Saving history

Hello? Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me? Will someone please answer me!

Two days ago, a friend came to my office bringing with her disturbing news. Very, very disturbing news. She poured her heart out, exclaiming that “the bell tower” (or what is left of a little piece of our community history) might be demolished. Not if WE do something about it!

What really irks me though, is how a small group of people coming about and deciding on their own to permanently remove something so important to us, and the story that it possesses.

Someone said that this small group of people will build a replica of the bell tower. Now, while I don’t have anything against building something to replace another, I still believe that once it is destroyed it can never be the same, regardless of how you put it or what you put in it.

Come on people! The Bell Tower is what’s left to remind us about the true meaning of love, togetherness and working together as a community. The Bell Tower is a symbol, a symbol of how one community strived to build what they thought would be the most important structure in their village, our village today.

I remember growing up around the church. I also would never forget that I was part of the first San Jose Fiesta Queen candidates ever. To think of it, I have more right to disagree with what this small group of people plans to do.

As if bringing our tower to the ground isn’t enough, they are planning to relocate our church to the old social hall and make our church into classrooms for St. Joseph School. Come on, people! If this is a joke, it isn’t funny. I’m not laughing, and it sure as heck isn’t amusing! People when you put a car in first gear, it is supposed to go forward…now go figure!

Below are more comments of individuals like me who greatly disagree of what may happen to a great part of our history.

* Save the Bell Tower because it is the only remaining symbol of the original San Jose Church and the generosity of this community in building their church. Many of us fondly recall the happy labor of the members of this community that went into building that church. Many of us remember or heard our parents, grandparents, and other relatives talk about bringing building materials such as rocks, cement, etc., to the church, the women cooking and bringing food for the laborers, and children bringing drinking water to the laborers. (It is ironic that now, many of the children of these laborers are pleading to save their parents’ and grandparents’ work.) Many of us feel that the old church should not have been destroyed in the first place but were told that it had to be done due to structural weaknesses and other hazards that it supposedly posed. The Bell Tower is the only remaining symbol of this community’s labor of love. In addition, the Bell Tower should be saved because it is a significant historical structure from our recent history, whose natural and aging beauty many tourists stop to appreciate and perhaps take pictures of.

* Save our present San Jose Church from being turned into a building to house San Jose Catholic School. This community raised funds for many years before we were able to afford the present church. Now, those responsible are considering restructuring the church and moving St. Joseph School into the church and have the old social hall become the new San Jose Church. We believe that there are other options available, such as acquiring another property, either through an endowment or land designation from the government, which would become the permanent site of the school. There are also other fundraising opportunities, separate from the church, which the school could initiate to raise the funds needed to build a school. Lastly, if the school is unable to survive, then perhaps the idea of running a school could be put on hold and instead make available other Catholic-based activities for our children, which this community would certainly benefit from.

R. M. Reyes
San Jose Village, Tinian