JEROMESVILLE — For the past few days, students walking into the Hillsdale Local Schools library have been met with apples.
Fake apple trees are scattered throughout the library, apple tea and candy are available for students and it even smells like apples. An antique apple press sits on a table.
Large banners with information about Johnny Appleseed on one side line the rows of books. On the other side of the banners, students can read information about the process of making apple cider.
The windows of the library contain panels with a news article about Johnny Appleseed.
The banners and news article were part of a recent exhibit at Loudonville’s Cleo Redd Fisher Museum.
Scarlett Raines, Hillsdale’s librarian, visited the museum exhibit and asked where it would go once it was no longer on display. She said she was told the museum hoped the exhibit would travel to local schools next — and she signed Hillsdale up to be the first one.
“A whole range of education comes with an apple,” Raines said.
Raines said she picked up the exhibition materials and transported them to Hillsdale. With the help of some students, she decorated the library. The exhibit went up at the Hillsdale library Monday, and stays up until Oct. 28.
To supplement the materials from the museum’s exhibit, Raines brought in materials from friends and family. Those include different cider jugs and the vintage apple press.
A learning opportunity
Raines said the story of Johnny Appleseed is a huge part of the area’s local history.
In fact, the last living Johnny Appleseed tree stands in northern Ashland County, in the town of Savannah. The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway runs through Richland and Ashland counties too.
Bringing the exhibit to Hillsdale has offered students a chance to engage with that history firsthand.
Students in the school’s Book Club and History Club learned about the history so they could share it with their peers and foster excitement about the exhibit.
Raines said the school’s kindergarten through fourth grade classes have also engaged with the exhibit. A sophomore history class had an assignment in connection with the exhibit, too.
“When students leave the library, they’re discussing it and sharing what they knew or learned,” Raines said.
The exhibit’s next stop, according to Raines, will be at a log cabin shop in Lodi. But, she encouraged other Ashland County schools to consider bringing the exhibit to their buildings. Raines said she’d happily share what worked best with bringing it to Hillsdale.
