine and Roman Catholic saint Joan of Arc.

“I decided I wanted to choose someone different, not just the regular men leaders that occur throughout history, especially when it comes to military leadership,” Young said. “Her story is truly amazing. She was a teenage girl leading armies through a major battle for her country, so I thought she fits leadership and legacy perfectly.”

History teacher Cynthia Wilondek selected their projects to go to state along with nine other projects following a school-level competition in February. One of those projects included Devinn Paine and Jenica Thompson, who placed third at state for a group documentary on Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

To prepare for state, the three students nearly doubled the size of their exhibits and perfected details. Young went so far as to insert a tablet to display a slide show. The exhibits represent many hours and months of work.

Young said the presentation of the person’s history should be self-explanatory as a stand-alone exhibit. Wilondek likened it to a museum exhibit.

“They consider it to be a museum piece, is how they really look at it — not just poster presentations,” Wilondek said.

Fox and Kalenak have built little ledges on their poster board to hold objects such as an apple, a sewing needle or notebook to symbolize the women’s jobs or hobbies. Above the ledges is each woman’s portrait. They intentionally placed Rankin’s portrait in the center. 

“We put Jeanette Rankin in the middle just because she was the heart of it all. She kept other stuff out of her life, like getting married and having kids, to really devote her life to this subject and having her dream come true,” Fox said. “She’s probably the one who has the most primary sources. If you type ‘women’s suffrage’ her name will pop up everywhere.”

In addition to using props, Young utilized the shape of her poster board to tell more about Joan of Arc by shaping it into a cathedral and creating stained-glass windows.

“Religion is what drove her,” Young said.

Qualifying for the national competition was unexpected, Wilondek said, because this was the first year the school has competed in National History Day.

“This is our first year so we didn’t know quite what to expect,” Wilondek said. “It was pretty amazing.”

Students will compete at nationals June 14-18. The competition will kick off at the University of Maryland, where thousands of sixth- through 12th-graders will compete.

During the week selected students will have the opportunity to attend invitation-only events at the Library of Congress, Capitol Hill and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. 

In the meantime, the students and Wilondek need to raise $1,500 each for travel expenses. People wishing to donate should make checks payable to “Bigfork Elementary and Middle School,” and write “National History Day” in the memo line. Checks may be mailed to Bigfork Elementary and Middle School, 600 Commerce St., P.O. Box 188, Bigfork, MT 59911.

For more information visit www.nhd.org.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].