Hebron Crossroads 8-24-03
By Jeff Gill

"Respond To The Call" returns to Hebron in a few weeks; that’s the name of our community service project commemorating 9-11.
Last year, we brought people from all over our community together to then send them out, with the guidance of the Hebron Fire Department, to paint fire hydrants (yellow, in case you forgot) and got about 150 of them done for the HFD. We had firefighters, schoolkids from Hebron Elementary, staff from the village offices, and folks from most of the churches in town, all responding to the call.
September 11 falls on a Thursday this year. The plan, as Beth Walters and I have discussed with helpful guidance from Mike McFarland, village administrator, is to gather this year at Canal Park at 10 am, and spend the day painting there.
Levi Glaser is doing his Eagle Scout project painting the bleachers, so that takes care of the south side of Cumberland! We’ll be starting at the picnic shelter and working north, painting the shelter, gazebo, and tables, coating the floors of each, and then heading along the old canal bed to the two pedestrian bridges on either side of the Ohio outline flower bed that Mary Alice Dernberger keeps up for us. If we have time, we may even weed the bed of rosebushes next to it that was moved when the municipal building relocated (another Eagle project, one that Beau Heberlin put in and was relocated to Canal Park).
So we’ll be painting wood stain brown, floor coating grey, rustproof silver on the handrails and supports, and a good solid white on the decking of the two bridges. Pick your work clothes accordingly, or add some new colors to your yellow from last year.
On those bridges over the old canal channel, you might notice as you step up that the stone supports on the ends are Black Hand Gorge sandstone, pieces from the locks and bridge supports of the Ohio & Erie Canal itself. As we commemorate some recent history, we’ll be honoring our local history as well.
As you can tell, there’ll be painting for folks who like ladders, jobs at eye level for all heights, sitting down work, and lots of unskilled labor to share. Everyone can participate!
Like last year, we know not everyone is available between 10 am and 6 pm on a weekday, but in fact quite a few are, and this is both a service project and our own way of having a memorial: an active memorial, which year by year will make a positive impact on our community. Beth and I hope that next year we might be able to aim towards putting up a shelter house at Evans Park to match the historic one at Canal Park. . .but that’s for ’04. For this year, just plan to "Respond To The Call!"
The village staff is also sponsoring their next American Red Cross Blood Drive on Friday, Sept. 5, from 1 to 6 pm. Dale McFarland knows your preference by now back at the canteen after you’ve donated, and if you haven’t tried the variety of cookies and goodies offered after you’ve left behind a measly little pint of blood, you need to drop by and let the ARC staff and Hebron volunteers help relieve you of it. Thanks also to Bowman Chevrolet, who held a blood drive in their new showroom recently.
Speaking of volunteers at the Hebron Crossroads, at a recent village council meeting, a presentation was made to Kim Halter showing appreciation for all the organizational work on the Ohio Bicentennial Wagon Train. The clear panel of the display shows the Hebron seal, with the historic "Crossroads of Ohio" both announced in text and shown in outline: a very appropriate thank you for that event.
Mayor Cliff Mason presented one of these to Kim, and also one to your correspondent, for traffic control above and beyond the call of necessity, no doubt. We’re still seeing some really neat pictures from the wagon train, including the cover of "Country Living" magazine (thanks to David Dernberger on that). Kim is looking forward to pulling her rocker up to the side of US 40 in 2053 to watch the holographic wagon train roll by; somebody else will be in charge, she says. We’ll see. . .
This week, friends, school is back in session. Watch the corners and sidewalks early in morning as we get used to the new/old traffic patterns, especially out in the country where the corn is high at the intersections, blocking easy views during most of the year.
Drive carefully, thank a teacher if you can read this, and enjoy the new beginnings of a school year just starting, especially for new kindergardeners!

Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church, and dad for a brand new kindergardener (as if you didn’t know that already); if you have school updates or other news to share, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.