Rye Students Remember the Old Man of the Mountain |
KIDS & NH HISTORY
Fifth graders at the Rye Elementary School were only 3-years-old when the Old Man of the Mountain fell from his perch in Franconia Notch on May 3, 2003, making them part of the first generation who will never see the New Hampshire icon as he once was. "My parents were sad that I didn't get to see it and that a lot of people didn't get to see it," said Sarah Brandon, a fifth grader. (Continued below)
But this spring, a reminder of the Old Man will return to Franconia Notch, about 150 miles from the seacoast town of
Little Rocks Honor Big Rock Star
After hearing about the Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund and its effort to build a monument to remember the Great Stone Face, the students decided to raise money to purchase a large granite stone engraved with the school's name.
The Old Man would be especially pleased with how they are invoking a geological fad from the mid-1970s in their efforts.
"They've made pet rocks to sell," said Rye Elementary Schoolteacher Jacqueline DeFreze.
On the first night of sales, during a spaghetti dinner earlier this month, the class earned $204 selling the array of rocks, painted and decorated with all kinds of adornments.
"We decorated them with the googley eyes and the pipe cleaners," said student Henry Ekstram.
While some of the children say their parents had brought them to Franconia Notch before the fall of the Old Man, no one can remember seeing him. They have, however, read about and heard stories of the wondrous profile and said they feel sad for its loss.
Sarah Brandon said her parents were frequent visitors to the
"My parents didn't live here when it fell, so they received the news later," said Sarah Brandon, "but they were sad because they knew it was a symbol of New Hampshire."
DeFreze said the youngsters read about the fall of the Old Man and watched a video about efforts to preserve his memory produced by the Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund.
"They became excited about being a part of it," she said. "The generation coming up that didn't see the Old Man will now be able to see what it was like and remember the importance of it. One of the things they are looking forward to is going there with their children to see the stone they bought with their pet rock sales."
The students said they look forward to visiting the engraved stone that will be laid with nearly 200 others later spring, when the first phase of the Old Man memorial is finished.
Rye Elementary won't be the only school represented in the memorial plaza. The senior class at
"I began my teaching career in
As planned, this phase will consist of putting up seven "profilers," a series of stainless-steel rods of varying heights mounted on granite bases, which will be aimed at the cliff where the Old Man could be seen high above
The profilers will be surrounded by the granite stones that have been purchased by people from across the country to remember loved ones and happy times they've had in the shadow of the Old Man.
"This project really is for the youngsters, like the students from
Paver stones for the
For more information and an order form, visit www.NHOldMan.org or call 603-505-8447. For information about purchasing a pet rock from the