For the past three years, first-graders in Donna Harrelson’s Batesville Primary School classroom have been collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis.

Standing in the gym in front of a mountain of tabs weighing almost 800 pounds April 14, principal Melissa Burton said, “Today’s a really special day. You’re seeing history in the making!”

Pointing to the spectacular pile, she asked, “How many?”

“ONE MILLION!” was the excited reply from 433 first- through third-graders.

According to her, BPS is the first school in Ripley County to gather that quantity of tabs for the facility.

Beckoning Harrelson to come stand by the mountain with her, Burton told the teacher, “I know you didn’t drink 1 million cans of pop all by yourself.” Harrelson said in addition to her students, Hobo Hut customers and her three brothers contributed the shiny pieces.

The students who participated in the effort were asked to stand in the bleachers, then were greeted with enthusiastic applause.

The principal wondered how long it takes to collect that many. The project began in August 2005, “when our third-graders were first-graders.” The tabs started pouring in year-round. “It’s taken us exactly two years and six months” to achieve the mammoth goal, the teacher reported.

Initially, students counted out 200 and placed that amount in a yogurt cup, but soon that got messy when they tipped over. Then dad Larry Gutzwiller “volunteered to weigh-count them for me,” Harrelson said. “That made it much, much easier.” Gutzwiller determined that 10,000 pop tabs weigh 7.82 pounds. He was at the presentation to receive deserved applause.

The 38-year-teacher, who has been shepherding first-graders at BPS for 17, chose to aid the Ronald McDonald House because “I hear really good things” about it.

When Sara Risley, the house’s community outreach manager, crowned Harrelson for all of her hard work with a tiara fashioned out of pop tabs, there was thunderous foot stomping.

Risley asked the kids, “How many of you like to run and play outside?” Hands flew up. “How many of you, when you’re really sick, like your mom and dad to be with you?” More hand waving. She reported their collecting is enabling families to be near their hospitalized children.

Understandably, the youngsters beamed with pride. Harrelson’s students this year and for the past two could order T-shirts that were emblazoned “My BPS class helped to collect 1,000,000 pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House.” Risley observed, “I am so impressed. I’ve never been to a presentation where they wore shirts to celebrate.”

“The price of aluminum is really going up,” according to the manager. Two years ago a pound recycled at a scrap yard would bring 30 to 40 cents. “Right now we could get $1 a pound,” which means BPS will donate almost $800 to the cause.

Ralph Schneider, owner of Schneider’s Scrap Metal, Osgood, wheeled a cart containing the tabs to a waiting truck. He said they will be sold to a company that will melt the tabs down to make new products. BPS will send the proceeds to the Ronald McDonald House.