Poetry from a forgotten May Day weekend
Once known as the Bluffton College water tower, this structure no longer exists. It did not belong to the college, but was built on college property, thus earning its name. Sommer Center, constructed in 2012, now sits on this location. Legend has it Todd Gratz is the photographer. Handwriting experts insist the paint job belongs to someone else.
An unknown poet painted these words very, very early in the morning of a long-ago Bluffton College May Day weekend.
And, the poet’s verse quickly disappeared thanks to an early-morning call to the college maintenance staff, probably at the bequest of then-president Elmer Neufeld, who saw the writing on the wall – in this case, the tower.
However, a photographer, possibly Mr. Gratz, snapped this iconic photograph to preserve the scene of the crime prior to it being whitewashed.
After all, parents of BC students and BC alumni would not appreciate knowing what the isle allegedly basked in (some alumni might).
This was not the first, and certainly not the final late-night May Day weekend paint job in the history of Bluffton’s four-year liberal arts institution.
Sadly, since the water tower no longer exists, artisans must find other outlets for similar endeavors.
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