Random Notes

by Rhonda Westfall

Somehow when the idea was first discussed about taking final photographs of the bell tower at Central School before its removal July 19, I did not envision it involving yours truly shinnying across the roof ridge of the historic building - over 100 feet above the ground.

In retrospect, with the photo request coming from the building's former owner, Mark Barber, I should have expected something out of the ordinary.

After all, this was not a routine occasion.

It was a wake for one of the oldest remaining buildings in the city of St. Johns, and as such, it was fitting and proper that obtaining pictures from the tower include a trip across its peak. What better way to pay last respects to the Grand Old Gal than by crossing the expanse of roof and ringing the school bell one last time?

And ring it did.

The sound was clear and true on the warm summer evening, bidding farewell to school children from years long past - all grown up now, but with memories intact.

It signaled change - a time for new construction at the old school site, and a rebirth of sorts for the building itself. Thanks to the vision - both past, present, and future - of several area residents, Central School will remain alive for generations to come.

Ruth Nihart, who purchased the bell tower and numerous other items from the building, watched with pride on the morning following the final 'ringing of the bell' as the tower was gingerly lifted from its base and guided toward the ground below. It took two cranes, a huge flatbed truck - and more than a little ingenuity - but the tower finally arrived safely at the front lawn of her home on US-27.

Your continuing efforts to preserve and protect historic artifacts of our community does not go unnoticed, Ruth. We appreciate it.

Likewise, Ben and Bette Munger are the proud owners of one rather large - and very melodious - school bell. Who knows what the future holds for it - we assume it will find a happy home somewhere in the community.

Two separate, but similar, thoughts have been running through my mind since the tower trip - each deals with change and visions for the future that the demolition and rebirth of Central School seems to symbolize.

One is a song lyric from 1965 - which, in reality, must be attributed to a much earlier writer. The Byrds made "Turn, Turn, Turn" a song for all generations, based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Its verses are entirely appropriate for the occasion.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
"A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
"A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
"A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrance, and a time to refrain from embracing;
"A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
"A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

And, as The Byrds added, " I swear it's not too late."

The second thought comes from the eulogy delivered by Edward Kennedy at the funeral of his brother, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The words are taken from a speech which Bobby delivered in South Africa in 1966. An except follows.

"Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal.

"These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

"The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society.

"Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live."

It is the only way we should live.