Bio of One Brick from Indiana’s Jacksonville Grade School

BIO of One Brick from Indiana’s Jacksonville Grade School (1914-1962)

poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa

One brick–

alone and strong,

from a kiln in 1914,

alone and strong,

in my hands,

the cornerstone

of my quill and scroll,

my touchstone

of inspiration,

my birthstone

of memories—

lost …

yes, one milestone lost

in one misstep of a move

from west of the Great Lake

to east.

One brick—

for fifty-eight years,

within my grasp,

within my touch—

Where are you now?

in the midst of a path

for another dreamer,

another writer?

Wherever my brick is—

may it be forever appreciated

as it will ever be

my heartstone

from where writing skills were garnered

and writing dreams were carefully carved.

NOTE:  In 1962, the brick was chosen by my dad after our beloved Jacksonville Grade School was unnecessarily demolished.  As a memory piece, my dad gave me the brick from Jacksonville Grade School, built in 1914.  After my mother and her siblings attended this school, my sister, some cousins, and I were graduates from this two-story schoolhouse which formed the center of our small rural Hoosier community from 1914 through 1962.  In the final year, the bell rang and called in 88 eager students and four dedicated teachers to the four classrooms in each of which were wooden row desks.  Each runner desk had a hole for an inkwell.  As each desk was connected to one or two other desks in the row, I have stayed connected to these roots of my rural grade school which I happily called my own from 1956 to 1962.  Sadly, somehow, during my move from Milwaukee to Michigan in 2020, the brick was lost and, to this date, never found—except in my memory.

Best wishes for a happy August!  Stay cool!

Alice and Leader Dog Willow

August 3, 2022, Wednesday

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