Elizabeth Bailey
Students in St. Mary’s Junior Historical Society, affectionately referred to as Little Hoosiers, have worked tirelessly throughout the past year to compile and present histories of the buildings in the downtown.
The project began with Sally Robbins’ fifth grade seminar class at
Greensburg Elementary School. After discovering the concept of the Downtown History Project, Robbins’ 10 students had run out of time to complete the research. Then, St. Mary’s teacher Donna
Stewart picked up the project as one that fit the needs of her 60-member Little Hoosiers group. Students chose a historic downtown building to research, using old phone books, Greensburg Daily News clippings, information from the Historical Society of Decatur County and old books.
This week, these projects are on display at 103 North Broadway. Each structure is represented by a tri-fold poster featuring photos of the building through time as well as a timeline of its occupants. The work done by these young historians will also be forever preserved on plaques for the buildings, featuring paragraphs about their history created by the students.
Doors are open and ready for visitors from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. or later both today and tomorrow.
After this week, Stewart noted, the projects will likely be on display at other locations throughout the summer.
