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Edison at Garst
Students look for role of communications in local history
By Bob Robinson

The assignment was to discover the role communications may have played in Darke County’s history. Where better to start than Greenville’s Garst Museum?

Annie Oakley, Lowell Thomas, Crossroads to Destiny and so much more, were among the options. How did the communications processes of the time impact the society we know today?

In a course that required eight speeches over a 16 week period, many of them involving in-depth research, plus three written projects and a final exam, this assignment was offered as an extra credit opportunity.

Nine students from two Edison Communications 121 classes chose to take advantage of it. Several of the students – all local residents – had never been to the museum.

A tour was set up and conducted by two Garst Tour Guides, Allen Hauberg and Norma Schilling. One of the first things students discovered was that the hour and a half allotted only scratched the surface of the information available. Several have chosen to return, and it was obvious to others that more research would be needed.

What did they learn?

Did they understand how Annie Oakley used “communication” to challenge young girls to participate more fully in a man’s world? Or the lessons learned as Lowell Thomas visited and reported from the far corners of the earth? Did they understand how General “Mad Anthony” Wayne used “communication,” through the Treaty of GreeneVille, to open the Gateway to the West?

This assignment was an example of the learning opportunities through an Edison communications course, the support of Garst Museum and the desire for knowledge (and of course a better grade) for nine Edison students.

Garst Museum is a center of historical information and activity in Darke County with its annual Gathering at Garst and a variety of informational events, such as the scheduled visit of U.N. Diplomat Jeffrey Feltman. The museum is nationally recognized as a unique offering for a community the size of Greenville.

Communications 121, Fundamentals of Communication, is an introductory course at Edison Community College that is required in a variety of degree programs. Its primary focus is public speaking, but the syllabus requires an overview of related forms of communication, including but not limited to: journalism, small group and one-on-one interaction, written reports, persuasion, opinion, teamwork and more.

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