Sixth Grade Brings World War II Drama to Classroom

--A class of sixth-graders in Ames, Iowa, has made history come alive. After their teacher read to them about a World War II rescue drama in the Pacific, the students wondered about what had happened to the servicemen involved. Suzanne Kelly didn’t know, but she thought that finding out would be a good project for her pupils. So the students turned sleuth, writing to newspapers, libraries and military agencies around the nation until they tracked down their men. And, Thursday, several of them, who had lost touch with one another since the 1942 incident, came to Ames to meet the class. “It’s almost like a family,” Kelly said. “These men have written personal letters to every child.” The project was inspired by a wartime book by James Whittaker, co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress that overshot its refueling station and ditched in the South Pacific. He and the seven men with him, including flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, drifted on rafts for days before they were spotted and rescued. One of the men, John Bartek, of Mercerville, N.J., wrote to the class, “You did a good job of finding me--I can say much better than they did in 1942.”

--Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins, soap opera star Susan Lucci and six other women were named mothers of the year in New York by the National Mother’s Day Committee, a group dedicated to raising the nation’s consciousness of Mother’s Day, which this year falls on May 12. The governor and the other winners were given a bronze figurine of a mother shielding her children in the folds of her skirt.

--In another annual awards ceremony, President Reagan gave Therese K. Dozier a golden apple and some words of praise as the Teacher of the Year. “She and her colleagues are day by day in their quiet, unsung way probably more important to the survival and success of our freedom than anyone else in this nation,” Reagan said. “Sometimes, when targets of abuse, teachers must feel a little like a dart board.” Dozier, 32, a Columbia, S.C., high school teacher, is the 34th recipient of the award.

--The hospital board meeting in Nashville, Tenn., was probably like those in most parts--except that it started with country singer Roni Stoneman belting out “Dirty Ole Egg Suckin’ Dog.” To attract an audience on a government access cable television channel, the board presented a 30-minute warm-up of songs and jokes before getting down to the business of hospitals. “As the battle for TV ratings continues to rage between the city departments, we continue with our pre-board meeting entertainment,” said Russell Birmingham, the board member who initiated the show. “When our ratings fell below those of the Water and Sewer Department’s, that’s when I knew something had to be done.”