Months ago, when Picture Butte High School students David Richardson and Dustin Fellger started working on a school project, little did they know they were about to land in the national spotlight.
“I just thought it was something to do for the community and that’s about it,” said Fellger.
Picture Butte high school students, in conjunction with Coyote Flats and the University of Lethbridge, put together several videos celebrating the history of Pioneer Village.
What’s been accomplished is quite impressive. After hours of hard work, the Coyote Flats oral history project has earned the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.
“It was quite a shock to learn that something we did in a small class jumped to such a scale,” said Richardson.
Those who have seen the students projects grow from scratch are thrilled with what they’ve been able to accomplish.
“It goes to show that if you have the right intent, and the right passion, things happen,” said project coordinator Kimberly Lyall. “It picks up speed, and suddenly you’re creating more than you ever dreamed you possibly could.”
The project was started with the simple idea of preserving memories – so those that share their stories now at the village, will be able to do the same even after they’re gone.
“The oldest tractor we have here is from 1918,” said Coyote Flats Pioneer Village General Manager Pieter van Ewijk. “Tractors you can restore, and keep around probably forever. People don’t live forever.”
“It’s a small community that kind of just got together,” said Richardson. “And, showed that a small community can do something to show and preserve city history, in a way when a lot of things wouldn’t be preserved.”
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