With the smell of popcorn in the air, third- and fourth-graders in Jane Zellers’ class at Lincoln Elementary School presented their “county fair” Thursday night to invited guests. Each student got to decide which county they wanted to research and write about, and then presented their depth of knowledge at last night’s event. Nineteen of Indiana’s 92 counties were represented. Layla Silveus was dressed as Mrs. Claus with her booth on Spencer County. “Spencer County is where Santa Claus, Indiana, is at. There is Holiday World, Splash & Safari and Lincoln Boyhood,” she explained as to why she dressed up as Mrs. Claus. For her display on Montgomery County, Marin Hart sat next to her model of the county’s rotating jail. “It’s the only one still working in the world,” she said. She explained that since the jail spins there don’t have to be as many jailers on watch. Montgomery also is famous for the Gen. Lew Wallace museum. She said he was a general in the Civil War. The most interesting thing about Fulton County was all the festivals it has annually, Cole Smith stated. It has four. A couple other cool things there are the Trail of Courage and the Nickel Plate Trail, he said. Standing inside her booth made to look like a tree was Kathryn Monsma. Her project was on Jackson County. She decided to be in the “tree” because there are a lot of them in the county, she said. “One of the interesting things is that it’s home to the first train robbery. $100,000 was stolen,” she said. Bryson Brown said he chose Brown County because it was the same as his last name. “It holds the majority of Indiana State Parks. Three,” he said. Hallie Bale chose St. Joseph County because Notre Dame is there. Her display included a “Golden Dome” on the top of it. She said however that she wasn’t a fan of the Fighting Irish. The county also has Potato Creek, South Bend Silverhawks, St. Mary’s College and the Mishawaka Zoo. The other 13 students and their counties were Regan Brouwer, Porter; Felix Cruz, Wabash; Rebekah Harrison, Harrison; Frances Henn, Noble; Fiona Kerr, Elkhart; Chancelor Mejia, Lake; Sarah Morgan, Monroe; Kaylee Ochoa, Miami; Madeline Richardson, Allen; Joshua Shapiro, Marion; Sam Slocum, Perry; Azlynn Taylor, Vanderburgh; and Melissa Venegas, LaGrange.
