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Wildomar rings in community pride with rebirth of historic school bell

The past joined with the future at the unveiling of the restored 120-year-old Wildomar Elementary School bell on Saturday, December 9. The “gong” of the bell, silent for almost 50 years, resonated throughout the community as it had for decades in the past, calling children to K-8 classes in a one-room schoolhouse or, in this instance, accentuating an important community event. With the sacrifice of hundreds of hours of labor, expertise and the generous donation of materials, the community came together in a year-long project to rejuvenate the historic bell, which has become a symbol of both education and the future of Wildomar.

After presentations in the school’s filled-to-capacity multipurpose room, the crowd filtered out to the front of the school at the corner of Palomar and Central, where a new pristine white tower housed the refurbished bell atop a chiseled rock base. A decorative metal “W” adorned the top of the handmade cupola. Two time capsules have been interned inside the cupola protecting photographs, newspaper articles and memorabilia from residents and schoolchildren, to be opened in 50 years. After retired Riverside county transportation director Ed Studor was given the honor of awakening the bell with its first ring for his help in establishing the Butterfield Multi-Use Trail system in Wildomar, schoolchildren, Cub Scouts, local volunteers and residents took turns pulling the rope to swing the pendulum against the bell. First District Supervisor Bob Buster, Lake Elsinore Unified School District (LEUSD) Superintendent Frank Passarella and LEUSD school board trustees Jeanie Corral, Tom Thomas and Sonja Wilson also attended the celebration. Wildomar Elementary School principal Fernando Reyes was given the key to the bell’s lock. Wildomar Cub Scout Pack 332 performed the flag ceremony.

Bob Cashman, president of the Wildomar Historical Society, took the audience down memory lane with stories of the past and the old one-room schoolhouse with a woodstove in the back, which was demolished in the late 1950s to make room for the modern school facility. Quoting Dorothy Davis, sister of local elementary school honoree Jean Hayman, Cashman said, “We always tried to get to school early so we could play in the schoolyard. School would start at 9 a.m. and you always knew when that was every morning the bell rang.” Other memories shared were of big sticks of penny candy at the country store across the street, wooden desks with inkwell holders and the coveted special honor of ringing the bell.

Corral, a local historian, told of a time when there were only three schools in the area – Elsinore, Murrieta and Wildomar K-8 schools. Elsinore High School was the lone high school, centrally located in Wildomar to serve all of the students in the valley. “Remember to say thank you to all [the restoration volunteers], because they did it out of love for the community,” said Corral. “And remember: our communities are more than a gathering…we are a gathering of kinfolk.”

Butterfield Multi-Use Trails Committee Chairman Gary Andre described the initial idea to restore the bell, which sits at the center of the community. With the rapid development throughout Riverside County, residents feared a loss of the rural lifestyle in Wildomar and the need to plan the community so both rural and suburban neighborhoods could coexist. “…The consensus was, we needed to become our own city so we could govern and direct our own future,” said Andre. “So we decided to start a project that would get the community’s attention and would restore community pride and bring awareness to the problems Wildomar is now facing and finally bring our community back together.”

Certificates of appreciation were given to Wildomar bell project volunteers and contributors Bob Shaffer; Steve Lusky; Troy Smith; Kevin Zaradnik and Jim Lehto of KZ Masonry; Todd Lee; Southeast Construction Products, Inc .; Jo Ann Dykstra; Coyote Rentals and Sales, Inc .; Don’s Country Cabinets; Aurelio Gonzalez; Do-It Center; Supervisor Bob Buster, First District; Carlos Stahl of Empire Pre-Cast Concrete; Larry and Vicki Long of Long Machine; Gary Andre; and Sheryl Ade.

As he presented the county proclamation commending the community for the project, Supervisor Buster said, “May this bell last another 120 years… It really marks the rise of a new Wildomar.” In addition, he commented that the County of Riverside’s $2,000 contribution, combined with the donation of volunteer time, expertise and materials valued at about $25,000, brought the “greatest ring for the buck.”

First grade Wildomar Elementary teacher Debbie Roeder who walked to the bell celebration with two of her three kids – Ethan, 14, and Alison, 16 – family friend Ahna Miller and the family’s toy poodles, Fifi and Gigi, said she had been looking forward to the bell’s rejuvenation when she saw the tower base rebuilt by volunteers at the school. “I though it was exciting,” she said. “When you looked at the old bell it was neglected and run-down. This is such a tribute to the area.”

 

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