The

MEGAPHONE

Elwood, Indiana                      Elwood High School(s)

Volume 3, No. 9                                                                               Sunday, September 15, 2002

Contents

-- Page numbers on the left can be used as links --

Page 1 . . . Your  Old Home Town -- Sharon (Benedict) Hurst

Page 2 . . . Memories #12 -- Bob Hinshaw

                        To Kiss A Smile -- Sharon (Woods) Schwartz

Page 3 . . . You Ain't Heavy, You're My Brother -- Deborah (Bozell) Donahue                        

Page 4 . . . The Saga Of A Caterpillar -- Margaret E. Kiefer

Page 5 . . . The Bear Story -- Dick Cleaver

Page 6 . . . Annual Alumni Reunion Registration -- ECHS Alumni Association

Page 7 . . . LIFE (August 12, 1940) -- The Story of Elwood Is The Story of America

Page 8 . . . The Fine Art of Growing Old -- Karen (Stine) Hollies

                            Miracles -- Sharon (Benedict) Hurst     

  Roaming around town this morning shows things are pretty much status quo. How many months has it been since the construction was started uptown? 6 months or something like that? Well guess what? The construction is coming along very well, but it is not finished and I do not think it will be for just a little while yet.

  Fall is in the air and it is a pleasant 65 degrees as I sit here writing this at 6:52 PM on September 11, 2002. Our townspeople seem to like this weather more than what we have previously had, since I have seen many out walking. The news has reported that this is a record breaking hot summer. All of us around here can attest to that.

  With the news from Elwood being a little slow right now, I thought I would send some other thoughts your way.

  Today was a bittersweet day for all Americans. Many of the townspeople here turned out to show their respects to those whose lives were unalterably changed on September 11, 2001. We are still struggling to understand why we, Americans, are the targets of such ill will. Our patriotism is much stronger but our trust is somewhat diminished. I think if we are to learn anything at all from that devastating day one year ago, it would surely be tolerance for our brethren around this world. Tolerance seems to me to be that which has been lost by those who would do harm to all of us here in America and to all those who agree with us around the world.

  Something I heard this morning caused me to sit up and really take notice. Tom Ridge said, in his memorial to those who gave their lives in that field in Pennsylvania, that they were people who were heroes every single day of their lives. They were all people who had put others first in every thing they had done and no one who knew any of them, passengers or crew of United flight 93, were surprised that they put others first in the last defining day of their lives. It is also in Pennsylvania where American heroes lie in another field called Gettysburg. They, too, were heroes who put others first and gave their lives so people they would never know or meet might have freedom. Is it heroes that give us the freedom we have or freedom that gives us the heroes? I do not see how one can be without the other.

  There is a fine line, in my opinion, in those who do things to help or benefit others. Some do this because it is their job and they get paid for doing these things. Others give of themselves to help or benefit others knowing full well they will not be rewarded in this life time. Any of these people can be heroes, one doesn't have to die to be a hero, one does not have to save a life to be a hero and one can receive payment for doing a job and still be a hero. Heroism, to me, is the giving away of ones oneself to make sure that another person is benefited.

  I think that tolerance is the first step to being a hero every single day.

That's all from here for now.
Your Old Home Town Reporter,
Sharon (Benedict) Hurst '53
Elwood, IN...Out on Fairground Road