TAMPA -- A high school is rededicating the historic clock in its tower Saturday (24).
Hillsborough High School's clock was installed in 1949 to remember the 143 former students who died in combat in World War Two. But the clock had been in disrepair for several years. One of the school's graduates led a campaign on social media to raise funds for its restoration.
Darlene Fabelo, class of 1986, remembered hearing the chimes along with thousands of other Hillsborough students over the years. "We had students who were 16, 17 years old who sacrificed and died for us... it reminds us, every time we hear that chime, that... other people died for our freedom, for our country."
Fabelo started a campaign on social media that eventually raised $50,000 to restore the clock, as well as a plaque honoring the fallen, and building a new staircase to the top of the 100-foot tower.
The clock and the plaque will be rededicated in a ceremony Saturday morning at the Hillsborough campus. The son of one of the fallen will lay a memorial wreath. Ray Didier is one of two twin sons born posthumously to Frederick Didier, who gave his life in fighting in the Marshall Islands. Didier attended the original dedication in 1949 as a five-year-old.
Find out more about the Hillsborough clock and the rededication by listening to our Beyond the News podcast below:
Photo: Canva