TECUMSEH — Inspired by the stories of the women who worked in bomber plants during World War II, a Tecumseh student created a project that won top honors at this year’s Michigan History Day state festival.

Annabelle Buechele-Beasecker, who just finished third grade at Tecumseh Acres Early Learning Center, decided to undertake a project for Michigan History Day after her mom, Jamie Buechele, learned about the program from Ashley Pfund at the Lenawee Intermediate School District.

For her topic, she chose the “Rosies” — women who worked making planes during World War II and became associated with the iconic image of Rosie the Riveter.

“I chose this because I think that the Rosies did a lot for a lot of people in the future,” Annabelle said.

It wasn’t just about the war effort — it was about the fact that they blazed a trail for others, setting a precedent for women being allowed to work in jobs once reserved for men.

“They did make a very big change for the future, for women now,” she said.

The Michigan History Day program, organized by the Historical Society of Michigan, is for students in third through 12th grades. Participants can choose between project boards, individual or group performances, written papers, websites, and documentaries. 

Annabelle chose to make a project board. She went to the Tecumseh Historical Museum once a week after school for several weeks, where she was mentored by Debbie Kogelman, Bob Elliott, and David Hales.

Her board features information she learned from her research as well as a few historical artifacts from Elliott’s collection. The display also includes a model of a B-24 Liberator that her grandfather, John Buechele, helped her build.

She went first to the district-level competition, which was held on Feb. 8 at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Monroe, and then advanced to the state competition on April 15 at Grand Valley State University. She won state finalist status, the highest designation for her age group, and also won an award for Best Use of Economic History or Impact.

Kogelman said the Tecumseh museum is interested in seeing more students take part in Michigan history day, and museum volunteers would love to help.

“We’re more than willing to help them with research, ideas, development, just like we did with Annabelle,” she said.

Annabelle’s project will be on display at the museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd., through at least the end of July. 

The museum is open Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and can be reached at 517-423-2374.