For twenty years, the History Club has been a huge HC tradition. With so many members, the club meets once a week, but is divided into three groups that all participate in the same activities. This can include solving real world problems, such as creating a database for the History Lab, or working on projects like their American Diabetes Association Halloween Fundraiser.
The History Club also has “fun lectures,” as Chris Snow, the sponsor of the History Club since its founding, calls them. “We did one on unsolved historical mysteries. We do them on serial killers, UFOs, weird stuff,” Snow said.
This year, the History Club also has multiple new projects planned that they haven’t done in past years.
“We’re doing something we call Goodbye HC, where we’re taking photographs and interviews,” Snow said. The goal is to have as much information as possible about the school in its current state, before it’s taken down to be rebuilt.
The History Club is also starting a project called “What’s in a Name?” – “All the high schools here in Fayette county are named after someone, so we’re gonna do research on that person,” said Snow.
To help out the teachers at HC, the club is also going to be making “canned lesson plans,” as Snow called them. The plan is to create a box of props with instructions that is similar to a mock trial that a teacher can use in their classroom. “We’re trying to create these pre-packed lesson plans that have actual tangible things with them that teachers can use,” Snow said.
The biggest project that the History Club does every year is the American Diabetes Association Halloween Fundraiser. This is their 10th year hosting this event. “We’ve raised over $30,000. We’ve gotten the attention of the ADA […] It’s a small, private event, we still raise about five grand every year,” said Snow. The fundraiser is “a big haunted house, murder mystery, [and] breakout room.” If you’d like to donate, please visit https://donations.diabetes.org/site/TR/DIY_GEN/DIY?px=17974787&pg=personal&fr_id=13951.
The club is also going to continue their “HC History Day” every three to four years. “The reason being, is that all of those kids have already seen it […] We’d like to wait for that class to graduate, and then a new group comes in,” Snow said. The next one will take place next year.
The HC History club is a highly recognized club within the National History Club Association. The National History Club Association, sponsored by Harvard, Yale, the History Channel, and more, has “around 700 clubs.” Every year, they give two different awards: the “Best Sponsor” award and the “Best Club” award. In the past 20 years, the HC History Club has won the “Best Club” award six times and “Best Sponsor” award three times. These awards are huge deals within the National History Club Association. We can only hope that the club wins another award this year!
To get involved in the HC History Club, all a student needs to do is email Mr. Snow at [email protected] to be put on the list. After that, they just need to come to the meetings once every three weeks. Every student is welcome to join and participate in the fun projects and activities.
