Students at USC Salkehatchie took time from their studies to participate in the Amazing History Race in which students competed to complete obstacles with the fastest time while learning about local history.  The activity, created by Dr. Sarah Miller, professor of history, was based on the popular TV show where contestants travel around the world and complete tasks related to their travels.  Miller’s version focused on challenges created around local historical events that Miller’s History 112 class researched and submitted to be included in the event. 

The first obstacle recognized several natural disasters including the hurricanes of the late 1800s and a cyclone in Walterboro in 1879.  For this task, race participants had to dig through the rubble of rocks to locate small figures of people, dogs, or cats.  After saving one from the rubble, they moved on to a second task.

The second obstacle referenced the Orangeburg Massacre.  On February 8, 1965, three unarmed civil rights student protesters were killed and 28 wounded while trying to integrate the All-Star Bowling Alley.  In recognition of this historical event, participants knocked down a bowling pin with a ball before moving to the next task.

The third obstacle celebrated the Tuskegee Airmen. These African American pilots and crews are some of the most recognized fighters of World War II.  The task in the Amazing History Race was to make a paper airplane and land it on the runway.

The final obstacle represented the Savannah River Site.  The site was built during the Cold War to produce material, primarily tritium and plutonium-239, for nuclear weapons.  Participants in the race moved a spoonful of “nuclear waste” made from green-colored corn syrup to a safe container several steps away.  When all the waste had dripped from the spoon, contestants returned to the starting point to end the race.

The top three winners on the Allendale campus were Rushton Bowles, Franklin McKinney, and Tyler Hogan.  In Walterboro, the top participants were Wyatt Drew, Linley Jones, and Caden Crosby.  Times to complete the circuit varied from just over 2 minutes to more than 12 minutes.