Honors history students in Arcadia became guest curators for a new exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum.
For the fifth year in a row, nearly 100 Arcadia High School students - led by history teacher Oliver Beckwith - completed historical research on "Arcadia Through the Ages" and used their findings to create displays for a museum exhibition.
The students interviewed local subjects from all walks of life - including a horse-racing jockey, a nurse, restaurant owners, veterans and immigrants - and turned their life stories into colorful poster-board displays.
Beckwith said he asked his students to address a November 2008 issue of BusinessWeek magazine, which named Arcadia as the best California city in which to raise children.
"What is it about Arcadia that's so special?" was the question Beckwith said he posed to his pupils.
"It's better here," was the response given by Patrick La, a local hairdresser who immigrated to the region from Vietnam. "That's why we come here; For better, not for worse."
Students chose their own subjects, which represent a cross-section of life in Arcadia, Beckwith said.
The project was a practical lesson in oral history, he added, as students stepped into the shoes of an interviewer, recording and transcribing history through the eyes of their subjects.
The only hindrance to the process, Beckwith joked, was the teens' reluctance to commit a breach of etiquette.
"Talking to ladies of a certain age, they just couldn't bring themselves to ask `How old are you?"' he said with a laugh.
On Friday, June 5, near a display dedicated to George Varelas, owner of the Jim's Famous Quarterpound Burger chain, walked Varelas himself, who had come out for the opening reception.
From the display, visitors learned that Varelas has lived in Arcadia twice - the first time as a young boy growing up in a town of the same name in Greece. There, he made a living working on the family potato farm.
Now, Varelas makes what some would argue are the tastiest French fries around, Beckwith said.
"You know your potatoes," Beckwith said.
"Yes," affirmed Varelas, smiling.
"It's like `Night at the Museum' here," Beckwith said, referring to the movies in which exhibits on display at the Museum of Natural History come to life. "Our subjects are coming right out of the posters."
Bold emphasis mine
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