FCA students learn about Civil War era

LANCASTER – Some Fairfield Christian Academy students journeyed back in time at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds on May 20.

Third through fifth grade students spent the day in the 1860s and rotated to several different stations throughout the day. FCA students received lessons in a one-room schoolhouse with teacher Mark Bowers, creator of this Civil War Days curriculum. Students also attended a sewing class where they made pouches for the soldiers fighting in the war.

Other sessions included lectures from a train conductor and a nurse as well as a session using Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Farmer Boy,” which included learning how to make a paper cup. Additionally, students learned to play vintage base ball with Ohio Village Muffin Steve Rauch.

Students were encouraged to wear clothes appropriate for the time period and bring a lunch typical of the time, as well. It was recommended that lunch items be wrapped in wax paper or tissue paper, as foil or plastic was not available, and be carried in a small tin bucket, a basket or tied in a cloth bundle. Some food items appropriate for the time period included meat sandwiches, jelly sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, fresh or dried fruit, raw vegetables, cheese, beef jerky, pickles, doughnuts, and small homemade cakes or muffins.