Pilgrims offer history lesson
CENTER TWP — Two young Pilgrims from 1620s New England managed to travel nearly 400 years to Center Township Elementary first grade classrooms on Tuesday.
“Where I'm from, kids are baby goats,” said Priscilla Alden, a 25-year-old Pilgrim portrayed by Jess Dougherty. “I sailed for two months on the ship to go all the way out to the New World.”
Dressed in traditional Pilgrim apparel, from the cap to the shoes, Alden told Liza Engelhard's class about her journey, and told students different aspects of how her people lived.
For instance, they ate off wooden plates and used their fingers to eat. They had cups and spoons made of cow horn. Pieces of slate and chalk were used to learn the alphabet and read, and children had simple toys such as puppets, bubbles and a ball made of wool.
First grader Conner Kriebel said he learned a lot from the visiting Pilgrim.
“The toys were different, but fun,” Conner said. “The school slate was fun to use. I think learning to hunt would be my favorite chore.”
The artifact-focused lesson allowed students to get a chance to handle the various items and to see similarities and differences to items they use today.
“It makes it more real to them,” Engelhard said. “How it was to live long ago.”
Landon Wiles, another first grader, enjoyed the wooden ball and cup toy the Pilgrims used.
“I liked setting the table and using the plates,” Landon said.
Malka Benjamin, who portrayed Constance Hopkins, also visited students.
The re-enactors who gave demonstrations in all eight of the school's first grade classrooms are from Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. The town name is spelled differently between then and now because spelling had not been standardized in the 1600s.Reese Sequite, a 6-year-old in Engelhard's class, said she enjoyed playing with the toys the most, as did most of her classmates. She also recognized the hard work they had to do.The re-enactors were being paid for by the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Pennsylvania, with their weeklong visit costing more than $4,000. They visited other schools in the region this week, including in the North Hills, Sewickley and Upper St. Clair.“This was an opportunity to let every first grader in the school get to view the Pilgrims,” said Patricia Hill, a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Pennsylvania, who lives in Jefferson Township.
