CARTHAGE, Mo. — The annual “Great Americans Day” event consumed Central Park for about 6 hours.
This event serves as a living history field trip for local schools with hundreds of kids on hand.
It also highlights the importance of historical figures and the values that made them important in our history.
Once again, those historical figures were portrayed by a number of volunteers from the Carthage community, one of them being Jasper County Associate Circuit Judge, John Nicholas, who played the role of Native American “Squanto.”
“We get a chance to meet about 400 5th graders from around the area and bring history to life. You know, and let them see what it was like for all these great Americans that they get to meet today. Rather than sitting and reading about it in a classroom, we get to come out to this beautiful park, and we get to learn from them and they get to learn from us,” said John Nicholas, JASCO Assoc. Circuit Judge / Squanto.
“If anything, probably Abraham Lincoln or Squanto,” said Abel Evans, 5th Grade Student.
Why’s that?
“Mostly because Abraham Lincoln was the guy that helped slaves, you know like get out and stuff. And Squanto was one of the people that started Thanksgiving from what I know,” responded Evans.
This event has been celebrated every year in Carthage since 2002.
