Montgomery County History Center | Dave McFarland
Saturday, Jan. 21, the Montgomery County History Center held its annual Christmas party. Now this might seem pretty ordinary, even taking into account that the meal was Chinese catered from Chen’s Kitchen here in Red Oak, but I can guarantee it was anything but ordinary. The History Center invited a guest speaker to participate – Barry Jurgensen of Omaha. Barry is an interesting and dynamic individual, including being Nebraska Teacher of the Year for 2014. He teaches at a small town northwest of Omaha metro, Arlington, Neb.
Why did we invite Barry? That is a story unto itself.
Barry is quite a teacher and does not teach with conventional methods. He has his history students actually do primary research. Armed with that research, those students then work toward a goal – in this particular case, a nomination to be recognized and designated a historic site by the National Parks Service.
In 2015, Barry’s students ran across a reference to William Wallace Merritt, who was a prominent figure in Montgomery County history. It comes as no small surprise that Mr. Merritt, among his many accomplishments, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War. What is unusual about our Mr. Merritt is he wrote letters and made his view public about helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. He even wrote about it in one of his books. Prior to the Civil War, it was illegal to harbor or help runaway slaves and to talk about it in the first person was equal to a criminal confession. At one point, he related that he had nine slaves hidden on his farm at Frankfort, here in the county.
Barry’s students began their quest by contacting people in Red Oak, including Erv Ficek, superintendant at Evergreen Cemetery. Erv referred them to the History Center. The students then contacted the History Center and thus began their quest for more research. The History Center not only provided primary research, but donated several Montgomery County History books. We ended up having several visits from Barry and some of his students; with this came numerous new friendships.
Barry began his presentation with an overview of his students’ project. Most of us are aware of places such as Tabor and Hitchcock house, but Merritt and Montgomery County was something relatively new. Merritt’s grave will be soon placed on a National Park’s website: nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/discover_history/underground_map.htm. It will become one of nine such sites for the State of Iowa. The History Center will be kicking off a campaign to raise funds to have a plaque recognizing Merritt placed at Evergreen Cemetery. It is interesting to note that beside William Merritt is buried his son, who died during the sinking of the American Battleship Maine in 1898.
During the students’ research, they ran across a reference to two teenage runaway slaves, who escaped in Nebraska City and, on foot, made a 500-mile journey to freedom in Chicago. Barry decided to re-create this walk. In the summer, he undertook to walk the route. He was accompanied at various stages by some of his students. The History Center became part of this effort. Barry made a special point to recognize all the help and generosity shown by the History Center, Dave and Roxanne McFarland, and the people of Montgomery County. Barry raised $2,700 from pledges to this walk. The money went to the Frederick Douglass Foundation and is being used to fight modern-day slavery. Dave and Roxanne were delivered a huge surprise at the end of Barry’s presentation – they were honored with gifts of bracelets made by girls who had been rescued from slavery and who are now having successful new lives.
Think about joining your local History Center and you, too, could get in on the fun and all the rewards.
Dave McFarland is director of the Montgomery County History Center. Contact him or the center at 712-623-2289, or visit it at 2700 N. 4th St., Red Oak.