Chimes of Westminster

jimhaigler  says:
3 months ago

The Chimes of Westminster

By Jim Haigler

Everyone, deep down inside, has craved to do something outrageously crazy and adventurous at one time in his or her life. Whether it is taking a Euro-rail excursion across Europe with only a toothbrush and an American Express card, or a tour of duty with the Peace Corps somewhere in Latin America. The wanderlust that lives inside us is suppressed due to pressures of society and the urge to survive as comfortably as possible. The result is to achieve everything the American way, become educated, get married, buy a house and have 2.5 children. If you were lucky enough to travel between semesters, to pursue those cravings of wanting to know what exists in the world outside of your protective eggshell, you may have satisfied those feelings, or only increased your lust.

Social security beckons to us all, after all it is instilled in us from the time we’re wee lads and lasses. We watched daddy scratch and claw to make a living to earn the almighty buck that pays the mortgage and all the niceties your neighbors expect you to have. On the other hand it’s also the American way that allows us to choose the path that leads us to where we reside in life.

Mine was one of those dedicated fathers who did what he had to do to support the family unit, early marriage and lack of formal education was the path of my father. He did the best he could and would relate to me his desires to do more, see more and go further. Sure we went on our little one-week a year vacations to scenic places but I knew there was something deeper burning in his eyes, something missing in his life. He never got to sow those wild oats, the seeds of fulfillment that every man has growing deep within. I watched as I grew, not knowing that what I saw would slowly mold and form my direction into the path of which I would travel. It took a couple of dead end trails, but I would not trade what has transpired to this point for any other parallel existence.













The early seventies were transitional times, the Viet Nam War was over and soldiers were working their way back into civilian life. Work was hard to find. Without the war the steel producing mills and factories in Western Pennsylvania were downsizing or closing. The plants in this area were fitted to build steel tubing, rail cars and other items relating to the railroad industry and as the economy recessed so did individual income. Unemployment in the Shenango Valley area soared to forty percent. The surrounding cities of Farrell, Sharon and Youngstown, Ohio were hit the hardest. Workers were forced to find work in other lower paying jobs resulting in reduced support of the local economy, many were forced to seek money from other sources. The crime rate increased as the availability of legitimate employment dwindled. Respectable people were forced to turn to small high interest loan companies which sprung up in the area just to provide food for their families. They accepted the terms hoping in their hearts that the economy would turn around in a short period of time, but as time moved on so did the strife of the area.

I was one of the Viet Nam Era veterans returning to the job market during that time, it was very difficult to find employment of any kind. I was one of the lucky ones who returned home with some cash and a vehicle to be able to search out a job in a greater area outside of my little hometown of New Wilmington, Pa.

New Wilmington is nestled along the rolling hills and picture perfect Amish farms of Western Pennsylvania. Located 20 miles from the tormented Shenango Valley it’s hard to believe that in such a short distance the world can change from turmoil to serenity to the point where people from either place do not even know or acknowledge that the other even exist. New Willie, as it is commonly referred to by the artsy-crafty influx of newcomers, is the home of Westminster College, a small college by university standards; Westminster is respected as a top ranked educational institution. The contrast between the college and town is something that can only be experienced firsthand. The college and town have managed to coexist for decades by complementing each other. The town gives the local color with the people, the quaint Amish souvenir shops and the surrounding country setting and in return the college gives the only indication that time is not standing still in the small community.

Although the total area of school and town covers only one square mile you can separate yourself from one or the other depending on which side envelopes your life. There is one subtle constant occurrence that reminds you of the peaceful coexistence of college and town, the chimes. To be continued.....