Shop class offers Plains students a hands-on approach
Matt Unrau
When you think of high school, three things usually pop into your mind: desks, books and falling asleep during lectures.
However, for a few Plains high school students, when they think of third period with Mr. Chisholm a whole new version of class flashes into their minds. It’s a vision filled with bolts, welding and hot rods.
The class is Advanced Metals Class and the classroom is the Plains High School shop. Its homework has included wrestling mat racks, bridges on walking paths behind First Community Bank and the Carillon Tower at the Lutheran Church, and just in the last week they’ve turned their eyes on a 1946 Ford Custom Deluxe.
The class will be spending the next year working on the car’s frame, chassy, suspension, engine, transmission and exhaust. Thom Chisholm estimates that it will add up to 125 hours a week. The car is part of a larger restoration project by Ken Saner, a local Plains resident with an eye for car restoration projects who spearheaded the idea.
“I grew up in a pretty small town and there wasn’t a whole lot to do. I’ve seen a lot of guys go the wrong way in search of a hobby, so I just wanted to get some of these guys interested,” says Saner. “If we can get them interested in older cars, maybe they won’t get interested in other things like drugs or alcohol.”
With the hot rod in the shop last Monday Chisholm says the kids’ interest was definitely peaked as he described them diving into the project like kids diving into a birthday cake.
One student in particular, junior Nick Warren, is especially excited to gain the experience and knowledge of car mechanics. “It was maybe last year that they told us we might be in a hot rod class, and I was like ‘oh, that’s cool!’” says Warren. After high school Warren plans to attend Montana Tech in Butte eventually becoming a metallurgical engineer, a welding engineer.
This past week the students swarmed around the car pulling the body apart piece by piece in order so they could strip away the body and send it to Saner’s shop across town.
Saner will be restoring the body of the vehicle on his own time in his shop, although Warren hopes to find sometime after the football season to help him with that aspect of the work.
Beside grabbing the excitement of his students with the hot rod, shop class can give students a chance to get their hands dirty literally and learn some mechanical and life skills.
For students not heading to college after high school shop class can prove to be instrumental in gaining a job in the future. Chisholm says many businesses are now looking for students with industrial skills. For students who are college-bound shop complements their skills in the classroom.
“They’re not just a bookworm, we’re trying to make a whole person here,” says Chisholm who taught history at the school before switching to the shop. “Even your attorney’s, your doctors and your professionals need everyday skills. If your doorknob falls off you want to be able to fix it and not have to call someone.”
But, for some students shop class simply provides a break from lectures and textbooks.
“It does(provide a break). Because, I don’t have to sit in a desk. You can stay awake in this class,” says Warren.
The class, nicknamed “‘46 Ford, the Classy Chassis” has an ambitious goal of finishing the car by Plains Day of next year. The Valley Press will continue to chronicle the work of the class and the 1946 Ford as it develops.
to the shop. “Even your attorneys, your doctors and your professionals need everyday skills. If your doorknob falls off you want to be able to fix it and not have to call someone.”
But, for some students shop class simply provides a break from lectures and textbooks.
“It does (provide a break). Because I don’t have to sit in a desk. You can stay awake in this class,” says Warren.
The class, nicknamed “46 Ford, the Classy Chassis” has an ambitious goal of finishing the car by Plains Day of next year. The Valley Press will continue to chronicle the work of the class and the 1946 Ford as it develops.