SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: BC to preserve legacy of moat
Benedictine Military School will preserve the legacy of its now-defunct water-filled moat that was erected when the Seawright Drive campus was built in 1963.
For many years, the moat has not contained water due to leaks in the foundation. To repair and restore the moat would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Being fiscally responsible, BC has decided to fill the moat with soil but also preserve its place in the school’s history.
“We want to preserve a memory of the moat, understanding full well that it’s a near and dear place to so many of the alums from an earlier era, and its memories are just simply too precious to obliterate,” Benedictine Military School Headmaster Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., said. “And while we’re moving on and doing so much renovation to BC, it was only appropriate that those memories stay with us. As we move forward, we also remember that we have a past, and that past is something we take a lot of pride in, and it made a lot of great memories for our graduates. When we think of ‘falling in line’ at Ol’ BC, that was part of it. That was part of the heritage. I am grateful to the alumni committee: to Bob Ciucevich, Mike Dillon, Lynn Fogarty, for their efforts and wanting to preserve that legacy.”
In addition to the high cost of repairing the foundation’s leaks, the moat presented other challenges.
“To preserve the moat as it was would have been a very, very expensive proposition,” Ziemkiewicz said. “And given the health concerns, given the environmental concerns that it produced, it simply wasn’t feasible to maintain it. Our resources now just don’t match what was required to maintain a very proper water pond, as it was originally designed. It was a great idea, and it was very consistent with the architecture of the time. And if there was any way that we could preserve it, we would have. But now, the alumni association met with (BC Director of Advancement) Greg Markiton and I, and I think they really came up with a very, very feasible idea for the preservation of its memory.”
A moat filled with water attracted mosquitoes. To combat the mosquitoes, Koi fish were required. “And, for that matter, the Koi fish attracted the herons, which came and fed on them,” Ziemkiewicz said, smiling. “And it was not only the mosquitos that were problematic. It was the snakes that found their way into (the moat).”
Back in the day, many a Benedictine monk would step outside of the priory (where they live) or chapel (where they celebrate Mass) and be greeted by a venomous water moccasin. The tales are legendary. Stories abound about mischievous Cadets filling the moat with soap suds, while other Cadets simply pushed their fellow classmates into the moat for a full-body soak. Although the moat will not be restored, it also will not be razed.
“What we’re anticipating right now is to maintain the outline of the pond via, I’ll say, parking stones, through some stone pavement that will mirror the existing coping stones that top the existing wall that defines the moat,” Ziemkiewicz said. “It will be flat. Ultimately, we will need to come up with a landscaping plan. It will remain distinct except that it won’t be a water pond.”
