THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508010069
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Vickie Lewis
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
THE 13 MEMBERS of the Recycling Club at Mary Calcott Elementary School will be going off to middle school in the fall, but they will leave a lasting reminder of their time at the school.
That reminder is a tree.
But it's not just any tree. The tree is a memorial to the 19 children who died in the April 19 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
Deeply touched by the tragedy that occurred thousands of miles away, the fifth-grade students in the club planted the tree so future students at the school, maybe some who are now too young to know what happened, will remember the littlest victims of the bombing.
Even though the tragedy occurred so far away from them, the children said it still hit very close to them.
They were overwhelmed by the widespread coverage the bombing received on television, in the newspapers and on the radio.
They got even closer to the ordeal when local search and rescue workers who went to Oklahoma spoke to the children at their school. They viewed slides of the rescue operation and got to know one of the specially trained dogs who was a part of the operation.
``It was horrible what that man in Oklahoma did,'' said Joseph Teders, 10. ``As children, we knew that that wasn't right.''
Shortly before school ended in June, the children of the recycling club planted the tree on the front lawn of the school on East Westmont Avenue. Shortly afterward, however, the small tree was ripped apart by a storm. Not to be deterred, the children planted another tree in its place.
Both trees were donated to the children by HQ.
The children selected a type of tree called a red bud because of the special shape of its leaves.
``Each leaf resembles a heart,'' said Edward Watts, 11. ``And each leaf is a symbol of a child.''
A plaque under the tree reads: ``In Memory of the Children of Oklahoma City.''
Planting the tree is just one of many good deeds that members did during their year in the club. They also collected aluminum cans and sold them, making enough money to adopt a whale, buy an acre of land in a rain forest and donate money to the elementary school.
They also sold T-shirts, bought books for the library and donated clothes to the needy.
They found that collecting cans can be a pretty nasty job, but they agreed that it was worth it.
Beth Bannak, a fifth-grade teacher, has sponsored the recycling club for three years. A recycling advocate, Bannak said she started the club because ``we had a bunch of children who wanted to get involved.''
Freddie Herman, 11, joined the club ``mainly because I wanted to help the earth and I'm an animal lover.''
Joseph Teder said: ``It involves people, and I like to help people, too.''
Although the 13 members of the recycling club will be attending various middle schools in Norfolk in the fall, Joseph said: ``Hopefully everybody will remember the kids of Oklahoma and the class of 1995.'' MEMO: If you know someone whom you feel is deserving of a Thumbs Up! feature,
call Vicki Lewis at 446-2286.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
From left, Jason Dean, teacher Beth Bannak, Tiana Walters, Shirley
Dale, Joe Teders and Rosita Webb were part of a group that planted
the tree at their right in memory of children who died in Oklahoma
City.
by CNB