A stone is a stone . . . not quite

"A rose is a rose is a rose" is probably Gertrude Stein's most famous quote. This first appeared in 1913 in the poem "Sacred Emily" and may be interpreted as "things are as they are." Or, that silly little saw might simply convey a message that using the name of a "thing" in an unusual way builds images and emotions in us of which we were unaware. Of course, we know that outside and deep inside each rose there is a special uniqueness. We just have to look for it!

And that is true of stones (or bricks) too! I associate stones and bricks with stages of my life. I have a brick from the old country school, Spring Valley, in Kansas where I finished all eight grades (there was no kindergarten and I may be forever remiss). I have small stones from islands I've visited and from a house Mary Ann and I used to own in New Wilmington. At Westminster's Field Station, stashed someplace inside the Nature Center, are bricks from the "Old Science Hall" at Westminster and some left over when the Science Resources Center was built. I look at these bricks and stones -- each different -- and know that they have a story to tell, a connection with the past . . . and with me. My emotions bond with them. Stones have been there a long time and will continue for a long time if someone doesn't smash them!

Here is a call to the community through this column in the Globe-Leader: We are now, at the Field Station, collecting stones that will be incorporated into a Rock Sculpture or the Meditation Labyrinth as memorials to Sandy Edmiston whose productive -- but brief -- life was featured in the last column I wrote. The Rock Sculpture made of natural stones will be a monument with bird baths. Stones for the Labyrinth will line a circuitous path that begins at the border of a large circle and leads in a winding manner to the center -- and then back. Such a circuitous path is called a labyrinth, not a maze. One does not solve a puzzle, there is only one path. A labyrinth 65 feet in diameter may have a path of ½ mile from beginning to end! Labyrinths are ancient devices used to center the mind and encourage meditation and introspection as one walks. The experience of contemplation can be very personal and even religious or life altering. Stones, grass or plantings define the path in a labyrinth and tell us where to walk; in our case, we will use stones. As in life, walking may be alone or with someone. And it may be fast or slow. There is no "one way' to walk a labyrinth!

I've walked the grassy labyrinth at the Villa Maria Community Center near New Bedford. I did that to find some inner peace. And I found some . . . but I must do it again!

Our consultant in the planning and building of Sandy's Labyrinth at the Field Station is Mary Burris-Brown of New Castle. She knows our area but, sadly, never knew Sandy. She is learning to know Sandy. Mary is using Sandy's Labyrinth as her thesis project for a degree in landscape architecture at Chatham College in Pittsburgh. This Labyrinth, to be located about 150 yards west of the Nature Center at the Field Station (937 Fayette-New Wilmington Road), will be open to the college and community. In this quiet and serene setting the Labyrinth will be accessible to all who wish to see, sit or walk.

So, what kind of stones are we collecting for Sandy's Rock Sculpture and the Labyrinth? Here are some specifications: They must be natural stones that have come to rest after having been pushed around and burnished by the brute forces of nature. In our area, this means that they may have originated in New York or Canada and were carried here by the last glacier. They have had a tough and tumble existence. They are metaphors of life! The size of stones must be about 10 to15 inches in diameter. They may be smooth or roughly shaped by nature (but not the result of a mason making a foundation stone). They may be of any color. Most farms have such stones piled up after being retrieved from pastures or plowed land. They are found in ravines where streams have moved them willy-nilly. We can use them delivered to the Field Station. Please make contact for more information: 724-946-8520 or harmsc@westminster.edu

There is one more incentive to donate nice stones to Sandy's Labyrinth! When stones are delivered to the Field Station the donor may select one of those stones as "special" or "a favorite." These stones will be marked, recorded, placed in the Labyrinth and mapped. The map of special stones will be included in a brochure describing the Labyrinth -- its purpose, origin and symbolism. All who walk Sandy's Labyrinth will have one more reason for contemplation.

Of course, we know that on the outside and deep inside each stone -- as in a rose -- there is a special uniqueness. We just have to look for it!

Clarence Harms, Director of the Field Station