What would you do to save a part of your school? In Dauphin County, people of the Susquehanna Township School District are coming together to preserve a most expressive part of the high school’s history.
When 1999 graduate, Liz Simmons, looks at Zach Holtzman’s art, she questions his legacy. She says, “Who knows what Zach would have done with his life if he’d been able to live it fully.”
Zach passed away a year after he and Liz graduated high school. But his legacy lives on the hallway of murals.
Simmons says, “It’s really important to have this artwork that chronicles years in which there were really significant social and political events going on.”
But last week, the school board voted against preserving 43 years of students’ artwork. Instead, they’ll continue with a $7 million plan to renovate the school.
Acting Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Miller says, “The decision had been made by the designers that they needed to run the duct work down the hallways and lower the ceilings by 12 inches. That cuts off the top of murals and in some cases half of the murals.”
To keep the pictures standing as is, the school needs to raise $189,000. Through your donations, administrators and alumni say there’s hope in holding on to these memories.
Johnny Fabian is a trustee with the Susquehanna Township High School Alumni Association. Fabian says, “It’s a legacy handed down from class to class that strings together our story at Susquehanna and it’s a reminder of what happened in the past, who we were and also our ability to leave a mark in the future.”
Fabian says preserving the mural is goal number one. In addition, board members voted to capture the artwork by digitally photographing it.
If you would like to help the Alumni Association and Hanna Foundation raise money to save the murals you can send a monetary donation to the Alumni Association in any amount to the P.O. Box listed below (Please note “Murals” on your check).
STHS Alumni Association
P.O. Box 61474
Harrisburg, PA 17106
You can also donate online at the Save the STHS Murals.