Mount Vernon High School students presented what they’ve learned on Mount Vernon’s history for history night presentations held Monday, Oct. 28.

Students were able to pick out what they wanted to learn about and present the topic to the community during the hour long presentation.

Isaiah Austerman learned about the history of Mount Vernon Bank and Trust.

“I wanted to research the project, because my mom works there,” Austerman said.

His primary resource was interviewing bank president David Ryan on the history.

“For me, it’s definitely seeing how the bank has changed over the years in this community,” Austerman said. “Even as it’s grown, they’ve done so with roughly the same amount of employees.”

Hudson Morrissey and Leo Thurn learned about the history of the Mount Vernon Middle School building.

Both Thurn and Morrissey were new students to Mount Vernon this year, so learning about the history of the middle school building was eye opening.

“Just how the building has changed with additions, like things like the auditorium or additions,” Morrissey said.

“Or finding out that the building like the current high school moved from a previous location to where it is located now,” Thurn said.

Danny Dye and Jake Bauer did a history on Odyssey Theater for the Young at Art.

Things they learned about included the different sites the theater has held shows over the years, and the work of director Karla Steffens to direct every show thus far.

“As someone who has been an intern and an actor, I just wanted to know more about that theater company,” Danny said.

His primary source for a lot of the information was an interview with his older sister, Meg, who has served as student director on a number of shows for Odyssey as well.

“It was just fun learning more about Odyssey theater,” Bauer said.

Esther Novak and Leah Mercer researched the history of the Strand Theater.

“We were originally just going to do our research on the Bijou Movie Theater, but as we started, we heard about the Strand Theater that preceded it, and we hadn’t known about that,” Novak said.

The duo said one of the things that really stood out to them were the types of movies the Strand Theater played, which were mostly family friendly. It had more space than the Bijou did, and when it burned down, it took several businesses in uptown with it. Where it sat is where the Mount Vernon City Hall sits today.

The duo worked with Mary Evans on their research.

“The concessions were just so different at the Strand,” Mercer said.

“The inside looked so different as well,” Novak said.

Teddy Bonewald and Jamison Billingsley did research on Davis Park.

“It’s just a park we’ve both spent a lot of time at over the years,” Billingsley said. “Whether that’s on the baseball field or at the pool.”

For Bonewald and Billingsley, the biggest shock has been the age of some of the buildings at the space.

“There have been some renovations that have occurred in the 1980s, but many of the buildings like the concession stands and pool have been there since the 1960s and still working there today,” Billingsley said.

Their resources included parks and recreation director Matt Siders and the city’s master plans and history.

“It’s just a place I’ve spent a lot of my summer at,” Bonewald said.

History teacher Maggie Willems said some of her favorite projects were those like Fenn Jones, where they researched the history of where they lived.

“I love when these students take a deep dive on subjects I’m not familiar with, because I learn something as well,” Willems said.

Marlena Rodenberg did her project on the history of the Mount Vernon Community Band.

The band was originally started in the community during the Civil War era with seven people who played in the band.

That number has grown much larger over the years.

“Don Stine was the director who really brought the tradition back more than 100 years later and made the groundwork for what the band is today,” Marlena said.

One of the pieces of history Marlena said was cool was how Memorial Park’s gazebo came to be constructed. Previously, the band had played on a concrete pad in that park, and the gazebo was constructed for the band to perform in at the park.

Stine stepped down from directing the band in 2018, and Marlena’s mom, Elise, stepped in as director.

Marlena said she was interested to know more about the history after she started playing in the band this summer.

“It’s always been a part of my life, since my mom played in the band for years before she stepped up as director,” Marlena said.

For her source, she interviewed Don’s son, Mason, who gave history of both of his parents’ involvement in the band.

Marlena even made one of Judy’s treats – scotcheroos or Community Bars, as they’re better known – to accompany her presentation.

“I just think it’s such a great memory of summer in this community,” Marlena said.