Boston Bound W

50 fifth-graders and five chaperones on a Bostonbound bus for a five-day historical adventure?

In Dublin, it is a rite of passage simply referred to as “The Boston Trip,” and it’s a highly-anticipated event for recent graduates of elementary school.

My daughter Catie talked about the summer excursion like it was going to be the most important coming-of-age experience of her life. There were weeks of discussions about possible roommates and seat partners for the bus rides. We had multiple shopping trips to find the perfect backpack, bathing suit and walking shoes. I reminded her that this was supposed to be an educational journey, but she was too busy picking out the perfect pair of sunglasses to hear me.

This is not a new scenario for Bill Prosser, a Dublin teacher since 1984 who has orchestrated this expedition for 22 straight years. In that time, he has seen it all and knows firsthand that if his tour group has more girls than boys, it will run behind due to fashion emergencies and bathroom breaks.

The idea for the Boston trip began when Bill was teaching fifth grade at Indian Run Elementary School with Kathy Mathey. Their students had read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, which was set in Boston during the outbreak of the American Revolution. Bill and Kathy thought it would be exciting to travel to New England and actually walk the Freedom Trail that the kids had been studying.

The first year, 25 children ventured to Massachusetts, and the trip grew from there. In 1996, when Bailey Elementary School opened its doors and Bill switched schools, he had so many children who wanted to travel he decided to hold the trip twice each summer. Now 40-50 students attend each tour, and although Kathy had to stop after a few trips, Bill has never skipped a year.

More than half of the kids attend Bailey, but all Dublin fifthgraders are invited. The travelers get together three times before departure to study the role that Boston played in the American Revolution, get to know their peers and become familiar with Bill’s “rules of the road.” Some rules have stayed the same over the years, such as “Behave on the bus or you have to clean the bus.” Other guidelines have changed over time, especially concerning technology. Cell phones used to be banned, but now the kids all rely on them for their music, games and communication, so they are allowed at appropriate times.

Travel begins early on a Thursday morning with a drive to Niagara Falls. “Three-quarters of the kids have never been to Niagara, which always surprises me,” says Bill. The group either takes the elevator down to the Cave of the Winds underneath the falls or rides on the Maid of the Mist. Then the travelers are trained as 1812 soldiers at Old Fort Niagara before heading to the hotel in Syracuse, N.Y.

The bus leaves early for three days of Boston history including the Paul Revere House, Old North Church and the Freedom Trail tours. Catie’s favorite activities last year were the Amphibious Duck Tour that drove around the city streets and then straight into the Charles River, and shopping at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Several of the girls bought the same splatter paint Boston sweatshirt and enjoyed wearing them together.

The last day includes tours of Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II before the 14-hour journey home begins. The cost of the adventure is $530, which includes the three pre-trip history sessions, transportation by Brewster Coach, three meals per day, Holiday Inn and Marriott Hotel accommodations, and admissions to itinerary sites.

Bill has the necessary sense of humor required for handling masses of 10- and 11-year-olds and manages to have a lot of fun on the trip. He has persuaded groups of kids to search a graveyard for Johnny Tremain’s mother’s grave even though she is a fictional character. Bill also convinced some children that there is an elevator to reach the Bunker Hill Monument and they ran all around looking for it. The miniature golf contest at the Big Orange Dinosaur Putt-Putt is legendary – as are the cannonball competitions in the hotel pool.

Bill Prosser’s Travels Back in Time Boston trip is a historic tour with a lot of fun built in, and he says he never gets tired of it. “It’s different every year because the students are new each trip and experiencing the adventure for the first time.” It’s also the first opportunity for many of these children to travel without their parents. They have to be responsible for their money, their belongings, their hygiene and themselves.

Chaperones are all certified teachers, including Joyce Christman, who helped out for eight to 10 years. “Many kids come home different after the Boston trip. They learn a lot about themselves and become more confident in their ability to be on their own and with a sense of growing independence as they begin their journey to middle school,” Joyce says. Catie adds, “I loved everything about the Boston trip, except for eating at McDonald’s all the time. The best part was being with my friends for five straight days with no parents!” -CD

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