With the desecration of statues and monuments nationwide recently I was reminded of another such event locally. As you turn onto West Bowmans Road from Route 895 you are greeted by one such desecration. There on the right side of the road barely visible among the weeds and brush stands a church that has been overtaken by nature with a small belfry about to conceal the old bell. I can’t help but think of the many people that worked to build that church and worshipped there regularly.

I had the privilege to talk to the lay leader, Mark Serfass, who, along with six elderly people, struggled to maintain the place. In the last days of the church Mark allowed the Ashfield Recreation Park Association to utilize the facility for a picnic. It was like old times as the kitchen with all its equipment, an outdoor serving building, picnic tables and benches were used one more time. As the Hawks entertained, many local people remembered how it was long ago. Then it was all over!

Mark implored the association to ask the township to take possession of the facility and use it for recreation. The powers that be at the time refused and the place was sold to a local businessman. Soon the bell that sounded each Sunday for many years will come crashing down among the debris. This, however, will be one monument that was not torn down by protesters!

Richard M. Gross

Lehighton