Rick Hobart, Mayor of Vernonia, Oregon, contacted me about creating a memorial bench. This special piece commemorates Washington Grade School, which was destroyed by two floods. The building was demolished and then rebuilt. Rick’s wife, Linda, was a teacher in this historical building for 17 years.
We couldn’t find many good quality photos of the school, especially showing the full front of the building, which is what Rick wanted. Luckily, I was able to locate the website for the architect who worked on the rebuild. There I discovered the blueprint of the entire front of the building. But it was a very small image, so, I had to get creative. I worked using both the blueprint and the photos of the actual building to come up with a full rendition of the actual school.
Rick salvaged some of the support beams from the ceiling of the school and refinished them to use in this bench. He hired a local metal craftsman to create the legs and support for the bench, and other local volunteers helped with the rest of the construction of the memorial bench and gazebo, protecting the space.
SPECIAL THANKS!
This was a really fun and special project and I was so honored to be chosen to help him create such a wonderful memorial to this lovely, historical building.
Rick an awesome client to work with! He and Linda have become cherished friends! Thanks so much, Rick and Linda, for your friendship and the opportunity to be a part of this amazing project!
