Famous Missourians visit California Elementary

Susan Elizabeth Blow, who started the first kindergarten class in the United States, leads a parade of Famous Missourians on March 1 down the halls of California Elementary School. Blow and her famous peers were portrayed by CES third-grade students.
Susan Elizabeth Blow, who started the first kindergarten class in the United States, leads a parade of Famous Missourians on March 1 down the halls of California Elementary School. Blow and her famous peers were portrayed by CES third-grade students.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh and several other famous Missourians stopped by California Elementary School recently to share surprising facts about their lives.

The visits by the famous Missourians were courtesy of third-graders at the school who had spent two months researching everything there is to know about Missouri.

To kick off the event, Mason Abernathy, who selected Charles Lindbergh to study, walked up on stage in aviator goggles to tell the crowd what made him famous.

"My name is Charles Lindbergh," he said. "Did you know that I made the first transatlantic flight by myself?"

Kayla Barnard, a third-grade teacher at CES said the students have spent weeks delving into the state's history, governmental structure and other interesting Missouri-based facts. This collection of new knowledge and creative costumes led to a special presentation honoring famous Missourians on March 1.

Each student was to select a notable native Missourian to learn more about and decorate a cardboard portrait that represented the famous individual in question.

Parents, grandparents and other eager family members lined the halls of California Elementary School to see the parade of their third graders cleverly disguised as famous Missourians.

That afternoon, the unsinkable Molly Brown, John Pershing, Yogi Berra and even Walt Disney made their way through the halls into the gym to finish off the presentation.