Class of 1965 helps save pieces of old school

     The Monticello High School Class of 1965 has saved the day.

   Just in time before the full demolition, several artifacts and relicts from the front (S. Maple Street side) façade of the former Monticello High School/Middle School were saved for a future project.

   All of the pieces (no pun intended) fell into place to save bits of Monticello Community School District history.

   Don Peters had the idea first…

   The front of the school contained several stone pieces he felt were worth saving:

   • A circle with the year “1923” (the year the school was built)

   • Two fleur de lis crests

   • And the words “Monticello Public School”

   Back in early October, Peters mentioned the idea of savings these relicts to Deb Bowman.

   At that point, the Theisen’s company already owned the property, having purchased it from the MCSD to build a larger store.

   Bowman thought it would certainly cost a lot to have those stone pieces removed and saved, with no real idea as to how they’d be displayed at that point.

   “So I thought I’d take a shot at it,” she said wishfully.

   She first went to Superintendent Brian Jaeger, who put her in contact with Chris Theisen, CEO of Theisen’s.

   “I think Chris thought I was a crazy lady,” joked Bowman of wanting to try and save pieces of the school building.

   After several back-and-forth phone calls and playing phone tag, Bowman had a phone conference with Theisen and his team.

   “We chatted for about a half-hour,” she recalled. “And then Chris asked me why I was so late with my request.”

   Bowman admitted she didn’t have a good answer, but was still hoping there was time to save this history.

   By Christmas, Bowman hadn’t heard from Theisen and was growing anxious. Then he reached out to her with Chad Lansing’s contact information. Lansing’s company was in charge of demolition.

   After initially reaching out to Lansing with her request, Bowman also sought a local quote to have the stone pieces removed from the school.

   Following more phone calls and playing phone tag yet again, Bowman and Lansing talked and he told her he could remove them “without too much trouble.”

   “So, he took it over,” Bowman said.

   By the end of January, Lansing offered his estimate of around $5,000.

   Bowman got to work reaching out to MHS graduates from all years to see who might be willing to donate toward the cause. That’s when Dave Balster, MHS Class of 1965, took the worry off Bowman’s shoulders.

   Balster has history of saving and preserving history. He has served on the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission for many years. He was also on the Monticello Heritage Center board when it was first created.

   “I have a great interest in historic preservation,” Balster said. “When I saw Deb mention saving the front façade, I thought it definitely needed to be saved, by all means.”

   With the request of funds to cover the cost of Lansing’s work, Balster immediately thought his high school class could be the ones to step up to the plate.

   “With the nice weather we’ve had, the timeframe accelerated,” he said of the demolition crews getting to work.

   A handful of Balster’s classmates met at Karde’s one morning while a former classmate, Dick Wahl, was in town.

   “They all said they’d give money to save the front of the old high school,” said Balster.

   Another classmate, John Bader, commented to Balster that there wasn’t a better cause than this to contribute to.

   “With his (Bader) approval,” said Balster, “I told Deb we’d get it done.”

   Balster then reached out to Sue (Goldsmith) Burrichter, their class treasurer.

   Since 2015, the 50^th anniversary of the Class of 1965, Balster said they’ve been having yearly class reunions. Burrichter had been keeping track of their classmates regarding their class reunions, so she sent out a mass email about raising money to save the façade.

   “Sue helped to get the word out to even more people,” thanked Balster.

   “People were happy to help save it,” shared Burrichter. “We got a lot of positive comments.”

   With almost 100 classmates in all, over 20 (as of late last week) pledged and sent in donations totaling almost $8,000.

   “These classmates come from all over the place,” Balster said. “Some offered to donate more. It’s pretty cool, but yet it doesn’t surprise me. We have a really good and exceptional class.”

   Donations were made to the Monticello School Foundation, a non-profit.

   “But not one person asked for a tax deduction,” noted Balster.

   The relicts from the old school are being stored at the current HS/MS for the time being.

   The Class of 1965, specifically John Bader, thanks to his handy and creative masonry work, is working on a design for a monument in which to display the pieces for all to enjoy at the school complex.

   “It’s definitely morphed into something more,” Balster indicated. “Having something built at the school is very fitting.”

   Their class continues to raise the total funds needed to cover Bader’s work, labor, and materials.

   “Our class plans to cover the whole thing,” offered Balster. “This represents an important time in our lives. Every one of us have memories from inside that school. This was something our class wanted to do; there’s a lot of sentiment there. At least two or three generations went through that school. It resonates with everyone.”

   In addition to the other stone pieces, Balster said they also had the outdoor lighting pedestals also saved that sat at the front door.

   “I just cannot believe how quickly the Class of 1965 jumped at it,” marveled Bowman.

   Balster also praises Bowman.

   “This would not have happened without Deb,” he said. “A lot of gratitude goes to her. She made the deal.”