The naughtiest thing I ever did was being an accomplice (one of 15 pupils) to setting an ant mound on fire at our One Room School. This mound was about two feet high made of straw on the northwest corner of our school yard. The teacher, a strict disciplinarian, forbids anyone to touch this ant mound. My brother, Francis decided he would set it on fire, early one day, before school started, he lit the mound on fire and returned home. We were all sworn to secrecy the night before. The truce was that no one would tell. It was hard to get to sleep with that on our minds.

The teacher approached the school to see the black smoke belching high over the bright fire. Could it be the ant mound?

We followed the teacher with our two gallons of drinking water. We threw it on the blaze. Then with boards and clubs we beat the blaze to keep it from spreading into a ten-acre cornfield nearby. Silently we continued until the fire was out. Our faces were black from smoke, we were panting as if we had finished running the ten mile race in the Olympics.

Court opened with “Who started the fire?”

No one confessed. Everyone was in denial. The story eased off with just that short court hearing. My guilty conscience plagued me for years.

My mother dealt punishments at home out silently with a gesture. The index finger on her right hand pointed to our bedroom above.

We went there-stayed there with two pieces of bread with molasses on it for supper. We didn’t come down only to use the outdoor privy. We had a long time to think it over.

My mother was both the questioning attorney and the judge. We received our sentence and performed it without questioning.

Punishment at school was to stay in at recess. Then a lower mark in deportment on our report card. That was the first and only mark my mother bothered to discuss with us.

​We kids got along well with each other, partly because there were so many jobs for us to do–there was always weeds to cut, weeds in the yard and cornfield. We had an acre of garden to weed, chickens to water and feed, eggs to be gathered, cows to chase, water must be carried in to drink and wash vegetables, in other words. Be Busy!

The Bell Tower Theater
​announces its 2022 Season!

The Bell Tower Theater, Dubuque’s hometown theater, is pleased to announce its 2022 season. Next year will feature five brand new comedies and musicals and two youth productions. Season Tickets are on sale now.

Subscription Series

The season begins with the romantic comedy Off the Grid, making its United States Premiere. Martha (Marty) is an architect anxious to learn more about self-sufficient houses so she can write a magazine article about living “off the grid.” Her husband Leonard reluctantly agrees to spend their anniversary at one such house—without TV, the internet or a flush toilet. Enter Lowell, their reclusive next-door neighbor. But, it seems like Lowell might be hiding something…

The show dates for this funny and sweet Valentine’s Day treat are February 11 to 27, 2022.

Sara Hastings is an unmarried lawyer in her mid-thirties, and she is much too busy for romance. Her eccentric Aunt Martha has decided to take matters into her own hands and find Sara a husband, no matter what it takes. Getting Sara Married is a wildly funny comedy that runs from April 22 to May 8, 2022.

The Church Basement Ladies are back in their fifth show, The Last (Potluck) Supper. It’s 1979, and the parishioners are celebrating the Centennial of First Cornucopia Lutheran Church. It’s 100 years of history in toe-tapping song and dance served up with a healthy portion of laughs and a side of hot dish and egg coffee. This potluck runs August 12 to 28, 2022.

Celebrate Arts & Humanities month with the local premiere of a brand new comedy. The Wild sisters are at a crossroads. Fanny is turning 60. Willa’s stress has driven her to vodka and speed-knitting. Johnnie Faye is determined to put herself back on the market and land a new man. (Preferably one with a house since hers is at the bottom of a Florida sinkhole). Together, they find a way to clear the clutter from their lives, homes and relationships and prove it’s never too late to take another one of life’s paths. See The Wild Women of Winedale from October 14 to 30, 2022.

This holiday season newlywed David is moonlighting as a department store Santa so he can buy his wife a wonderful Christmas gift. He tells her he’s working late, but she finds out he isn’t at the office. A suspected other woman, a bit of hypnotism and the notorious Santa burglar add up to a rollicking tale of Christmas fun. Check out Sorry! Wrong Chimney! December 2 to 18, 2022.

Evening performances will be Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and afternoon performances will be Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets are just $23 with discounts available for groups of 20 or more. The popular Early Bird Special performances will continue in 2022. On select days in the opening weekend of each show, tickets are half-price. That’s just $11.50! As always, Thursday night performances are Girl’s Night Out so everybody will get a free glass of wine before the show!

Season subscriptions are on sale now. For just $90 subscribers to the Bell Tower Theater will receive one ticket to each of the five subscription series plays and musicals: Off the Grid, Getting Sara Married, The Last (Potluck) Supper, The Wild Women of Winedale and Sorry! Wrong Chimney!, $10 in Bell Tower Bucks to spend at the concession stand; free ticket exchanges; the chance to purchase discounted tickets for other events; and the opportunity to reserve tickets before they go on sale to the general public on October 1.

Youth Musicals

Our popular Free Summer Musical Program will once again include two full-scale musicals. First up is Shrek the Musical. Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film, Shrek the Musical brings the hilarious story of everyone’s favorite ogre to dazzling life on the stage. In a faraway kingdom things get ugly when an unseemly ogre — not a handsome prince — shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a donkey who won’t shut up, a bad guy with a SHORT temper and a cookie with an attitude, and you’ve got a twisted fairy tale, fun for everyone.

All performers in Shrek the Musical will be high school students from throughout the area. Performances are June 16, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25 at 7:30 pm and June 19 & 26 at 2 pm. Tickets are $12.

In The SpongeBob Musical, based on the animated series, the stakes are higher than ever as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage. The power of optimism really can save the world! The show features original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s and They Might Be Giants along with songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley.

This show will be performed by two casts of kids ages 7 to 16 from throughout the area. Performances are Thursday, July 14 at 7 pm; Friday, July 15 at 10:30 am and 7 pm; Saturday, July 16 at 2 pm and 7 pm; Sunday, July 17 at 2 pm; Thursday, July 21 at 7 pm; Friday, July 22 at 7 pm; Saturday, July 23 at 2 pm and 7 pm; Sunday, July 24 at 2 pm. Tickets are $10.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the 2022 season go on sale to non-subscribers on October 1, 2021. Gift certificates are always available. To order tickets or gift certificates, call 563-588-3377 or visit www.belltowertheater.net.

The Bell Tower Theater is conveniently located in Fountain Park at 2728 Asbury Road in the city’s vibrant West End just minutes from both Highway 20 and the Northwest Arterial.

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