Social Studies club recently went on a field trip to Chicago where they took the Untouchables tour, a journey around Chicago recounting various historical events that occurred within the city. Below are some of the students’ thoughts on their trip as they discuss the value of experiencing local history.

Today’s experience showed me that local history is very important to know and understand. The information gained today really helped me understand what brought a lot of attention to Chicago and made it a big city. It proved how one small law or action can cause so much uproar and change a place. At the same time, this experience also showed me how gruesome our history is and what people had to live with on a day to day basis. In conclusion, local history is important because it provides background on how one’s area developed

–Bryan Smith (18)

Based on today’s events, it is important to experience local history for many reasons. One of the greatest benefits of studying history is that it allows us to learn about where we came from. It gives us a greater understanding of what happened back in the day. Sometimes history can be confusing, but when we experienced it first hand today, it gives us a much closer look at what actually happened and how things happened. The mob tour showed us each and every detail of the mobster’s life. It truly felt like I was living in the 1920s. The most interesting part of today’s trip was the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Everybody makes Valentine’s Day out to be some romantic holiday when in reality it was a very dark and gloomy day. I never really understood anything about mobsters until we took the trip today. I came out of this trip learning a lot more than I expected

–Megan Breytenbach (17)

Based on today’s trip, it is important to experience local history so that you can appreciate and understand your surroundings. Throughout the tour, the guides were pointing out where important historical events in Chicago’s mobster history were. Some people would walk past a building a not have a second thought as to what they just walked past. Learning about local history will make you better enjoy and appreciate where you live because each building is not just a restaurant or a movie theater; they are a point where something major happened. This tour has changed my perception of Chicago and made me appreciate the city even more than I did before.

–Patrick Weber (17)