Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Historic Cane Hill Enters 21st Century
HARVEST FESTIVAL PATRONS WILL ENJOY FREE WI-FI
— The historic community of Cane Hill will enter the world of wireless technology just in time for the 30th annual Cane Hill Harvest Festival.
Cane Hill is located along Highway 45 in rural Washington County, previously outside any access to internet services.
That has changed through a partnership with Prairie Grove Telephone Co., the EAST class at Lincoln Middle School and the non-profit organization Historic Cane Hill Inc.
Visitors to Cane Hill this weekend for the Harvest Festival will have free Wi-Fi to learn about the history of the community.
The festival includes a country breakfast each morning, with arts and crafts, activities and demonstrations going on each day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 17-18.
Wireless technology will help Historic Cane Hill meet one of its primary goals, said Bobby Braly, executive director of Historic Cane Hill.
“One of our biggest focuses has been to get folks to Cane Hill to educate them and give them information,” Braly said. “That’s impossible without technology. We have no cell phone service in Cane Hill and that’s not good when you want to reach people under 40 years of age. They live on their smartphone.”
Students with the middle school’s EAST class approached Braly last year about visitors using their smartphones to scan QR codes and read about different historic sites in Cane Hill. Braly’s prompt reply was good idea but there’s one problem. Cane Hill does not have cellular service.
Undeterred, the kids next met with Sandy Anderson, PG Telco sales and marketing manager.
Anderson said she couldn’t say no when one of the students asked her if PG Telco would provide free Wi-Fi at Cane Hill. The local company set up a PG Telco hot spot in Historic Cane Hill Museum and is providing its ZING broadband service along the Historic Cane Hill Heritage Trail, a walking trail that includes 11 historic sites in the community.
Ivan Huffmaster, EAST facilitator, said QR codes will “enrich the visitor’s experience and add a technology element to the site.”
When a visitor scans a QR code with a smartphone, the phone’s browser will connect to an EAST created webpage. The page will have historical information about that particular site/exhibit where the visitor is standing. The Local Sign Shop in Lincoln also is involved in the project and will provide permanent signs along the trail with the QR codes and instructions on how to use a QR code.
Temporary laminated signs will be up for the Harvest Festival so visitors this weekend will be some of the first ones to try out the new technology and scan QR codes with their smartphones.
“This project is a great example of what can be accomplished when the students of EAST collaborate with local businesses,” Huffmaster said.
EAST students Mariah Huffmaster and Trey Reed are working on the Cane Hill project this year. Mariah said she has learned that “things don’t always go as planned but if you work hard, it all works out in the end.”
Kris Phillips, safety director with PG Telco, said the name of the new wireless network is Historic Cane Hill. It is password protected, so a visitor will have to go into the museum to request the password. The hot spot inside the museum is not password protected.
Phillips said EAST students have been involved with the project from the ground up and are receiving hands- on experiences. They’ve met employees at
PG Telco and attended meeting sat the company’s office in Prairie Grove. They helped load equipment to be used in Cane Hill and have worked on site with Phillips.
PG Telco is donating labor and equipment for the project. The equipment is valued at $1,400 and includes a firewall for security reasons. The program also will provide information about the number of people using the Wi-Fi and the data visitors are accessing.
Historical sites along the walking trail include the Methodist Manse, Bank of Cane Hill, A.R. Carroll Drugstore, Cane Hill College and the John Edmiston House.