Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – For two Berry Middle School eighth graders, this summer has been anything but ordinary. Mae Margaret Carden of Hoover and Maggie Harrelson of Riverchase have spent their break stepping back in time—serving as Junior Interpreters at American Village in Montevallo, where they help bring the 18th century to life for visitors.

Every year, students ages 13-18 with a passion for history and performance audition for the American Village Junior Interpreter program. Those selected receive professional training and assist the site’s educational interpreters in engaging guests with the customs, culture and perspectives of colonial America.

“We are looking for students who are motivated, adaptable, mature and capable of handling a variety of responsibilities,” said Rebecca Evans, co-director of the program. “Junior Interpreters generally teach colonial games to visitors, participate in various historical vignettes and assist in backstage areas.”

For Carden, the role fulfills a longtime dream.

“I visited American Village when I was a little kid and always wanted to participate in the Junior Interpreter program,” she said. “My favorite part is working on our scenes and interacting with guests.”

Harrelson discovered the program through a friend while studying American history at school and was immediately drawn to it.

“My favorite part is getting to meet new juniors each year and make new friends with similar interests as mine,” she said.

Beyond the fun of acting and costuming, both students said the experience has deepened their understanding of America’s founding.

“American Village has helped me understand both sides of America’s founding—King George’s views and the colonists’ views,” Carden said.

Harrelson added that the experience has been eye-opening for her as well.

“The experience has helped me understand what people had to live through during the Revolutionary War and how they dealt with it,” Harrelson said.

During the Independence Day celebration on July 4, Carden played a spy in the Young Patriot Spies vignette, while Harrelson performed a monologue as fictional character Elizabeth Greene.

The 2024 class of Junior Interpreters was recognized during the evening program at American Village’s annual Fourth of July celebration—a fitting graduation for students who spent their summer making history come alive.

For more information on the American Village, visit Americanvillage.org.