Students have been noticing that the stories they have heard about the Revolutionary time period are often inaccurate, or that sometimes different sources report different information. We discussed today how oral history played a part in this variety.
Four students went out into the hall, and the students left in the classroom were told a story. This story was then shared with one of the students in the hall. This was our first student story.
The person who came in from the hall first, called the next person in and said:
And then the third...
And the last...
But the real story was this:
The Plight of Roger Newman
Roger Newman and his wife lived a nightmare last evening. It all started after
leaving a dinner party, when the Newman’s Porche
a wet surface into a retaining wall near a country crossroads on Highway 246.
Brenda Newman, although seat-belted, hit her head and lost consciousness.
skidded onQuicklyevaluating his options, Roger decided to walk to a gas station about two miles back.
What else could he do? It was 1:15 A.M. and his wife needed immediate care!
Tenminutes into his walk, Roger saw a pick-up truck with three suspicious-looking
youths. They stopped and assessed Newman’s predicament. Seeing the headlights
of an approaching car, the boys quickly took Newman’s wallet (containing $175),
credit cards, wedding ring, and watch, despite pleas from Newman about his injured
wife up the road a quarter mile.
As the truck sped off, the on-coming car, driven by one of Roger’s co-workers,
Angela Rogers, stopped, was assessed of the situation, and drove Roger to his car.
Delicately removing Brenda and placing her in the back seat, the two then pursued
the truck for several miles but were never able to catch up.
From the Angels of Mercy Hospital the next day, Newman reported the incident
to the police, who told him there was little hope of recovering the stolen items.
On the other hand, Brenda Newman regained consciousness by early morning and
enjoyed a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, toast, and cranberry juice.
