The Grand Lady of Sherman Avenue
I took a slow walk around our old high school to look deeply into her soul and see what kind of vibrations I could feel as I looked at her carefully for the first time in my 70 years. I was amazed at the classic beauty of the building itself. The sunlight glistened off of Rookwood tiles that encircled her just below the bricks in her crown. Bas relief Gothic goddesses were the sentinels standing watch over the ramparts of the various entrances. The main stairway was wide and inviting as if welcoming to all…..
But then a voice seemed to say to me “Enter here at your own peril; for those who do will be forever changed.” I remembered that we met a Mr. Shakespeare who would teach us that “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones-----so let it be with Caesar.” Later, we would be reading about the campaigns of Caesar------in Latin. In physics class we would be introduced to Isaac Newton--------then in math, we would be introduced to an invention of his------a form of mathematics called calculus.
My mind was racing a mile a minute as I realized how all of this classical form of education was integrated together to give the students a foundation to equip them to enter the world and be ready to become a part of society. And oh, how the students of Norwood High School assimilated into this world. We have had more than our share of doctors, lawyers, and other professional people. We have had pro athletes, movie stars, politicians, and educators at all levels. We have had artists, musicians, and theologians. Soldiers from NHS have bled on the beaches of the islands of the pacific, the coasts, mountains, and plains of Europe, the cold mountains of Korea, the waters, swamps, and highlands of Vietnam, and every military engagement right up to the present day. We have had captains of ships, aircraft pilots, tank commanders and every other job required by those who would answer the call of their country.
It was as if the building was trying to relay some deeper meaning to me----- as if in some symbolic way it was saying “I am not alive; but I give life. Each of my bricks when taken separately has no meaning. But stacked together, they provide an environment that gives purpose to chance.”
I walked away with a deeper respect and affection for my Alma Mater. May the grand lady of Sherman Avenue stand for another hundred years and touch and bless the lives of countless future generations.
William R. Wallace NHS’62