Education Expo

Dateline: Harrisburg Middle School

Harrisburg Middle School Education Expo highlights the history of Harrisburg

By Edie Moro

Students at Harrisburg Middle School got to share what they have learned about the history of Harrisburg at the second Education Expo, held Thursday, April 10, 2025. The Education Expo is a unique event allowing students to use their creativity to each make a display of what they have learned on a tri-fold poster board. The posters vary from neatly tailored on the subject to brightly creative. Their classrooms are filled with their posters for parents and other Harrisburg residents to see.

School district administration had community feedback in the summer of 2023 that parents wanted to get back into schools to see what students were doing in the building. Social Studies teacher David Ramsdell came up with the idea of an education expo that all the students could participate in. The first Education Expo was held in April, 2024 focusing on growing things for the fifth and sixth grades, and a variety of topics for the seventh graders. The eighth grade students did graduation displays later in the school year.

This year all four grades participated, looking at different aspects of the history of Harrisburg. The fifth grade class concentrated on four aspects of Harrisburg’s history – early settlers, major events, the coming of the electric railroad, and the Kalapuya Indian tribe. One of the fifth grade teachers, Faith Burgardt, explained that the kids really got into it. They could relate – a lot have grown up in Harrisburg and were familiar with the landmarks.

The sixth graders concentrated on the farming aspect of Harrisburg, with displays on buying your first tractor, hazelnuts from seed to harvest, rye grass, the Case steam tractor, and Roscoe Hurd, the first owner of Hurd’s Hardware. The seventh grade traced the history of school houses in Harrisburg and how their school came to be built, then looked to the future of education. The eighth grade students got to dream about what Harrisburg will be like in 25, 50, 75 and 100 years.

The fifth grade displays taught visitors that the Kalapuya was the biggest tribe in the Willamette Valley, made up of eight groups of people speaking dialects of the Penutian language. They used fire to clear brush so there would be other plants for game animals to eat. The tribe is now a part of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

The flood of 1861-62 was one of the major events affecting Harrisburg. It changed the course of the Willamette River to its present-day position, making Harrisburg a “landing” town and replacing Lancaster, which had been on the banks of the river before the flood. The first school was built in 1864, while electricity officially arrived on May 2, 1910.

Many of the students focused on the coming of the Oregon electric railroad. It was built in 1906, with its grand opening on January 1, 1908, carrying passengers from Portland to Salem. Eventually it expanded to Eugene, making the 122-mile route down the Willamette Valley the longest interurban electric railroad between Portland and Eugene. This railroad brought different cultures to Harrisburg and stimulated growth.

Sixth grade students thought about all the aspects that would go into buying a first tractor. First, there was the reasons for needing a tractor. They suggested budgeting and saving tips, coming up with a saving strategy. They debated buying used versus new equipment and looked at places where they may purchase a tractor, such as local dealers, auctions, farm shows, or today – online. They thought up negotiation tips and the questions to as a seller. The final considerations were test driving, regular service and maintenance.

The students who were interested in hazelnuts documented the growth stages and harvesting process, and also the weather and climate that hazelnuts need.

Introduced in 1869 by J. I. Case & Company, the Case steam tractor was the first steam engine. It had more power than other engines and could pull anything behind it.

John Roscoe Hurd was also a favorite of the students. He was born on May 30, 1918 and died on Sept. 18, 2000. He graduated from Coburg High School. He was an inventor as well as the Hurd’s Hardware Store owner, which he purchased in 1946 at the age of 28.

The seventh graders documented the building of their school in 1937-1938. The funding came through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program designed to provide employment during the Depression. Depending upon their skill level and jobs, workers were paid $0.50 to $1.00 per hour for their labor.

The students also looked at the future of education. Before COVID, online education was not popular. During and after COVID online education became much more popular, with sites such as ZOOM, Google Meet, Blackboard, and Moodle. Now some students are taught only online or home-schooled.

Schoolroom technology has changed over the years. In the 1850’s teachers wrote on chalkboards. Now students use smart boards and chrome books. In the 1850’s schools were public-funded and free, with a focus on “moral education.” There was a significant disparity between urban and rural, gender, and race. Nowadays K12 schools are still publicly funded and free, with no urban/rural, gender or race differences. However, reading and math scores are lowest.

Eighth graders used their imagination to think of ways Harrisburg will change in the future. They looked at five zones: the central business district, a transition zone, the working class, residential zone, and commuter zone. In 100 years one student predicted that there would be more parks, the central business district would have expanded, and the cost of housing would be lower.

Students and visitors to the Education Expo enjoyed popcorn and food as well as the displays. The sun shone and the halls of the middle school rang with enthusiastic voices as students shared their work.

The pictures below reflect the variety of displays at the event!

Fifth Grade displays:

Oregon Electric Railroad: #3096, 3097, 3100

Early settlers: #3099, 3103

Major Events: #3098, 3102

Kalapuya: #3101

Sixth Grade displays:

Buying a tractor: #3105, 3110

Hazelnuts: #3106, 3111

Case steam tractor: #3104, 3109

Roscoe Hurd: #3107, 3112

Rye Grass: #3108, 3113