Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bell school needs money to serve community

A group of citizens concerned about the future of the old Bell Middle School met this past Thursday at the Senior Adult Center with Delores Hodge, director of Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-school Youngsters (HIPPY), and with representatives of the Central Arkansas Development Committee (CADC) to discuss ways to revamp and improve the use of the old facility.

Promises were made to continue efforts to find and recruit funding to keep programs such as HIPPY in the old school.

Hodge said it is the 10th year for HIPPY and the program is now serving 65 families. It has recently expanded from Clark to Pike County.

According to Hodge, the Cabe Foundation purchased the Bell Middle School with a grant for $150,000 several years ago, but some sort of consistent funding needs to be established to maintain the facility.

"We had a $600 utility bill this past month," she said. "With just HIPPY, this is a real financial burden. Our Pre-Push program goes along with the government's No Kid Left Behind effort. So our HIPPY program is paying off for Gurdon and Clark County.

"The purpose of this meeting is to work together to determine what we can do to eradicate our financial problem."

Hodge said she had some dreams for the old Gurdon Middle School property.

She wants a swimming pool and park on the grounds, and a museum in the school building to hold old trophies and Bell Middle School memorabilia.

"I would also like to see the old middle school placed on the National Register," she said. "That would help us get grants."

Gurdon Mayor Clayton Franklin said Bell Middle School "needs to be a Gurdon project, not perceived as something that can only help one race of people.

"Before renovating it, we need a solid way to pay the basic utilities. My idea to get that done is to secure funding by doing something to help everyone  like using the facility to teach basic skills, such as reading, writing and math," Franklin said.

"We could appeal to the juniors in high school who are looking for a path toward making a living, like learning to be a millwright."

Franklin contended that the non-college bound student goes to a counselor about his or her hopes and dream and gets "some young gal who has never had a regular job in her life."

Franklin envisions a future for the facility as an apprenticeship center to help non-college bound students enter into the trade-related workforce. He said Bell Middle School could help working people meet their goals and find a funding niche in doing so.

Franklin said he is a concept and idea man, but suggested Sen. Percy Malone "is pretty effective on gaining funding for job training."

"If you want to build a museum, count me out. I am a people person to help the people of Gurdon. Let's help the people," Franklin said.

Marva Jasper, director for Central Arkansas Development Center (CADC) in a 12-county area, said CADC would be willing to provide a mechanism to help develop Bell Middle School into a more productive and economically self-sustaining facility.

"I told Miss Jasper I need some help," Hodge said. "She responded in a very positive way."

Jasper said she will be working to bring this project and the community together into some type of worthwhile endeavor "not just for the blacks but for the whole community."

Michelle Williams, who graduated Henderson State University in May, is a CADC employee that will serve as a contact person between the Bell Middle School project enthusiasts and CADC.

A group of 20 to 25 citizens were on hand to discuss the project, and to listen to historical talk about Bell Middle School. Also, a success story about Peak High School in Arkadelphia being restored and making the National Register was told. A representative who had worked on that project was in the crowd and offered his expertise as a catalyst for the Bell Middle School improvement effort.

After all was said and done, Hodge said, "This is not the last meeting. We will keep getting together and working until the future of Bell Middle School is as solid as we can make it."

Henry Bell Jr. was among those giving speeches of encouragement about the value of the old school.

"Without a history, there can be no present and no future," Bell said. "If you don't know where you've been, you don't know where you are going or what you will do when you get there."

Bell said Gurdon was incorporated in 1880. Henry Bell Sr., the founder of the school, died on Sept. 10, 2000.

"In 1942, the Gurdon Colored School burned down," he said. "They could not rebuild it because of the war. I attended fifth grade in three churches. Of the teachers we had, maybe two had a college degree."

Bell said with the limited resources available, the teachers tried to instill life sustaining principles and values.

Henry Bell Sr. said, "It is not the institution that educates you, it is the individual who gets the education."

Bell said he did not recall one student at Bell High School who could not read. Bell High School replaced the Colored School in 1952, and in 1968 a person could choose to go to Gurdon High School or Bell High School.

In 1969, Henry Bell High School became Gurdon Middle School.

Henry Bell Sr. became principal at Gurdon Primary School, where he retired in 1972.

Jasper said, "We need to get the community together about Bell Middle School. "We need a strategic plan to turn the facility into a multi-purpose building."

Jasper said the school needs to be officially a non-profit status entity.

"CADC has been through restoring older school buildings. For example, we restored our facility in Malvern," she said. "We will work with you to do the same. For example, we already have a leadership training class scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, through Malvern.

"We also do grant writing workshops. We will host one in Malvern. If any of you are interested in being part of a leadership workshop, give your name to Miss Williams.

"We can have leadership training here in Gurdon. That is not a problem. We just need to know how many are interested."

Anyone desiring to learn more about attending a grant writing seminar or leadership workshop can contact CADC through the Senior Adult Center at Gurdon.