Story of the rocks

And then it suddenly struck me, most of these kids hadn’t even been born then.
It was a hot July afternoon, and I was taking pictures of all of the members of the Marching Patriots.
Usually, we do the group shots on the East Jay Middle School football field prior to the Fourth of July parade in Portland. But the Fourth parade was on a Sunday, and band director Kelly Smeltzer and I agreed that we didn’t want the photo shoot to collide with church services. The parade’s noon start time was going to be enough of a problem as it was.
So we scheduled things for a late afternoon practice, which meant dealing with a sun low in the sky that had all of us squinting.
I think it was Kelly who suggested taking some of the pictures over by what he called “the rocks.”
And I remember thinking at the time: They have another name.
Unfortunately, with the rapid passing of time and a tendency to shortchange institutional memory in the 21st century, little things like the story behind “the rocks” get forgotten.
It was clear when I spoke with band members that they were clueless about the background, but — after all — it all happened before most of them were born.
So, here, for the record and to provide a bit of lost Jay County High School history, is a brief history of “the rocks” and how they came to be there.
On the wall of my study, hanging above me as I write this, there is a framed artist’s impression of three boulders positioned on the grounds of JCHS. The drawing, enhanced with watercolor to give the rocks some visual pop, is inscribed to my wife.
It says, “To Connie, who during an indoor cookout started the whole thing rolling.”
It’s dated 1992.
That was the year that the Jay County Arts Council, predecessor of Arts Place, had a wide-ranging celebration of Irish culture, tapping into the Anglo-Irish roots of much of the county.
There were dozens of events, but the high point in many ways was a resident artist from Northern Ireland, who was provided by the British Council.
His name was Gordon Woods, and he was — and is — a charming and intelligent fellow.
It was Gordon who inscribed that drawing hanging on the wall of my study.
The “indoor cookout” was at Eric and Pam Rogers’s house, and it was only indoors because a typical Indiana June thunderstorm chased us inside. Eric and Pam lived just over the back fence in those days, and it wasn’t uncommon on any given summer weekend for informal invitations to come together at the drop of a piece of charcoal.
At any rate, the two of us found ourselves having a wonderful dinner with the Rogerses and artist Gordon Woods.
And at some point, Gordon asked Connie about her work, which at that time was with Meshberger Brothers Stone Corp. Suddenly a floodgate of questions opened.
Gordon is a sculptor, and he was electrified to find out that there was a quarry near town. Questions about geology and glaciers and topography flew in rapid succession.
That was on a Saturday night. On Sunday, Gordon sneaked into the quarry and started looking at stones, big stones, a sculptor’s paradise.
By Monday, he was putting together a proposal.
Within a matter of a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, it all came together.
Gordon’s concept was this: Take three prime boulders from Mesh-berger’s quarry, one a rusty red color, one a white Jay County limestone, and one a bluish color. Position them — red, white, and blue — near a handsome old tree on the high school grounds. Then carve an ancient Neolithic triple spiral known as the Newgrange spiral on the limestone.
The white limestone had formed here eons ago, the red and blue stones were dragged down here by the glaciers. Geologists call them “travelers.”
Amazingly, Gordon was able quickly to convince not only Meshberger Brothers but also the school corporation to go along with his plan.
Meshberger crews hauled the donated stones over, and the late “Tiny” Overla operated the heavy equipment to set them gently down in place.
They’ve been there ever since.
And, for the record, their name is appropriate: “The Three Patriots.”[[In-content Ad]]