A Bit of History I remembered the Bell Tower from my first visit to Harding, as a child. Dad propped us kids up beneath its arches and took our picture, and so, years later when I arrived in Searcy as a terrified freshman, that familiar monument seemed like an old friend. Many other students have shared similar experiences, I feel sure. The Bell Tower formed a focal point for the campus. Built with bricks from the venerable Godden Hall, one of the first buildings of the old Harding College, it seemed rooted in the history of the University - an embodiment of all that Harding meant. IT served us as a favorite renezvous point (even the greenest freshman knew where the Bell Tower was), a shortcut to class, a shelter in the sudden Searcy rains, and a source for many campus jokes and legends. Generations of art majors have sketched it, thousands of graduation pictures have been taken in front of it, millions of Harding postcards have sported its image. It was noticed first by freshmen, forgotten last by alumni, and it ranked with the lilypool and the Harding swings in Harding memorabilia . There were many causes for the Bell Tower's fame and popularity. It drew together the old and the new of Harding, and seemed a monument to stability in world of a quickly changing student body and curriculum. It took on a fond, grandfatherly air, reminding everyone, with its oldfashioned metal bell, when it was time to head for the dorm at night . In 1985-86, when the bell shut off because Patti Cobb dorm, which also controls the bell, was closed, part of the ambiance of Harding disappeared, and students, returning to school, were glad to hear the chimes once again. Since it was built, the Bell Tower has served as the innocent victim of countless practical jokes and harmless, or fairly harmless, tricks. In the spring of 1986, students emerged from their dorms one morning to find the Bell Tower completely swathed, tied, and knotted with all of the garden hoses on campus. The student body was amused, though the grounds crew was not. A year or two previously, white spray paint outlines of a human body kept appearing beneath the tower, as if someone had been murdered, and of course, various clubs have often left their insignias on or under the arches. Despite these pranks, though, Harding students have always loved the picturesque old tower, and it will continue to serve as a place to prop the kids, take their pictures, and begin the old, familiar phrase, "When I was at H d • II 10.. ar mg. · · 'Zly· - Sherry Daniel --, Through the years. From the firs t day it was built, the Bell Tower has been a place of friendship, practical jokes and tradition - a part of Harding life. - photo by Jerry Traughber. Melanie Rae Evans - Clarksville, AR Mikala Rhea Ezell - Hot Springs, AR Stacey Sulena Faires - Chattanooga, TN Alvin Lewis Fannin - Byesville, OH Gary Richard Favre - Campbell, CA Jonathan Kirt Finley - Lowell, OH Lori Kae Fischer - Scranton, KS Susan Rebekah Fisher - W. Monroe, LA Dane Howard Flippin - Searcy, AR Kevin Levon Flowers - De Ridder, LA Charles Neil Floyd - Virginia Beach, VA William Andrew Ford - Rogers, AR Brian Mark Forsythe - Miramar, FL Michael Cato Foster - Jonesboro, AR Terri Elaine Frazier - Chill icothe, OH Leslie Kay Freeman - Rogers, AR Sean Patrick French - Bellevue, NE Catharine E. Frey - Madison, TN Don Alan Frost - Clarksville, AR Dana Lynn Fulbright - Goodlettsville, TN William Eric Futrell - Pocahontas, AR Shelli Elaine Gage - Redlands, CA Duffie Ellen Gaiche - Bentonville, AR Gregory Donald Gammill - Hope, AR Chandra Deon Gann - Paola, KS Rolando N. Garcia - Little Rock, AR Lathan Todd Garnett - Conway, AR Martha Marie Garrett - Pine Bluff, AR Shades of Freshmen 143
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