Bennington High School students taking Historical Literature wrapped up their semester with a field trip to W. Dale Clark Main Library on December 21, 2016. Their teacher, Chris Grinvalds, said that one of the students who spends a lot of time at the library suggested they visit to get a first-hand look at local historical archives.
"I thought it would be cool to look at the real information instead of looking it up on their phones," Grinvalds said.
Branch Manager Matt Couch greeted the class and took them on a tour of the library to share some of its unique features. The students were expecting to see the genealogy room and reels of microfilm, but were perhaps more surprised to see a human scalp. Fortunately, library specialist Lynn Sullivan was on hand to share the story of William Thompson and how the library came into possession of his beautiful locks.
Beyond the novelty of this rare artifact, the students left with a bigger picture of what the library has to offer, and it gave their instructor a few ideas, too.
"I think I am going to try to use the archives so the students can see how much our society has changed in so little time as far as communication and the ability to convey ideas across the globe," Grinvalds said.
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