JAMESTOWN - Everyone has a story worth telling.

That's the message Bill Kennedy gave his students when he began teaching creative writing to six Hi-Acres Manor Nursing Center residents. And the members of the class proved him correct.

Fred Bartle wrote about being asleep in the Pearl Harbor naval base hospital, where he was recovering from cerebral meningitis, on Dec. 7, 1941.

"When bullets came in the window, we came alive in a hurry," Bartle wrote.

Turning to the here and now, Sally Fosse-Marikawa wrote a glowing tribute, titled "The Hi-Acres Girl," to the nursing staff at Hi-Acres Manor. "There's nothing more important than the Hi-Acres girl," she wrote.

Kennedy encouraged his students to write fictional as well as true stories, but he said the residents preferred writing about true events.

"It was pretty clear that they wanted to write stories about their own lives and things that were important to them," Kennedy said.

"So far I've been telling the truth," said Bev Wanamaker. "One of these days I'm gonna hit you with a real doozy."

Some of the residents had written stories; others never had. But Kennedy told them not to worry about spelling, grammar or syntax.

"Using their own language is the most important thing," he said.

Kennedy said the idea for the class at Hi-Acres came about from discussions with a neurosurgeon friend about how mental activity delays loss of memory.

His goals for the four-week class were simpler. He wanted to help the residents realize they are still valuable members of society, with something to look forward to.

"If we could do something that would make their life brighter in the moment, that would be something of benefit," he said.

Nancy Steckler, activity director at Hi-Acres, said the class accomplished those goals and more. The participants, some of whom had not been very active, returned to their rooms and continued writing on their own.

"They enjoy it so much," Steckler said. "They really began to get to know each other and interact with each other."

Although the nursing home provides a variety of ongoing social activities for residents, Steckler said sharing their stories in class brought the participants together on a much deeper level.

"I'm pleased by how interested they were in other people's stories," she said.

During the last writing class May 11, each student brought a photograph or item of personal significance to share with classmates.

Wanamaker, who uses a wheelchair, brought a photo of her late husband and a question she's dreamed of asking him but is not sure she wants answered.

"The one question I want to ask him is, 'Are there wheelchairs in heaven?'" she said, "and I'm afraid he'll say 'Yes.'"

That drew some laughter from the group.

Marvin Gebhardt brought a scrapbook of photos and clippings he saved over the years and shared some significant entries, like an award he won while he was chief engineer for Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc. in Grand Forks.

Erna Schlenker shared a photo of herself at her home in Gackle, and Fred Bartle told of winning the Volunteer of the Year award from the Salvation Army.

"I rang the bell for I don't know how many days," he said.

Kennedy, an author of poems, short stories and one novel, has taken a number of creative writing workshops, himself.

"What I've learned in the workshops I've taken is the participants have as much to do with the learning as the teacher," he said.

"About 10 minutes into each class, I throw the lesson plan away and just listen to what people have to say," he said.

Teaching the residents at Hi-Acres required some accommodations for physical limitations, such as paralysis from stroke.

"You're faced sometimes with people who can't write physically," Kennedy said.

Fosse-Marikawa has significant vision and hearing impairments but was able to participate in the group because Kennedy spoke into a microphone attached to her hearing aid.

Steckler and Angie Kokott, an activities assistant, helped residents with other physical disabilities.

Administrator Gary Riffe said he hopes Steckler and Kokott can keep the participants writing while he searches for funding to rehire Kennedy. He plans to apply for money from the North Dakota Council on the Arts and ask local groups to help.

"This teacher, Bill, what a guy," said Fosse-Marikawa. "His insight, his understanding, to somehow know the heart and feelings, emotions of the people, to understand what's important to us. I'm wondering if anybody else has the personality to do what he has done."