Bigfork High School students sweep National History Day competition

Eleven Bigfork High School juniors are headed to Washington D.C. after sweeping at the National History Day competition at the state level with their projects about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the 1917 Butte Miners Strike and Marias Massacre, among others.  

National History Day is a contest where students create historical research projects, developing skills in communication, project management and historical thinking. This year’s theme was “Rights and Responsibilities,” where students posed questions about how people got certain rights, what led to the establishment of certain rights and how governments or institutions enforce responsibilities.  

The contest is overseen by the University of Maryland, where students will travel June 7-13 for the national competition. 

“We were really excited (about the theme) because obviously, for U.S. history, that's an absolute plethora of possibility,” said Cynthia Wilondek, a history teacher at Bigfork High School. 

Wilondek and English teacher Annmari Sikon joined forces to have their juniors enrolled in dual credit courses with Flathead Valley Community College participate in National History Day this year, the 50th anniversary of the contest. Students put together a documentary, exhibit, performance, paper or website for their project.  

Sikon said she was surprised to see the creativity students brought to this year’s theme. 

“Students were able to connect historical topics to current events and their own interests in such thoughtful ways. I also saw students step outside of their comfort zones — interviewing experts, digging into primary sources and tackling complex historical issues with maturity beyond their years,” she said.  

Taylor Johnson, Donovan Stutzman and Irelynd Vigil are national qualifiers with their project about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Johnson said after researching, they chose the incident for their project because it highlighted the rights gained through workplace tragedies.  

146 workers died at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City when a fire broke out on the upper floors on March 25, 1911. The victims were mostly young women who had recently immigrated from Europe, and the fallout led to a movement which called for safer workplace conditions and regulations, according to the New York State Department of Labor.  

“All our parents have OSHA qualifications. So, we were looking through the work stuff and the rights gained in the work tragedies. And we found that one, which we hadn’t heard a lot about,” Jonhson said.  

When asked about a fact that surprised them, Vigil said they were surprised to learn of the factory owners’ suspicious pasts.

“We learned that they had a history of these fires happening in their factories, and that they had been setting them for insurance claims, because they made money off all the lives lost,” Vigil said.

Lily Hill, Emma Knauth, Taylor Howlett’s project on the Butte Miners Strike of 1917 also focused on worker’s rights. The project is also a national qualifier for National History Day. The strike was spurred by a fire in the Granite Mountain and Speculator Mines that killed 168 miners. Hill said she was surprised to learn about the fate of Frank Little, a labor unionist with the Industrial Workers of the World.

“He advocated with everything he had for people who needed labor rights. And he came to Butte because the strike had national attention. During the time of World War I, Butte was responsible for 20% of the world's copper ... Little came to the scene in Butte and he was brutally murdered,” Hill said.

Hill said she wondered what impact Little would have continued to have on labor rights if he wasn’t killed.

Wilondek said their project about the mining strike was chosen to represent Montana with an exhibit at the Smithsonian, with a poster and their topic to be displayed at the history museum in Washington, D.C.

They weren't the only group of students who focused on a tragic piece of Montana history, Noah Hamilton-Dixon and Nic Gustavson learned about the Marias Massacre for their research project. 

On a cold January morning in 1870, U.S. Army troops under the command of Major Eugene Baker attacked the sleeping camp of Piikuni Chief Heavy Runner, killing almost 200 people. Those murdered included Heavy Runner, who was shot after presenting papers that testified that he was “a friend to the whites," according to the Montana Historical Society. 

“I learned a lot about a local event that I hadn't heard of before. I didn't know the Marias Massacre existed. But, I found out a lot of things about that and just the history in the area and about Montana history in general,” Gustavson said. “... I also learned about all of the things that go into a big project like this, how you're going to present your findings and looking at the effects of an event.” 

Wilondek said they’ve successfully fundraised $14,000 of their $20,000 goal to send 11 students to D.C. for the national contest. She said students will stay in dorms at the University of Maryland and have access to student facilities, which gives them “a little taste of college life.” 

She’s hoping they’ll get to show students the National Mall, the National History Musuem, the National Musuem of the American Indian and the Holocaust Musuem, among others. 

Success in the National History Day contest makes students stand out to colleges when applying for admission or scholarships, Wilondek said.  

“Every student who's involved with this has an end goal to get to college. The National History Day contest offers tremendous scholarships, including four full-rides to universities such as Stanford ... as well as specialized prizes for various elements in history, women's history, black history, native history and labor history,” she said.  

This isn’t the last time Wilondek and Sikon would like to get their students involved with National History Day. Sikon said the projects provide an emphasis on student choice that lets them pursue topics they are passionate about, which makes their work more meaningful and helps sustain motivation throughout the project. 

“In terms of changes, I would love to expand community involvement even further—maybe hosting a local research night with librarians and historians or organizing a mentorship program where students can consult with experts in their chosen field. The more students feel supported beyond the classroom, the more empowered they become as young historians,” Sikon said. 

Wilondek said she’s not surprised by her student’s talent and academic prowess following their success at the state competition. 

"They are a dedicated and curious group of scholars. I knew they would give their best work and be their best selves for this competition, regardless of the outcome. Needless to say, we are so proud of them,” she said. 

Anyone interested in helping the students reach their fundraising goal can reach Wilondek at cwilondek@bigfork.k12.mt.us. She said donations can be made by cash or check, adding Bigfork Schools with NHD in the memo line.    

Here is the list of winners from the State Competition in Bozeman, Montana on April 12: 

MT State Button Winner - Maddie Pomeroy 

Senior Paper - National Qualifier, Lance Peterson, The Declaration of Independence, John Locke's Social Contract in Motion 

Senior Doc, Group - National Qualifier, Maddie Pomeroy & Triston Feller, Signing and Shouting; Standing and Sitting In, Rights and Responsibilities of the 504 Sit-In 

Senior Exhibit, Individual - National Qualifier, Amanda Leonard, Rights and Responsibilities in History: The Evolution of The Makah Tribe’s Whaling  

Senior Exhibit Group

Alternate, Tatum Holman, Peyton Benson, James Raymond, Rights and Responsibilities in History: How the Radium Girls Changed the Workforce. 

National Qualifier, Lily Hill, Emma Knauth, Taylor Howlett, Rights and Responsibilities in History: Butte Miners Strike of 1917 

National Qualifier, Taylor Johnson, Donovan Stutzman, Irelynd Vigil, Rights and Responsibilities in History as demonstrated by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 

Senior Website, Group  

Alternate, Robert Everson, Robert Merchant, Tayden West, The Quartering Act: The Act that Led to the 3rd Amendment of the Constitution. 

National Qualifier, Noah Hamilton-Dixon, Nic Gustavson, Recognizing Necessary Rights and Responsibilities: The Marias Massacre 

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4440 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

    Many of the student's projects focused on worker's rights, including a project about the Radium Girls from Tatum Holman, Peyton Benson and James Raymond, which won an alternative spot for the national contest. (photo provided)