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A longstanding Andalusia Elementary School tradition continues, but at a new time of year as the school’s sixth graders prepare to make history come to life on the downtown square on Friday.

During its long history, the Living History event has been held in the spring, but this year is being moved to the fall with hopes of cooler temperatures for the parade and program. The students will march from Andalusia City Hall to the downtown square beginning at approximately 9 a.m. with the speeches portion of the event starting on the square immediately after. The junior high band will perform on the courthouse steps as the historical figures arrive on the square.

The program began about 18 years ago when it was started by teacher Linda Kyle and it involves every sixth grader at the school. The event is organized and sponsored by AES’s sixth grade teachers.

“The students have worked very hard on learning about their historical figures. They started by reading a book and taking an AR test. We work on graphic organizers to help them pull out research and details about their character. It’s across the whole grade level. I help out with the research, (English-Language Arts) helps with writing, in math they work on art circles related to their characters; we even put in some marching practice,” said teacher Casey Athearn.

D.J. Rucker, 12, will be sharing what he learned about musician Louis Armstrong.

“He was a very interesting guy. He shot a real gun, his friend shot a cap gun, so he was sent to a waif’s shelter … it’s like a homeless shelter. He went there and joined a band and went from there. He played the trumpet and cornet very, very well and played in multiple bands,” D.J. said.

Ander Parkinson is going even further back in time to research her historical figure, Mary Hayes, known by her nickname, “Molly Pitcher.”

“She was the first woman to go out on the battlefield and carry a pitcher of water for wounded men during the heat of combat. I learned about her from our books, a graph organizers and all of our teachers helped. It’s been a lot of fun,” Ander said.

From the world of education and entertainment, Dr. Suess will be portrayed by Eli Smith. Already familiar with some of the children’s books he authored, Eli said he learned a lot about Dr. Suess’s life.

“He was famous for writing storybooks about children, like ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ and ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’ But, I learned other things about him, including that he died of mouth cancer because he was a heavy smoker,” Smith said.

Athearn said the students have stayed busy working on research for their figures and now are focused on memorizing that information for Friday’s program.

“They are nervous to begin with, but they come around to really enjoy it. They’ve worked very hard and we’ve seen a lot of growth in their characters. While they are shy at the beginning, their confidence grows as they put more work into it,” Athearn said.

The public is invited to learn more about America’s history by attending the Living History event on Friday, Nov. 22, with the parade beginning at approximately 9 a.m. and presentations on the downtown square from approximately 9:15 to 10 a.m.