Matthew Wettach places second in National History Day contest

"One thing that surprised me was that farmers were already in economic distress ten years before the Great Depression in 1929," said 13-year-old Matthew Wettach.
Wettach, who recently returned from the National History Day (NHD) contest held at the University of Maryland at College Park outside of the District of Columbia, won second place in his division. In his documentary, "Rights and Responsibilities: The New Deal Comes to the Corn Belt," Wettach used the Depression-era photographs of farmers in Iowa taken by his great-grandfather, Pete Wettach. The photographs helped young Wettach illustrate the hardships farmers in the Midwest went through in the 1920s and 30s.
The NHD picks a theme for the annual contest and then contestants must choose a topic that illustrates that theme. This year's theme was "Rights and Responsibility in History" and Wettach chose to investigate the New Deal as his topic.
About a year ago, Wettach attended a reception at Terrace Hill held by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and First Lady Christie Vilsack. The event honored and displayed the photographs of Pete Wettach.
"When I saw my [great-grandfather's] photographs being honored at the governor's mansion in Des Moines, I decided to tie the photographs in with my Rights and Responsibilities project," said Wettach.
Sue Loescher, talented and gifted (TAG) teacher in Mt. Pleasant, said the NHD process is very competitive. Students not only utilize technology but creativity as well. She said Wettach's hard work paid off.
[ Read it at: Mt. Pleasant News ]