 |
| Fourth-grade students at Manchester School look over the L.L. Bean Bootmobile when it visited the school on May 20. The visit was part of the students' study of famous Mainers and Maine's famous industries. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
Fourth-grade students at Manchester School students got a special visit from the one and only legendary L.L. Bean Bootmobile on Friday, May 20 as part of RSU 14’s ’s curriculum standards that has third- and fourth graders studying the state of Maine.
Carol Priebe is one of the teachers of a fourth-grade class at Manchester who was part of the special visit and was responsible for the visit as her son is one of the drivers of the LL Bean Bootmobile.
“Fourth grade also does Maine studies for half the year, and this fits our units for famous Mainers and Maine industry,” Priebe. “I teach Maine through a progression from geography to the Native Americans, to early explorers, to our history, the wars, and settlement, including the famous people and industries that brought us to where we are now.”
Many of famous Mainers were the pioneers of preserving Maine – such as Percival Baxter, the original landowner of Acadia National Park - or the founders of our industry and technology.
In class, students learned about inventions such as the Stanley Steamer by the Stanley Brothers in Kingfield, Chester Greenwood and earmuffs and Leon Bean and the iconic hunting boot.
The visit by the L.L. Bean Bootmobile was a casual question and answer as L.L. Bean is promoting more outdoor recreational activities and opportunities for Maine’s children.
“Fourth grade's favorite field trip has always been to the Maine State Museum in Augusta, but it is unfortunately closed due to renovations,” Priebe said.
In
efforts to substitute for the Maine State Museum field trip, there has been a
visit by Osher Maps to learn about the Wabanaki Native Americans and a virtual
visit by Victoria Museum to learn about Portland's history and mansion's
symbolism.
The L.L. Bean Bootmobile was another fun, educational way to show the children one of Maine's most famous industries, said Priebe.
Priebe’s son, Wilson Cramp, was the driver of the Bootmobile that day and is a discovery school instructor and tour guide, certified ski patrol, wilderness EMT, and a registered Maine wilderness, sea kayak and whitewater guide.
“I thought visiting Manchester school was awesome and such a great way to bring some joy during a challenging year with Covid to both students and the teachers,” said Cramp. “It was heartwarming and hilarious the reaction of the students as I rounded the corner to their playground in the Bootmobile during their recess. The excitement and confusion as to why a massive boot was rolling onto their playground was electric.”
There have been multiple Bootmobiles. Boot One was built in 2012, to celebrate L.L. Bean’s 100 Year anniversary, Boot Two was built in 2013 and Boot Three was built in 2019 and was designed to be the first Bootmobile with the capability to tow the L.L. Bean Pop-Up Shop, thus combining two unique L.L. Bean experiences into one.
Cramp said that there are four Bootmobiles that exist today, three of which are here in Maine and the fourth is in Japan where L. L. Bean has a large presence.
There are no left and right foot bootmobiles, he said.
“The boots are about 12 and a half feet tall, so we have to follow a special GPS that helps us avoid low bridges,” said Cramp.
He’s been working with the Bootmobile since August 2021.
“I applied for a temporary assignment with the boot and got a job
touring the northeast in it doing a pop-up tour,” said Cramp.
“Essentially, we pulled a trailer that was a mobile L.L. Bean store and brought gear to the people at many cities and universities as far south as Virginia.”
“The Bootmobile's mission is a surprise, and a delight, while inspiring more people to find joy in the outdoors,” said Cramp.
He said that he started working with the Bootmobile because he thought it would be fun.
“I had a friend who did it a year before me and it looked like he had a great time and he told me to apply,” said Cramp. “I started working at Beans five years ago and wanted to try something different so when I saw this job posted I figured why not apply. I'm very happy I got hired; it’s been a great time.”
Manchester student Maddie Shunda said that she loved learning about the Maine State Flag and how it has changed over the years, while student Grace Rinaldi that she liked studying the 16 counties of Maine.
Student Sage Bowie said that she liked studying the 10 rivers of the Maine geography test. Another student, Moria Elder said that she liked learning about Maine’s 28 geographical landmarks, especially the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. <
No comments:
Post a Comment