Oregon Trail comes to life
Photos: LOREN BENOIT/Press Borah Elementary students River Prudence, left, and Nolan Weedman, both 10, help pull their family’s wagon up Tubbs Hill Wednesday morning as part of a Northwest history lesson. The wagons simulate the journey the pioneers took in the 1800s along the Oregon Trail.
Students from Borah Elementary pull their wagons up Tubbs Hill Wednesday morning as part of their studies of Northwest history.
COEUR d’ALENE — Fourth grade students from Borah Elementary and Northwest Expedition Academy got a firsthand lesson on the trials and tribulations that were faced by settlers in the 1800s.
On Wednesday, nearly 100 students donned the personas of pioneer families, equipped with purchased “supplies” and wagons, and trekked up and over Tubbs Hill in a sweaty, real-life enactment of the popular game, The Oregon Trail. Some groups toted a raw egg with them, to signify the babies in their families, and sadly, not all babies made it to the end of the trail.
Borah fourth grade teacher Mary Rutherford created the program 17 years ago with the help of a good friend and her husband, Bill, who is the principal at NW Expedition.
“We used to go to Lutherhaven to do this,” explained Mary Rutherford, “but they charged 12 bucks a kid.”
So she sat down with the Oregon Trail Game and created a guide, which the kids are required to read to learn all about their expedition, what things they may encounter and how to resolve issues. The students spent about three or four weeks studying the Oregon Trail for Idaho History studies.
An EXCEL grant makes the field trip possible, and even provided funds to purchase little pull-behind wagons last year that have covered tops.
Volunteers started setting up stations throughout Tubbs Hill at 7 a.m.
“The kids got to make their own biscuits to pack, and they shop to prepare for their journey. They will face things like river crossings, they have a pay to have their wagons pulleyed up the hill, they have to pay a guy to cross over the bridge and a rattlesnake will attack them,” said Mary Rutherford.
That was one thing 11-year-old Trelyn Janson stressed when asked what she expects on the trip.
“I don’t know what will happen, but it’s pretty hot out. I know there were a lot of trees and animals and spiders that could attack you.”
Her strategy?
“We need to stick together and no arguing, or we will die,” she said.
They also faced “Truth or Consequence” situations.
“We’ll say, ‘This just happened on the trail. What do you do?’” explained Bill Rutherford. “So they may die. We don’t tell them until the end that they are dead, because then some kids will give up, so it’s just like a real simulation.”
There was even a “hunting grounds” area set up. If a student is old enough, i.e. playing an adult or teenager role, they were able to try to hunt for food using rubber band guns.
Teachers and parent volunteers kept a close eye on students, making sure everything moved along safely, while keeping it fun and festive. When the kids came to their first station, a rocky, unpassable section of the hill, “The Impossible Possible Mountain,” they were stopped and briefed. The leader there let the kids know his fees for carrying their wagons over the mountain, based on weight. They then had to secure their loads and pay the man before they were off on their journey.