Mosaic restored in time for Pennridge class's 50th reunion

Even though Pennridge High School is closed for the holidays, plenty of activity is going on inside its walls – literally.

People strolling by the auditorium would have seen a gaping hole in the wall Wednesday, but by Thursday the space was filled with a 340-pound piece of history.

The 43-by-37 inch ceramic mosaic of the high school seal, the class gift from graduates in 1962, was mounted above the auditorium doors in the previous high school building. The gift would have been lost in the rubble when the building was demolished in 2006 if class member Marlene Bryan and others had not rescued it.

They also salvaged some bricks from the old building, using them as centerpieces for the 45th class reunion in 2007 and then allowing classmates to take them home as souvenirs.

“Classmates came from all over the country,” Bryan said. “They really cherish [the bricks].”

The mosaic itself, however, hung in Ray Weidner’s garage until this week.

“We thought now’s the time to place it,” said Bryan, chair of the reunion committee. Bryan has worked on the four previous reunions, which are held every five years, and is currently helping to plan the 50th.

The mosaic, complete with the high school seal’s scroll and quill pen, was originally designed by Richard Kuhn, the cousin of Barry Kuhn, class of 1962 member who headed up this week’s installation project. Olean Tile Company in Lansdale, where a class member’s parent worked, fashioned the mosaic from the artist’s rendering. Olean is the ceramic tile manufacturer that made much of the tile that lines the Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels, according to Bryan.

“It was a huge employer in our area,” Bryan said.

The installation, completed by Gary Schott, was completed in two days rather than the three Barry allotted for the project.

The restored mosaic is just the beginning of what Barry called “a special anniversary.” The reunion will take place on Saturday, Sept 29 at Indian Valley Country Club, but plans are also in motion for an activity Friday evening. The three-day reunion weekend will finish off with Sunday brunch Sept. 30. Invitations for the reunion will be sent out in April or May, Bryan said.

The 14 members of the reunion committee have been working together for many years.

“We’re very close,” Bryan said. “Everyone does their own thing but they all help each other.”