Hockinson students translate oral history into story of their own

Margie Kopp shows Hockinson fifth-graders an old chalk holder used to draw blackboard lines for lettering practice. The longtime local resident contributed to a new volume of oral histories compiled by students.

Margie Kopp’s mother, Gladys Smith, second from left, was part of a traveling diving troupe. “Hurricane Swift and his Mermaids” starred Kopp’s uncle, Les Swift, right, and aunt, Edith Swift, center right. Les thrilled crowds with a 125-foot, double back layout dive into an 8-foot pool.

Margie Kopp at age 8, the same year she and a young partner won a trip to New York City for their tumbling exploits.

Margie Kopp shows family photographs to Hockinson fifth-graders. Students took several months to write, edit and proof oral histories after they interviewed seven local senior citizens last autumn. (TROY WAYRYNEN/The Columbian)

HOCKINSON — Youngsters in Steven Kramer's fifth-grade classroom this year learned how to flesh out details from senior citizens eager to share colorful chapters of their lives.

Students learned to cull from extensive notes they took in interviews that began in October, and to construct themes. To edit and polish and, finally, to help publish a delightful anthology — "Discovering Hockinson's Past: The Way it Used to Be" — that features vintage and contemporary photographs.

Mostly, they discovered the often-dry subject of "history" is really a long string of amazing events that touch ordinary folks. Just like children their age.

"There were some very funny stories I would not have believed were possible," said Nick Martin, 11, one of four Hockinson Heights Intermediate School students captivated by Margie Kopp, their profile subject.

"I was amazed she could remember all these things," said Zoe Lynch, 11. "It was very fun."

Kopp, 65, arrived in Clark County a half-century ago. She taught tumbling while still in high school, opened a dance studio and helped start gymnastics programs at Battle Ground and Prairie high schools.

But that barely scratches the surface. Kopp also shared these gems:

Born in the border town of Clinton, Iowa, she often would tag along with her father, bridge tender for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad swing span on the Mississippi River.

There was fleeting terror as she scaled stairs to his control booth high above the rushing river. It was balanced by giddy joy whenever he let her hang for a long moment, gripping the cord on the blaring all-clear horn to signal approaching barges.

She had a very smart horse, Star. Annoyed by barn cats that would sip from his water bucket, he one day plucked three kittens by the scruff of their neck and daintily dunked them, one by one, into the water, then tossed them aside. They never pestered him again, she said.

A clever pet bird, Bonnie, had a human-like vocabulary. For fun, he'd blurt out, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," which quickly turned to "Help! Help!" when the luckless cat did come near.

Think the television show, "America's Got Talent" is a recent phenomenon? Try again.

At age 8, Margie and a boy named Dickie Turner performed tumbling tricks on a local TV show with a similar theme. Four weeks later, they won an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City. Along with their mothers, they watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and toured the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building.

Lest it seem like Kopp's life was all peaches and cream, she suffered when her family's home burned down, taking a lot of cherished items with it.

But the grandmother of one 2008 Hockinson High graduate, with another due to finish next year, richly enjoyed reliving her past for students.

"They did a great job. I was really impressed," Kopp said. As for her colorful yarns, she said, "It's the way you grew up, when you had all these chores and all these animals."

Other stars of the Hockinson album, follow-up to one written by Kramer's 2002 students, also wove compelling tales.

Bill Dietrich told of his own horse adventures and showed students his vintage 1929 Ford pickup. Marvin Karlsen rode to the school on the latest of his many motorcycles. Ardell Mae McCarty described a much more rural Hockinson, riding her bike through the local hills and attending the old school.

The entire class listened in on each interview session to pick up reporting pointers.

Each panel sifted through transcripts from tape recordings — several parents and the school's People Working Together boosters assisted — and began months of editing work. Reading and writing skills got a real workout, as did listening skills and other powers of observation.

"You had to remember her facial expressions," Zoe said of Kopp. "It wasn't an easy project."

It helped that Kramer is a published author of children's science books, and handy with multimedia and editing. But he made sure it was students' final stamp on the project. He said: "How do you organize it and give it your own voice, that improves upon a straight transcription?"

A few guests at the celebratory reception shed tears over Kramer's poignant slide show. The veteran teacher said he hopes the book inspires Clark County residents, young or old, to gather family oral histories while they can.

Kopp said she was "honored" and touched by the effort.

"I love a teacher that challenges children's minds," she said. History wouldn't have been her own least favorite school subject, "if we would have had somebody like him, rather than someone who just made us memorize dates," she said.

Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.