Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Class Commemorates City’s 125th Anniversary
PRAIRIE GROVE — A group of Prairie Grove Middle School students is commemorating the 125th anniversary of the city of Prairie Grove with a special coin available to the public.
The two-sided commemorative coin costs $10 and can be pre-ordered through Nov. 1 for delivery in mid- November. Residents also will be able to purchase coins in November. One side of the coin displays the city seal with the Battlefield Park and says “Prairie Grove, AR Est. July 9, 1888.” The other side has a picture of a tiger and says, “Prairie Grove Tiger Pride.”
The 125th- anniversary coin is a project sponsored by students in the school’s EAST class. EAST stands for Environmental and Spatial Technology and is a program that focuses on student-driven service projects for the school and the community. Team members for the coin project are eighth graders Riley Masters, Alex Henry, Katie Bryan and seventh graders Josie Edwards, Neosha Allen.
Masters said the group hopes to sell 1,000 coins, with the goal to make $6,500 in profit from their sales. They plan to use the proceeds to benefit the school, city’s animal shelter, Meals on Wheels and Prairie Grove Shop with a Cop.
Tracie Ashley, EAST facilitator, said the coin project is probably her favorite this year because it promotes community pride.
“Prairie Grove is a town like no other,” Ashley said.
Mayor Sonny Hudson said he met with Ashley and the students to talk about different designs for the coin. He said he showed the team the city seal as a possible scene on the coin.
“They sent several drafts and the last one I thought looked great,” Hudson said. “This is a great idea.”
The students shared their coin project with people in the community during EAST Night Out at the middle school cafeteria on Oct. 15. EAST Night Out is a national event to provide an opportunity for EAST students to tell about their projects for the year.
The Prairie Grove Middle School EAST Night Out was organized by students Baylie Lanier, Mason Pifer, Rebekah Bostian and Mary Storlie. Lanier said her team mailed out invitations for the event, made posters to promote it, sent out word to the parents and contacted businesses about providing refreshments.
Lanier is in her second year in EAST and said the class has taught her to communicate with others.
“It’s taught me to be thankful for the community. I love working in the community. It’s really fun,” Lanier said.
Ashley said her seventh and eighth graders are working on a total of 89 projects. The EAST calendar year runs from March to March.
The program is in its seventh year and has been so successful that community members and other organizations are contacting the school to request EAST projects on their behalf, Ashley said.
For more information on ordering or purchasing a coin, contact the school at tracie.ashley@pgtigers.org.