French students serve as interpreters

In an annual tradition that began more than twelve years ago, students taking Advanced French at Woodstock High School served as French interpreters at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park this past Wednesday, October 25.

The students, seniors Leah Kuhnert, Chloe Masillo, Amelie Fabre, Phoebe Anderson, Clara Shortle, Griffin Picconi, Delia Morgan, Andrea Journet, Tess Belisle and junior Levi Halley, gave the tour to four French speakers, two of whom are Quebecoise.

The tour lasted for over an hour, with each student leading their part of the tour in tandem with the others. The presentations were knitted together by clearly thought out transitions designed to make the audience feel that the tour was a whole, and not separate presentations. The students moved seamlessly from outside of the mansion where the first three students talked about the park as a starting point in the land and conservation movement to a history of the trails and how these trails are enjoyed today by locals and tourists alike. From there, the group entered the mansion and learned about how the entryway changed over time, to how the Rockefellers, who enjoyed entertaining, were hosts to many luminaries, including Lady Bird Johnson.

Moving from the living room to the library, the audience was introduced to the importance of books to each of the proprietors of the mansion, including Frederick Billings. The student presenter talked about the books her grandfather had in common with Billings, revealing the many links local inhabitants have to the park. From the library, the group entered the kitchen to learn about the employment of servants, what their lives were like and from where they originated (many were young Irish immigrants). The tour ended where it began, outside of the house where three students shared the passion of the Billings family for the natural world in general and this property in particular. Once again, for the twelfth year, the students excelled at a task that at first seemed indomitable to them, receiving rave reviews from their audience.