Buddy Bench honors memory of Central student

When students and visitors at Central Elementary take a seat with a buddy on the playground, they’ll be reminded of a classmate who is no longer with them.

Two new benches have been installed behind Central Elementary and, just last week, honorary plaques were set in place to dedicate this new feature.

Coined the “Buddy Bench,” one of the benches was dedicated to Noah, who would have been in second grade at Central this year but he tragically passed away last year after a battle with brain cancer.

The bench stands as the perfect place to sit and chat with a buddy while also remembering Noah and the imprint he left on his school and the Hastings district.

“Noah made a big impression during his time at Central,” said Mrs. Wenger, Noah’s first-grade teacher and remembers him as a silly and sweet boy who loved Minecraft, Pokemon and video games.

“After Noah passed away, I had discussed the idea of doing some kind of memorial on our playground for Noah with Principal Mitchell and Noah’s parents,” Mrs. Wenger added. “It was his mom and dad’s idea to do a Buddy Bench. Noah was a good friend and they thought a Buddy Bench would be a special way to remember him and allow other kids to have a way to make new friends at school.”

The school worked with members of the district’s maintenance department (Mr. Krueger and Mr. Rosenberg) to purchase the bench. Mrs. Wenger and Principal Mitchell picked out the bench and the maintenance department funded and installed the bench. Mrs. Wenger and her husband purchased the plaques, which were then also installed.

“It was very much a team effort,” Mrs. Wenger said.

“Noah’s story touched us all in different ways. Being able to put the bench and plaque on our Central playground makes it feel like we could be a little part in helping Noah’s memory live on,” Mrs. Wenger added.

The other bench features a plaque to honor another beloved individual of the district who is no longer with us. This bench is dedicated to former Superintendent Matt Goebel, who passed away last year after a private battle with cancer.

The memories and legacies of both will continue to live on in those spaces.