NEDERLAND — The eighth graders at Nederland Middle-Senior High School (NMSHS) recently presented their Local Legends and Landmarks projects. These are projects that the students spend hours researching, as they interview people and prepare to present.

It is a project about place. It is learning about where you are from—some of it great, some of it not so great; some of it rather strange; all of it very human.

The projects reached across the Peak to Peak area as do the students. Topics researched included the Stage Stop, Apex, Gold Miner Hotel, Central City Opera, Abel Breed, Lincoln Hills, Rollinsville, Gold Hill, Caribou Recording Studio, and more.

Each student had a prepared script to say when people came to their table.

Flynn Madden interviewed Erik Weihenmayer, who is a renowned mountain climber, adventurer, public speaker, and author. Madden said he was nervous about the interview but learned a lot. He talked with Weihenmayer about his non-profit organization No Barriers.

No Barriers is dedicated to helping people with visible and invisible different abilities "cultivate a mindset to help break through barriers to elevate their lives and communities."

When I approached Max Wrobel, I asked him to go off his script about Barker Reservoir and asked what he thought if the dam had not been built. What would be there today?

Max Wrobel studied Barker Reservoir and its namesake, Hannah Barker.

Photo by Sara Sandstrom

He talked about the possible biking opportunities that might be there now (he likes to mountain bike). We talked about the plants that might be there now. What would the landscape look like now?

A project like this not only looks at the history that was, but can also help students think about what might have been. What opportunities were possibly lost? What lessons can be learned?

Anna Tomlinson chose a project that took her to Estes Park.

Bredo Morstoel's story is in Norway, California, Nederland, and now Estes Park. Having grown up in Nederland, Tomlinson knows the Nederland part of the story. Now she researched Morstoel's story before Nederland and went to the International Cryonics Museum in Estes Park to learn about the rest of it.

There is more to the narrative of the "Frozen Dead Guy" than coffin races and frozen turkey bowling.

Each eighth grader learned something about the area they live in and will have a new perspective.

When they hear about Gold Hill they might think about Twinkles the Donkey, who used to roam the streets of the beloved mountain town. They might try the doughnuts at the Train Cars and realize they are walking into history.

When they drive through Rollinsville they will think about all the quartz that can be found in the area. And when they see a sign for Rollins Pass, they might remember that Native Americans once hunted game way up in the mountains.

Shayna Siegal Gane researched her town of Rollinsville.

Photo by Sara Sandstrom

Let's hope this assignment keeps the students curious, ready to look beyond the common narrative “everybody knows,” and always seeking to understand.