PTHS teacher Paul Ritter and PTHS senior Kelly Fraher speaking to a group of veterans at the Livingston County Veterans Assistance Commission/Photo by WJEZ staff

by Todd Wineburner

A group of veterans gathered Monday night to hear Kelly Fraher's story of how she and other students at Pontiac Township High School identified three men whose lives and achievements could have been lost to history. Fraher, a senior, appeared at the Livingston County Veterans Assistance Commission with PTHS earth science teacher Paul Ritter, to explain how one school project evolved into something very different.

It started when Ritter took his students to Odell Township Cemetery with the goal of assessing the impact of acid rain on older marble and limestone headstones. The students were taking measurments and assessing the headstones, when their curiosity took over and they started wondering about the people whose graves were marked. As the level of erosion had made the stones largely illegible, it became a bit of a mystery.

The process of unraveling the identities of thost interred wasn't easy, but by connecting pieces of known information, the students, spearheaded by Fraher's research efforts, determined the identities of the forgotten soldiers. Now a recognition ceremony is planned for this spring, and new headstones have been ordered for placement at the graves. This time around, Ritter explained to the group, the stones will be made of a much more durable granite material that will keep the graves clearly marked for generations to come.

Fraher says the process of sifting through historical records and piecing information together was a particularly rewarding process compared to other schoolwork. "Most projects–you have to do this, and do this, and fill this out," Fraher said. "But for this there were no guidelines. You just had to figure it out, and I like that."

Ritter said it was a rewarding experience for him as a teacher, as well, as he saw students and teachers from other disciplines getting involved in the research project. "I've watched kids sit there, and they're frustrated trying to figure out who these people are," Ritter said. "But still they're determined and tenacious and determined to give these people their lives back and the history that belongs to them."

Fraher is being recognized for her efforts by the University of Illinois. She's been named one of the state's top high-school age innovators, and she'll participate in a special event later this year at the U of I. During the gathering, Ritter was told of other graves in other cemeteries whose occupants were unknown and Ritter smiled and admitted there might a group of students in the future working to identify those individuals as well.