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Volney Fifth Graders Explore Community History with Local Historian
Over the winter break, fifth grade students at Volney Elementary School in Fulton were assigned a unique homework assignment: To explore the local history of their families and communities.
The project was spearheaded by fifth grade teachers Bill Cahill and Stephanie Zimmerman, but with great help from local historian and author Jim Farfaglia. All three were present at a student meeting before the vacation, where Cahill and Zimmerman explained the project’s parameters while Farfaglia detailed his own work within local history.
Farfaglia, a Fulton native, has spent years researching topics of local interest, penning a number of books in the process. His areas of interest include the origins of the Oswego County Search and Rescue Team, Oswego’s Camp Hollis, the famed Blizzard of 1966, and the history of the Fulton Nestlé factory among many others.
“I like to tell stories,” Farfaglia laughed when a student asked him why he chose to be a local historian. “You all have your own interests and talents. I like writing. I like telling stories.” Years ago, Farfaglia began his work recording the oral histories of muck farming in the region. “I wanted to get their stories down before they were gone. Same thing with Nestlé.”
To preface the project, Farfaglia encouraged students toward the same passion for the past. He spent the afternoon sharing tales and photos with students to prompt them into exploring topics of their own. Students likewise shared their own stories on the same topics – many of them passed on through the generations.
The fifth graders have now been tasked with interviewing friends and family members to explore family and community history still further. Students will gather personal stories, trying to piece together experiences long before their time.
“Once upon a time, stories like this would have been passed around the kitchen table,” said Cahill to students. “But we don’t do that as much anymore. And we don’t want these stories to be lost.”
Ultimately, students will be asked to present their findings in an oral history presentation before their peers.
Farfaglia’s newest project focuses on the neighborhoods of Fulton’s past. He was happy to inform students that their own research could be incorporated into his findings and possibly a future book.