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Date Posted: 21:00:05 10/21/06 Sat
Author: donna prosser britton
Subject: Re: Minerva Hits Dick Case Column
In reply to: Kathleen 's message, "Minerva Hits Dick Case Column" on 10:57:48 10/21/06 Sat

>
>Rev. Jim Mason '61 called to let us know that Dick
>Case had our old girl in his column today. I have
>been communicating back and forth with Dick about
>Minerva and he took the opportunity to go to Bobby
>Shenfeld's studio and see her for himself. He has a
>folder on her that he has offered to share with me for
>copying and I will do that when I get some time back
>in Syracuse. Here is
>the column.
>
>
>MINERVA SLOWLY BACK ON HER FEET
>
>Saturday, October 21, 2006
>
>DICK CASE
>POST-STANDARD COLUMNIST
>
>There she is, caught in a shaft of sunlight, in an
>artist's studio on the top floor of the old gear
>factory on West Fayette Street: Minerva, aka Athena
>seven feet of grayish plaster and a Syracuse legend.
>
>For likely 70 years, this statue of the Roman or Greek
>goddess of wisdom stood on a platform in the entrance
>lobby of Central High School at the south edge of
>downtown. When the city closed the school in 1976 and
>sold most of the contents, Minerva, her name at
>Central, was moved, also. Her first sale was to a
>local collector of architectural leftovers. Then
>Minerva went public again: near the front window of
>Xristou's deli, East Fayette Street, downtown. Owner
>Paul Christou, who is of Greek descent, renamed
>Minerva "Athena." The statue followed the Christous to
>a new deli at 1 Park Place on South State Street, and
>then to the state fair, where Minerva-Athena was the
>literal centerpiece of the busy restaurant Paul and
>his family ran during fair week. She was wired like a
>figure on the bow of a ship above the front counter of
>the stand. There she stayed, helmet into the wind,
>until Super Dirt Week 1998. That was when three
>patrons tried to swipe the statue. They didn't, but
>they did drop her.
>Minerva-Athena ended up in boxes, damaged and
>splintered, the head detached, an arm gone. Paul
>Christou said it would cost him too much to restore
>the icon.
>Meanwhile, a campaign rose up among some alumni of
>Central. A movement took hold, encouraged by Steve
>Jones, the city district's superintendent, to reopen
>the school. It had been closed because educators
>didn't think combining academics and technical
>education in one building was a good idea. As they
>looked at the prospect of reinventing their favorite
>high school, Central alumni realized Central wouldn't
>be Central without Minerva. The Christous were closing
>down in Syracuse and moving to open a new place in
>Virginia. Paul Christou gave Minerva, still in pieces,
>to Kathleen Niles, Class of 1961, and other alumni.
>That was about three (five) years ago. Kathleen was
>once vice principal at Corcoran High School back then.
>One of the school's art teachers, Bob Shenfeld, agreed
>to have a try at rebuilding Minerva, with some of his
>students. One of the early discoveries, beyond the
>obvious damage, was that Minerva wasn't made of marble
>as her fans thought, but a chalky composite similar to
>plaster. Now, after months of scoping out the best
>path to restoration, and lots of delay about the
>city's school construction program, both Central and
>Minerva look to be on the way home. Central is set to
>reopen as a school - called the Institute of
>Technology at Syracuse Central - as early as next
>fall. The statue's getting a big-time makeover at Bob
>Shenfeld's studio at 1005 W. Fayette St., once home to
>the Brown-Lipe-Chapin gear works.

I AM SO GLAD to hear that Minerva is getting good press in the Syracuse newspaper! Even though I light-heartedly spoke about our trip to see her at our 45th, my thoughts ran a lot deeper. I think she is more than important to our Class. I think she is representative of our era. And the fact that the Class of '61 has her is just plain spectacular. Perhaps we can somehow perserve her and the ol' SCTHS sign, donated by our class, together. I only wish others would take the opportunity to go see her. She is ours and it looks like she will be quite presentable for the 50th. Kath will see to that. -D.

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