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Students probe the past Photo by Jim Craven Center, from left, Sarah Rutledge, Shelly Steiner and Holly Moon, students at Lorna Byrne Middle School ponder judges' questions about their exhibit on the telacoder, a communications device for the hearing impaired. History competition focuses on impact of inventions By VICKI GUARINO Winners can go to state meet Students placing first, second or third in one of the categories judged Saturday are eligible to compete at the state level of the National History Day contest. Here are the winners: Senior group performance -- first place: Sabrina Pistone, Lacey Shanie, Angela Stiles, Nicole Birmingham, Illinois Valley High School. Second place: Levi Johnson, Cedar Yandell, Jessica Hendrix and Travis Pickern, Illinois Valley. Senior historic paper -- first: Jenica Pistone, Illinois Valley. Second: Kim Miller, Illinois Valley. Senior individual exhibits -- first: Rachel Milsap, South Medford High School. Second: Damien Renni, South Medford. Senior group exhibits -- first: Sarah Close, Sarah Piazza, Marcelle Gonzalez, Krista Lane, South Medford. Second: Hope Beckey, Colleen Salisbury, South Medford. Third: Hiten Patel, Mitesh Patel, South Medford. Honorable mention: Lauren Miller, Jessica Feeney, South Medford. Junior individual performance -- first: Dustin Rotbart, McLoughlin Middle School. Junior group performance -- first: Victoria Lee, Elena Fort, Hedrick Middle School. Second: Karla Moxley, Kristen Wertz, McLoughlin. Junior group documentary -- first: Vanessa Evans, Kyle Hoelzle, Sara Shinerock, Lorna Byrne Middle School. Second: Amy Smith, Kristina Faux, Gaile Grose, McLoughlin. Junior historic papers -- first: Ben Mills-Cannon, Talent Middle School. Second: Adrianna Williams, Talent. Third: Mark Emerson, Talent. Junior individual exhibit -- First: Courtney Stauffer, Hedrick. Second: Elizabeth Spencer, Hedrick. Third: Adam Miller, Lorna Byrne. Honorable mention: Michelle Davis, McLoughlin; Ryan Fordice, Hedrick. Junior group exhibit -- first: Megan Mayfield, Linsey Schoeneberg, Hedrick. Second: Kacie Bartlett, Erin McNamara, Hedrick. Third: Clint Russell, Brian Clifton, Hedrick. Honorable mention: Jennie Brennan, Julie Pearne, Heidi Meador, McLoughlin; Joe Morris, Brandon Driver, Hedrick; Nacita Lynn Webb, Vanessa Dean, Pamela Charbonneau, Nicole Hendrickson, Lorna Byrne. ASHLAND -- From a speech on the rise of credit cards, to arranging a windowbox of pansies for a "windows into the past" exhibit, students combined research and creativity Saturday in a regional history competition. More than 100 middle and high school students took up the Southern Oregon Historical Society's invitation to match skills in the National History Day competition at Southern Oregon University. The winners -- 56 top finishers -- can go on to the state meet and a chance to compete nationally. Two national competitors from last year, South Medford High School freshmen Sarah Close and Marcelle Gonzalez, returned with two classmates for a second shot at the national title. For "Peter Britt: Windows into the Past of Southern Oregon," the two arranged Britt's photos, with captions, in a window-styled display complete with cloth curtains and potted pansies. "Without Peter Britt's artistically taken photographs, many of the beautiful and historic places, events and people would have been long forgotten," they wrote. Competitors could write, draw or film their projects for this year's theme -- "Science, Technology, Invention in History: Impact, Influence, Change." The contest is meant to challenge students' research skills and their creativity, said historical society History Day organizer Dawna Curler. The judges, mostly teachers and amateur historians, questioned competitors as they reviewed entries. "I'm glad to see young people taking an interest in history," said Southern Oregon Historical Society Chairman Vern Arnold, a retired teacher and one of the judges for the event. Arnold traced his own interest in history to his college days in Ashland 40 years ago. For one class, he chose as a research topic the founding of his hometown, Butte Falls. Many competitors Saturday combined media to illustrate their view of the theme. To chart the history of hang gliding from Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, Italy, to today's enthusiasts on Woodrat Mountain in Ruch, students combined old sketches with text and a continuously playing video loop. Topics ranged from the polio vaccine to castles, the hydrogen bomb, the automobile industry and show business. For "Movies Movies Movies!" South Medford freshmen Jessica Feeney and Lauren Smith said they followed their own interest in acting to put together a historical exhibit for the contest. "Some of the information was hard to come by," Lauren said. But they managed to document the first on-screen kiss -- three successive kisses, actually -- on June 15, 1896. Next to an illustration of the scene, Jessica and Lauren displayed a newspaper review calling the depiction "bestial" and "loathsome." More than a dozen students chose to speak or performed. McLoughlin Middle School student Dustin Rotbart traced the credit card industry to modest origins as a sales device for catalog companies. The allure of buy now, pay later, has made charging both an efficient financial tool and a cause of financial ruin, Dustin told a panel of three judges and a small audience of friends and family. "Checks as we know them will be extinct," Dustin predicted for the future. Students competed in one of five events. The junior division was for grades 6-8; the senior division was for grades 9-12. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA