GLEN DALE — Tony Martinelli, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital, found himself in a bit of a pickle on Wednesday at John Marshall High School.

But this pickle turned out to be a good thing – as he and a group of John Marshall High School students learned how to make homemade bread and butter-style pickles and can them during an introduction to agriculture class.

Martinelli’s visit was part of the school’s observance of American Education Week. Teacher Peyton Bertram, Superintendent Shelby Haines and her secretary Tammy Whitlatch helped the students with the task.

The students started out with fresh cucumbers and onions, cutting them up, placing them into sterilized jars and then filling them with a hot mixture of vinegar, sugar and spices. The filled jars were then placed back into the hot water bath and lids placed on top.

Beforehand, Haines quizzed the students on the process they had learned about previously, receiving many correct answers. She stressed the importance of following the steps to prevent potential contamination in the jars.

The students would get to take home their homemade pickles later in the day.

“I’ve never canned before; this is exciting,” Martinelli said.

He noted during his tour of the school he got to see some of the hands-on classes including auto body shop, welding and more. He said the hospital already partners with JM for its Monarch Medicine program.

Bertram said canning at one time had become a lost art, but is gaining in popularity again, thanks to social media.

“It’s a really important skill to have if you need it, or if it becomes a hobby it’s interesting. And they learn the how and why of where their food comes from and how it ends up in a can in the grocery store,” she said. “And being able to do something like that at home is really neat.”

Haines said learning how to preserve food is part of the class curriculum.

“Canning pickles is one of the easiest and the first things you learn how to can,” she said.

“The kids have done a great job. They learned a little chemistry, about botulism and how to prevent that, food safety and sanitary ways to work with food and proper handling of knives.”

Haines noted she has a garden at home and enjoys canning what she grows. She even mentioned to the students about getting a good deal on chicken and canning it as well.