A team of local students will make and preserve history by competing in the Destination Imagination Global Finals this month.
Five Oconto Falls High School students will compete in the Global Finals from May 20-23 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Team W.O.W. (Words of War) is only the second team in Oconto Falls’ history to advance that far.
Four members of the team, sophomore Emily Birr and freshmen Emily Tomesek, Madison Pecha and Ethan Winkler, were members of the Swinging Monkeys team that competed at Globals in 2013. Freshman John Birr, Emily’s brother, will make his first trip to Globals with the group.
Team W.O.W. collected the personal stories of 15 American wartime veterans for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center.
Some stories were alarming, such as the accounts of being caught in ambushes in the jungles of Vietnam.
“In Vietnam, you always had to have your eye out for a sniper. There is no off duty,” said John Birr, based on what he heard in veteran interviews.
Other stories described the lighter side of wartime service.
“A lot of the people I interviewed had happy stories, too, like talking about how they did jokes on their instructors or pranked each other,” Pecha said.
“I had one guy who said that he thought everybody should serve at least a couple of years. It helped him out a lot, taught him a lot,” Tomesek said.
The students will submit the audio recordings to the Library of Congress, which will post them online at www.loc.gov/vets in several months. Team members said having the stories widely available is important, so others can hear the first-person accounts.
“People care about our veterans, but they’re not understanding what they’ve gone through,” Winkler said.
15 vets interviewed
Team W.O.W. members knew from the start they wanted their service project to involve veterans, since they had relatives who were veterans. Pecha interviewed her grandfather, William Pecha, of Gillett, for the project.
“I had no idea what he did, because he doesn’t really talk about it that much. Once he started opening up, he told me everything,” she said. “It was really cool.”
The team had a goal of interviewing 10 veterans, and surpassed its goal by collecting 15 stories.
“We had a main focus on World War II, because every day there’s less World War II veterans left, and to have their stories preserved was our main goal,” John Birr said.
One World War II veteran participated, Robert “Bob” Shellman, of Oconto Falls.
Some veterans who participated were referred by the local chapter of the American Legion Auxiliary. Others were attending events at the high school when time Team W.O.W. was doing recordings there.
Each 30-minute interview was done one-on-one, using questions provided by the Veterans History Project about the veterans’ experience during the war and their life before and after. One woman participated.
Team presentation
The interviews were one aspect of the DI service learning project challenge, in which students are asked to find a community need and solve it, then create and present an entertaining 8-minute presentation about the project.
The Team W.O.W. presentation incorporated images representing World War II. Winkler, wearing a red, white and blue top hat, portrayed a museum guide. As he ushered a little girl (Pecha) through the museum, the actors in the displays came to life and told their stories.
John Birr was part of a bronze statue of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Emily Birr portrayed Rosie the Riveter. Tomesek was the nurse kissed by a sailor in the classic photograph taken on V-J Day in Times Square. The Navy uniform on the sailor mannequin was worn by her late grandfather, World War II veteran Dale Verheyden.
In addition to presenting their skit, the students will compete in an instant challenge, to demonstrate skills in problem solving and teamwork as they think on their feet. The instant challenge will be revealed at the competition, and team will present its solution before a judge.
It’s not about winning
In 2013, the Swinging Monkeys placed 35th of 66 teams in their challenge. Their service learning project involved raising more than $1,000 to purchase a play set for Rainbow House Domestic Violence Services in Marinette. Last year, the team competed in the theatrical challenge, but failed to advance beyond the state level.
The DI Global Finals are billed as the largest creative thinking and problem solving competition in the world. More than 8,000 students are expected to participate, representing 45 states and 15 countries, and the competition will be tough.
“We watched other teams (in 2013). It makes you realize how good you have to be,” Tomesek said.
“The best thing you can do is just to have fun with it,” Winkler said. “It’s never really about winning. It’s about what you’re doing and who you’re impacting with what you do.”
“I think it will encourage more people to look at the website and view the stories,” Tomesek said.
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