WESTMINSTER : The Wild, Wild West, From a Kid’s View

Wearing red bandannas and cowboy boots, more than 400 schoolchildren on Thursday celebrated the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of life in the Old West.

Designed to excite children about history by providing interesting educational activities, Fay Fryberger Elementary School’s fourth annual Western Day offered a bonanza of events such as horseback rides and panning for bits of gold-colored rock.

By high noon, the students had learned how to draw Native American pictographs and had viewed antique cooking paraphernalia, including coffee grinders, butter churns and toasters. The playground posse sipped “sarsaparilla,” which was really root beer, and made paper tepees as well.

“It’s a celebration of our Western heritage and students love it. This really brings it to life,” said teacher Ann Hosier, who coordinated the program.

Students said they enjoyed learning about events that occurred long ago.

“It’s one of the funnest things in my whole life,” 6-year-old Darrell Gramm said after climbing down from a horse named Ashley.

“I panned for gold. I would have liked to have lived in the Old West because I would have found a lot of gold,” he added.

Nearby, students eager to find a fistful of “gold” nuggets crowded around a plastic wading pool filled with sand and murky water. With pie tins in hand, the children showed true grit in finding the gold-painted rocks during a timed competition.

Later, 8-year-old Josh Kessler said he wouldn’t want to live in the Old West “because they didn’t have cars and you always had to walk.”

Josh pointed out that although old-time cowboys did have horses, cars are better “because you can fall off a horse.”