As we gear up to celebrate Bexley’s centennial, it’s important to question why this is a milestone worth celebrating.
Teenagers might naturally write off the upcoming centennial celebration, considering that we’ve only been alive for a fraction of the 100 years we’re celebrating.
This once-in-a-lifetime event provides all of us with the opportunity to look beneath the surface of our time spent walking these streets and celebrate the life and history of our hometown.
We should be proud that we have such a strong history to celebrate and have the artifacts to help us learn about our cultural roots.
Many of the new communities that are popping up around Columbus and the nation do not have this unique opportunity.
While each of us contributes a relatively insignificant piece of the living, breathing, evolving community of people that is Bexley, collectively we are influential.
Bexley was around long before we were introduced to it and will continue long after we’ve graduated and said our “goodbyes.”
But to have been a part of its history, no matter the size of the role we play, is truly remarkable.
y learning about what came before us, we are in a position to carry on the traditions of excellence that define Bexley.
Our schools are recognized across the state and nation as being among the best.
Our community strives to give back to those in need with activities like Relay for Life. And just by driving through Bexley, it is clear that the citizens want to keep our homes beautiful and a model for all other cities.
After recognizing and appreciating the impact of previous generations, we can decide the impact of our generation.
As much as we are a part of Bexley, Bexley is a part of us. Consider well-known alumni such as Daniel Pink and Josh Radnor. The education and support they received in Bexley, both in school and in the community, undoubtedly contributed to their motivation and success.
These two alumni exemplify the fact that people who come from Bexley can, and do, achieve great things.
But famous alumni are not the only ones who provide a model of how we can be an example of success.
There are the entrepreneur, doctors, lawyers, teachers and engineers who all contribute to the community and make us proud to say we are from Bexley.
As we all begin to prepare to go our separate ways, it is essential that we carry that part of us proudly no matter where we end up.
Bexley is actually a special place, no matter how corny or trite it may sound.
Bexley has given us incomparable preparation for our futures, and it is incumbent upon each one of us to rise to the occasion and carry on the tradition of excellence Bexley has set before us over the past 100 years.
We have learned so many lessons, from how to be active citizens and take pride in where we come from and what we do or how to succeed, all of which we can carry on to the places we will live in when we are adults.
Each one of us needs to take advantage of the rare opportunity the centennial affords us to delve deeper into the history of our town and of ourselves.
We are inextricably linked to Bexley, for better or for worse, and as such, it is vital to understand what that means. Once we understand our past, it is then, and only then, that we can be prepared as we turn towards the future.
Bexley has taken its shape because of the people who lived within its boundaries and the students who walked down the halls of its schools. At this moment, we are those people.
How do you want to be remembered at Bexley’s bicentennial?
Published April 2008. Digitized 2025.
