Justin Fladd’s Global Studies 10 students at Newark High School March 13th learned more about Newark’s real-life connections to World War II than they could have learned from their textbooks. And they were amazed.
To view the designed article, visit: https://5il.co/3apfj
Here’s what they found out at three learning stations set up in the NHS Library:
• There had been a German Prisoner of War camp in Newark _ one of four in Wayne County.
“Newark, along with Clyde and Sodus, had German POW camps and Marion had an Italian POW camp. They were established during WWII. In Newark, the location of the camp was where the Alex Eligh Community Center stands today on East Avenue,” Fladd explained.
“The POW camp existed from 1944-1946 where more than 100 German POWs lived and six days a week were bussed to local farms and factories to work. Five thousand men enlisted to join the military during WWII from Wayne County, so the towns needed labor from the POW camps for the farms and factories.”
For the second year in a row, students learned more about the POW camps from someone who wrote a book about them, 91-year-old Annette Harris, who worked at Kelley School as a library assistant from 1981-1991.
She wrote two books on local history: “Small Beginnings - A Story of Newark, New York” published in 1986 and “World War II Prisoner of War Camps in Wayne County, New York And Their Prisoners” published in 2004.
Always fascinated by history, Harris who loves to read, worked with the late Bob Hoetzel (former Arcadia Town Historian) and Chris Davis, current Executive Director of Newark-Arcadia Historical Society, to write both her books.
“To see the shocked look on the faces of my students when they learned that over 100 German POWs were imprisoned in their village made it all worth it. Listening to them interact with Annette made my day. They hung on to her every word and asked very in-depth questions. Annette thought the world of our students and they couldn't speak more highly of her,” Fladd said.
Harris told Fladd she so enjoyed working with his students and how much she appreciated their thoughtful questions.
• Twenty-seven Newark area men, of the 5,000 from Wayne County that enlisted during WWII, who made the ultimate sacrifice and never returned home. Fladd had a copy of the 1945 edition of the Newark Courier Gazette on display that shared the names and faces of those men and how and when each man died.
Michael Celent, who taught social studies and AP US History at NHS for 25 years before retiring came in for the event and talked with students about the men who died.
“There is no one that I've met more well-versed in WWII history than Mike Celent,’’ Fladd said. “To bring him in this year helped add more depth to my lesson plan and allowed for students to be even more engaged when they went to the Newark Courier Gazette newspaper article station. When Mr. Celent retired, he left me and the NHS Social Studies department several laminated historic newspaper articles, one of which I used for my lesson.
“It was an honor and pleasure to get Mr. Celent out of retirement for one day to come back and help my students understand this topic. He loves history and is obsessed with the teaching of it. He also got the opportunity to catch up with several former colleagues he spent many years working with at NHS along with having a wonderful lunch at Canal View Family Restaurant.”
• More about The Rear Admiral Leslie E. Gehres Memorial Exhibit in the NHS library that include Rear Admiral Gehres’ Navy Cross and his World War II Victory Medal.
Fladd explained Gehres’ accomplishments were many, but certainly his greatest the one that captured the attention of the world and the national media in 1945 was when he served as captain of the U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Franklin.
On March 19, 1945, when the ship was 60 miles off the eastern coast of Japan, it was attacked by Japanese aircraft. More than 1,000 members of the crew of 3,000 were immediately killed or injured and with the ship extensively damaged and in danger of sinking or capsizing, then Captain Gehres refused to abandon it and rescued more than 300 sailors trapped below deck and safely removed the injured to other ships. The direct bomb hit caused the ship to burn for 15 hours and with the number of casualties, it was one of the worst U.S. Naval disasters at sea. Amazingly, Captain Gehres was also able to save the damaged ship and bring it back over 12,000 miles through enemy waters to the Brooklyn Navy Yard with a skeleton crew of 704.
Gehres also was responsible for driving the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands in World War II. He was promoted to the rank of Commodore for his leadership skill in this campaign _ a rank that had not been given to any Navy officer since the War of 1812 when Commodore Oliver Perry chased the British out of Lake Erie.
Thanks to the exhaustive efforts by late Dr. William J. Stewart before his death in 2016, his hometown finally honored _with the dedication of a monument outside and the opening of a historical exhibit inside Newark High School September 28, 2002, the memory of Gehres who served his country with distinction and valor and who arguably is one of the greatest heroes of World War II.
A retired University of Cincinnati College of Education professor emeritus, Stewart, who had lived in Florida with wife, Eleanor and who wrote “A Call To Duty” about this extraordinary man doggedly determined Gehres would not be forgotten and that he would have the prominent place in local history he deserves.
Born in Newark in 1898, Leslie Gehres and his sisters attended Newark schools for a time before they moved to Rochester in 1912. Gehres left school and enlisted in 1914.
Jen Cruz, Special Education teacher at NHS, who co-teaches two Global 10 classes with Fladd said: “Students were intrigued and extremely respectful to their elders. It made me proud to see how well they used their manners and listened to the presenters. Students were truly interested in their personal stories and this lesson was an authentic experience for all involved.”
What did the students think of their unique history lesson March13th?
Kloie Sergeant _ “I loved learning about the experiences of Leslie Gehres. I would have never known or thought there was a Nazi POW camp in Newark.”
Rosemary Winkler _ “I loved seeing the real artifacts in the Leslie Gehres exhibit. I was shocked to learn that 27 men from Newark died while serving in WWII. I want to start visiting more memorials to learn more about those that served.”
Kendall Muckey _ “I enjoyed seeing the different artifacts and learning about Newark's past. I was shocked to learn that Leslie Gehres was born in Newark, I never thought Newark was special in that way. I am going to start thanking veterans more for their service and visit memorials to those that served. My favorite part was talking with Annette Harris. I felt a more personal connection to the content, more so than just reading her book or reading about the Nazi POW camp in Newark