Mark’s Musings – May 7, 2014

Mark Fortune

Can’t find anything to do here in little ‘ol Coshocton County? You’re not looking very hard. Granted, there may be a few winter weekends or a few dog day weekends when our community draws its collective breath after a flurry of activity.

There is – practically speaking – always something entertaining going on in Coshocton County. For example, this week brings the annual Dogwood Festival to the court square and beyond with local students bringing their best to the stage. You can even enjoy a delicious lunch. You may not need your jacket at the end of this week – but Monday was chilly enough to draw everyone into the gazebo.

You could have enjoyed the River View musical – with students performing the Gershwin musical “Crazy For You” to rave reviews. Untold hours of practice singing, rehearsing, building the backdrop and much, much more go into this – and the end result was nothing short of spectacular.

Our area youth pour themselves into their passion – whether it is high school track, baseball, softball, band, choir, drama or perhaps a combination of all of these. And for some students, being at their academic best is their pursuit. Our local students continue to give of themselves like their teachers, administrators, support staff, coaches and parents. As those with high school seniors know all too well, the ride ends all too soon. You can see the emotion – and hear the emotion – in their voices as they talk about their kids this time each year. It is a time of joy, sadness and many emotions all rolled into one.

And that is not unlike the cover photo that graces this week’s issue of The Beacon. Conjuring up a creative headline was difficult – and you may find it lacking. That’s called a deadline – and it rolls around every Monday here at The Beacon. But for some reason – the words caught me. Because even though Central Elementary School – the former Coshocton High School and site of many hotly contested county basketball tournament games with the likes of the Conesville Vikings, Keene Cardinals, Roscoe Tigers and others – will soon be gone in the physical sense – the memories will live on – until they too will fade like a distant sunset with each passing decade.

We call this progress and while we virtually all agree that a new school building was needed for our kids – it still brings a tear here and there as those that walked the halls stood outside on Monday morning watching the beasts of destruction do their job. Like some prehistoric creature, their iron claws bit into the decades old brick – and memories came crashing down with the bricks, concrete and plaster. Oh, if those walls could talk.

But they do you see. They talk in the people that graduated from Coshocton High School, and they talk in the students that now attend the current Coshocton High School, and the new Coshocton Elementary School. They talk in the leaders of today – and the leaders of tomorrow. Those walls, and those halls, have seen much. They have been witness to scores of culture changes, changes in dress, hair styles and even wars. This school will continue to live . . . because we live.

Category: Mark's Musings