Maconaquah students recreate 19th century campaign balls

May 30—BUNKER HILL — If you were to travel back in time to the 1840 presidential election, you'd likely recognize some campaign tactics still present today.

Opponents of incumbent Martin Van Buren cast the president as an out-of-touch elitist, whereas their candidate, William Henry Harrison, was an everyman. Harrison campaign rallies provided hard cider — the equivalent of beer today — and played up his military conquests, mainly the Battle of Tippecanoe.

"Tippecanoe and Tyler too" is the famous slogan from the 1840 campaign and was originally a song.

In reality, Harrison came from a wealthy family in Virginia; Van Buren grew up poor, proving that "stretching the truth" dates way back.

Jabs based on each candidate's name popped up in 1840, too.

Van Buren supporters attacked Harrison as "Granny Harrison," since he was the oldest candidate to date at 67. Van Buren was "Van Ruin," due to a financial crisis in 1837.

But there's one campaign strategy that didn't catch on as well.

Harrison supporters built a 10-foot-tall ball they rolled from town to town. The ball was peppered with campaign slogans, such as "Fare well Dear Van, not the man."

The publicity stunt is the origin of the phrase "keep the ball rolling."

Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison, recreated the gimmick in 1888 for his presidential campaign. Supporters rolled a steel ball halfway across the country.

The ball read: "Old Allegany in 1840 started the ball for Harrison; In '88 as they did then, We roll it on for Gallant Ben. Roll along, Roll away, Keep the ball in motion; The spirit of our men is up from Rocky Hills to Ocean."

Both Harrisons won their elections.

"It's a PR stunt that worked," said Matthew Barnett, history teacher at Maconaquah Middle School.

And it's a stunt eighth-grade students recreated this spring when they covered presidential campaigns in class.

"That was a whole mathematical equation," Barnett said when asked how they made balls. "There's a lot more math in it than people think."

High school math teacher Andrew Berryman helped with the numbers.

The project quickly became a STEAM (science, technology, engineer, art, math) project.

Barnett teamed up with art teacher Patrick Redmon, and together they, along with the students, made two 6-foot-tall balls out wood, PVC pipe, chicken wire and papier-mâché.

PVC pipes gave the balls their shape and connect to a wooden apparatus on each side of the ball. Spokes stick out of the ball, just like the originals. This is how they are rolled.

"It provides a unique opportunity to collaborate and see an idea start as a seed and come to fruition," Redmon said.

Miami-Cass REMC provided a grant for the project.

Papier-mâché was used to cover the balls, which were then painted.

"It's a pancake mix, and it works," Barnett said.

It took 40 pounds of flour to cover the balls. The Peru Tribune donated old newspapers.

The art teacher took the lead on papier-mâché. One of the balls is a replica of the 1840 campaign ball. Another is a school spirit ball, decked out in Maconaquah's colors and logo. Students used paper stencils for the words and phrases that were painted on the ball.

"They've done pretty good brainstorming ideas," Redmon said.

The two six-foot tall balls have taken up residence in a hallway at school. Barnett said he's in talks with a historical organization about getting the campaign ball replica a little more exposure.

Don't be surprised if the Maconaquah-themed ball rolls through the Peru Circus Parade this summer. That is, if they can get it out the door.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.