Tag: schools

Chimes of De Veaux by Ada Elizabeth Fuller

deveaux
Ambrose Chapel at De Veaux College, where the bells were housed
Photo courtesy Big Daddy Dave blog

 

Fling out your silver peals,
‡‡Over the river’s breast.
Speak to the waters, peace,
‡‡Bid the wild Rapids rest.
Peal sweetly, high and low,
‡‡Chimes of De Veaux.

Chime to the flaming woods,
‡‡Gay in the morning sun.
Chime to the solemn pines
‡‡After the day is done.
Peal sweetly, high and low,
‡‡Chimes of De Veaux.

Ring out your silver strains,
‡‡Over Niagara’s breast.
Bid the wild waters roll,
‡‡On to their ocean-rest.
Peal sweetly, high and low,
‡‡Chimes of De Veaux.

Source:  Ada Elizabeth Fuller.  Sunshine and Shadow: Poems by Ada Elizabeth Fuller.  Niagara Falls, Ont. Ada Elizabeth Fuller, 1919

The site of DeVeaux College is now owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and is now the DeVeaux Woods State Park. According to the TowerBells.org DeVeaux School had a 10-bell chime installed by Meneely/Troy in 1913, which was sold to Verdin in November 1994.  The remaining structure on the site have also been demolished.

From The Living Church, vol. 50, January 3, 1914

New Chimes at De Veaux College

On New Year’s Eve, at midnight, the new chimes at De Veaux College, Niagara Falls, N.Y. (the Rev. William Stanley Barrows, headmaster), were rung for the first time. The bells, ten in number, were made by the Meneely Company of Troy, and are known as their F Tenor chime. They are a duplicate of those recently given to Christ Church, Greenwich, Conn, and are the gift of Mr. Albert H. Lewis of Bridgeport, Conn., who attended De Veaux College from 1857 to 1862. The inscription on the great bell reads: “Fortiter, Fideliter, Feliciter.  In honor of Samuel De Veaux and as a memorial to those trustees, masters, boys, and patrons who have faithfully served and fostered De Veaux College, this chime is presented by Albert Henry Lewis, ’57-’62, Founder’s Day, A. D. 1913, the fifty-sixth anniversary of the opening of De Veaux College. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men.” The inscription of the other bells is: “Fortiter, Fideliter, Feliciter. De Veaux College, ex dono Albert Henry Lewis, Founder’s Day, A. D. 1913.”

View the song Thy Bells Deveaux by Thomas Vincent Welch and J. Ernest Rieger

Read more about the DeVeaux College Chimes

Visit the Big Daddy Dave blog post about DeVeaux School

Stamford Collegiate Memories by Stephanie Vigh Nielsen

stamford
Stamford Collegiate 2021. Photo by G. R. Nielsen

When I was young, I would walk to school
In sun or snow or rain
I’d make a left at Montrose Road
And head up Lundy’s Lane.

As I reached the canal, I would stand and look
At the current moving fast.
Then head on quickly to Drummond Road
So I wouldn’t be late for class.

The first day I arrived at school
I was overwhelmed with fright.
Who would I know, where did I fit?
Would I ever feel all right?

But it didn’t take long before friends came along
Ones that attended my previous school.
We were delighted to find one another again
Joking around and acting like fools.

At lunch time we would congregate
In a basement room to eat.
And I would sing an Elvis song
While my best friend kept the beat.

Banging her hands on a garbage can
While the rest of us clapped along.
They were wonderful girls and precious times
Where we all felt we belonged.

Cadets marching in the back field
We enjoyed the discipline.
And the rifle range was a challenging sport
The blasts would make our ears ring.

The time has passed, I’m no longer young
But I still remember those years.
Academic classes and musical shows
Puppy love and all those tears.

I cherish the years I spent there
The memories are etched in my mind.
The friendships and learning that took place
Have sustained me throughout my lifetime.

So in ending this poem I want to give thanks
To my high school on Drummond Road.
My life has been happy – my goals attained
And that’s why I’ve written this ode.

Source: The author, 2021

Visit Stephanie Vigh Nielsen’s Niagara Proud website

Stamford Collegiate is located near the intersection of Lundy’s Lane and Drummond Road

Ode to a School by Stephanie Vigh Nielsen

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The Former Lundy’s Lane School, April 2021. Photo courtesy of Robert Nielsen

There’s an old school in Niagara
It’s located on Lundy’s Lane
With front and back roof dormers
And windows of diamond pane

Ornate with decorative detail
In classical Edwardian times
Clean lines with a portico entrance
And oh how that old bell could chime

Just a short walk to Green’s Corners
I was only six at the time
And my heart would fill with excitement
As I joined my friends in the line

My teacher was tall and stern
Her hair tied up in a bun
But all the students loved her
Because she made learning so much fun.

Alphabet cards on the chalk board
Magic letters that turned into words
Oh the joy I felt when I realized
I had entered a whole new world

Fun with Dick and Jane readers,
Weekly spelling games
Reciting multiplication tables
In my school on Lundy’s Lane.

The old school is looking sad now
Wooden planks are covering those panes
Chipped paint and looking very unkempt
That sweet school on Lundy’s Lane.

Remember the importance of preservation
As our dear Ruth Redmond said
She valued the importance of history
It will last long after we’re dead.

Cherish our history forever
Like Europeans have done throughout time
Please can we all join together
And save this old school of mine.

Source: The author, 2021

Visit Stephanie Vigh Nielsen’s Niagara Proud website

Visit the City of Niagara Falls’ Heritage Property Listing for the Lundy’s Lane School

To The Old School House on Lundy’s Lane by E. Anglian

When time with ruthless wings sweeps on,
    The earth of all its bygone best is shriven;
And so, old edifice, thy day is done;
    The newer day asks more than thou hast given.

In honest hearts a thought for thee enshrined,
    Of sheltering walls in days almost forgot;
When knowledge forced on the unwilling mind
    Saved many from ignominy's cheerless lot.

Man's mind is like a shallow streamlet flowing,
    Forever winding onward to the sea
Of time's oblivion, and the growing
    Like rare immortal fountain, starts with thee.

Prayers offered have ascended from thy walls
    For benefits the which our fickle mind
Scarce can remember, yet those earnest calls
    Brought sweet, refreshing mercy to mankind.

If in the rushing years that are to be
    No steadfast stone of memory marks thy end,
When rich endeavor finds its tide in thee,
    Thou has not been in vain, old hoary friend.

 

 

Source: Niagara Falls Evening Review, December 22, 1915.

 Before the poem: “I see that the old school has already been pulled down. It was, I believe, also used as a church, and this, with other things, caused me to write these new lines, which, if you think worthy, I shall be glad to see printed in your paper.”