BLOOMING PRAIRIE – Nine Blooming Prairie seventh-graders camped out in cardboard boxes in the City Park Friday night to recreate the plight of homeless people.

Monday, May 22, 2000

BLOOMING PRAIRIE – Nine Blooming Prairie seventh-graders camped out in cardboard boxes in the City Park Friday night to recreate the plight of homeless people.

They got the idea for the project from Amy Trotman, their religion instructor at St. Columbanus Catholic Church. Trotman had been reading from the book, "The Covenant House," by Sister Mary Rose McGrady. In the book, she read about a 10-year-old boy who spent most of his life living in a cardboard box.

"I thought, I have a 10-year-old son," Trotman said. "I suggested in class we should try to see what it was like to actually have to live in a cardboard box."

The kids took her up on it. Trotman asked permission for the class to set up their cardboard houses in the City Park. She could have had a barrel to have a fire, but she would have had to go through the trouble of obtaining a permit. Trotman’s husband Tim and Clete Glenn obtained cardboard boxes from Sorenson’s in Geneva, Christianson’s Plumbing and Glenn’s place of business.

The night started at 7 p.m. with kids coming with their sleeping bags and bottled water to drink. Trotman’s 12-year-old daughter, Jill, and 8-year-old son, Patrick, camped out, too. They weren’t supposed to have any food, but a few brought chips. Kyle Johnson brought all his sleeping gear in his little red wagon.

 

There was no bathroom for the students, but a portable toilet was in the park. They all were in instructed to remain in the park all night.

One of the first girls at the park was Andrea Gilbert. She was looking forward to the night.

"It’s going to be a good experience," she said. "I only brought my sleeping bag and pillow. I hope we don’t get too cold."

The night turned out to be chilly for May. The thermometer dipped down to 40 degrees. The sky was clear and the kids huddled in their cardboard boxes and stared at the stars.

"We found the Big and Little Dippers and noticed how quiet it was," Trotman said. "We prayed for people who had to go through this everyday. I told the kids when they went home to thank their parents for all they have."

Each person had his or her own cardboard box. The night was damp and the cold seeped in. The kids took the largest refrigerator box and opened it up to form a roof. This helped to keep out some of the cold air.

Police Chief Paul Wayne patrolled the group through the night so they felt safe.

Trotman said she was cold all night but none of the kids complained about the cold. When morning broke two deer ran through the park and all the kids saw them.

"In the morning was when all the kids started to say they were cold," Trotman said. "I suggested we take a walk as I knew where there was a warm building we could go to. That warm building was the Blooming Bakery. The kids really bonded on our night in the cardboard boxes. It was an experience I don’t think they will soon forget."

The students who camped out were Matt Hagen, Pat Wallace, Zach Fogarty, Kyle Johnson, Elizabeth Newman, Emily Kinney, Lauren Trotman, Stacy Seykora and Andrea Gilbert.