History depends on those who tell it.
And no one tells it the same way.
That’s the case with Iola’s first school bell, according to Donna Houser, a history buff who has been researching the 1868 bell located on the Jefferson Elementary School grounds.
School district officials want to move the bell to the new Iola Elementary School when it opens next fall, and Superintendent Stacey Fager asked Houser for help in discovering the bell’s history.
She’s found about four versions that discuss Iola’s first schools, including mention of the bell. Houser has done her best to put the pieces together, mostly trusting a history written by longtime Jefferson teacher Ida Faddis along with stories included in the Annals of Iola and Allen County.
THE FIRST school in Iola started in 1855 in what was the first courthouse, at the northeast corner of Washington and Jackson streets — “ a dumpy little building in terrible shape,” Houser said.
Along with the courthouse, it moved to a different building on the square, at the southwest corner of Madison and Jefferson.
Most early schools had bells — often, multiple bells — that were used to signal the start of the school day and again at lunch, as the school didn’t provide lunch and students went home for the midday meal.
When the first permanent school was built at the corner of Jefferson and Broadway, it had two bells, paid for by the Union Sewing Circle in 1868.
Over the years, multiple schools would be built on that site. One bell was lost, but another remained at that site since then.
In 1900 (some records say 1902), a new school was built that most called the South School. Other records would identify it as Jefferson School.
Several other schools were built around this time, as Iola benefited from the natural gas and industrial boom.
The schools built in the early 1900s weren’t always of the best quality, and didn’t always last long, Houser said. Such was the case with a high school built in 1899 on the site of what is now the middle school; it was replaced in 1916 with the current high school building.
The Jefferson school and another named Garfield were eventually condemned. A new Jefferson School, along with Lincoln, were built as part of Works Progress Administration projects in 1939.
The new Jefferson school did not feature a bell tower. Instead, the remaining cast-iron bell was restored and installed on a cement base.
WITH A new Iola Elementary School to open in the fall, school district officials want to move the bell to the new campus.
Jefferson Elementary along with Lincoln and McKinley, are being offered for bids and likely will no longer be under the district’s control.
Fager asked Houser to research the bell’s history and raise money to have it moved and restored. Houser has a history of such projects, and has been instrumental in renovating the football stadium in Riverside Park.
The plan is to have the bell restored with a new clapper or something to make it ring again. It will be securely mounted.
One idea is to have students ring the bell to mark some sort of momentous occasion, such as when fifth-graders graduate to move on to middle school, Houser said.
She estimates it could take about $10,000 to move and restore the bell.
For more information or to donate, contact the district office 620-365-4700.
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