THATCHER, Ariz. — Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve participated in the dedication of the Memorial Bell Tower on the campus of Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Ariz., on Sept. 15.
More than 1,000 people attended as EAC President Mark Smith Bryce, who is also the president of the Pima Arizona Stake, performed the dedication. In addition to the speakers, the crowd heard the college's a cappella choir sing "America the Beautiful," performances of the college's band and the playing of the bagpipes.
Elder Eyring's father, Henry Eyring, was a graduate of the college, then known as Gila Academy, and later became an internationally known scientist and scholar. President Spencer W. Kimball, and others who have made significant contributions to the Church, also attended the institution.
Elder Eyring spoke of the pioneers and families who struggled and sacrificed to build the college, which started out as a Church school. "What distinguishes this institution — and gives me a sense of joy — is to think of the families and the communities that bound together to create something for those who would follow," he said. "The sacrifice was not for themselves. It was for those whom they loved and it was to give them something better than they had had."
Elder Eyring also spoke directly to the students in attendance with words of encouragement about their future possibilities as they begin their education at Eastern Arizona College. He said that although his father became a noted scientist, he always described himself as a little boy from Pima, "yet always with a feeling of possibilities because of what had happened here."
The 76-foot tall Memorial Bell Tower stands at the intersection of the east-west and north-south campus mall and was designed to architecturally and symbolically bring the campus and community together, according to President Bryce. The tower features programmable electronic bells and lighted six-foot diameter clock faces near the top.
The college dedicated the tower after recently mounting sculpted bronze reliefs on each of the tower's four pillars. Sculpted by former EAC art instructor, the late Justin Fairbanks; his son, Daniel; and daughter, Alicia, each relief is dedicated to one of the four "pillars" of the campus community: veterans; pioneers; families; and faculty, alumni, benefactors and taxpayers.
Justin Fairbanks, son of renowned sculptor Avard T. Fairbanks, was a noted sculptor whose major works included the "Rainmaker" at the Foxwoods in Connecticut, "St. Gregory the Great," on the facade of the Chapel of St. Gregory in Phoenix, and the Snowflake Monument in Snowflake, Ariz.
The sculpted reliefs contain details anchoring the college back to its community. An example is the reference to the "Morenci 9" on the relief dedicated to veterans. This group of nine young men from the small, nearby community of Morenci, Ariz., enlisted in the army and served in Vietnam. Of the nine who went, only three returned. This sacrifice gave Morenci the unfortunate distinction of having one of the highest per capita death rates in America during the Vietnam War.
During his remarks, President Bryce honored this group of young men, their families — many of whom were in attendance — and all veterans.
The school was chartered in 1888 as the St. Joseph Stake Academy by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It became a public institution under the control of Graham County, Ariz., in 1933. In 1962 the college became the first member of Arizona's Community College System and is now known as Eastern Arizona College.