Conshohocken Elementary School students put their stamp on history

Conshohocken Elementary School students put their stamp on history during a recent visit to the library, where they were introduced to the book, “A Village Remembered.”

The book was written by two Plymouth Whitemarsh High School graduates and features paintings and poetry about the historical buildings and landmarks in the village of Plymouth Meeting. Students across the district have been learning about the book and the area’s ties to the Underground Railroad as part of Black History Month. 

At Conshohocken, students are making their own painting of one of the buildings featured in the book, the original William Jeanes Library. A small stone building that still exists on the same property as the Plymouth Meeting Friends Meetinghouse, the library was a logical choice to recreate at Conshohocken as part of Librarian/Instructional Technology Education teacher Nina Pratowski’s classes.

Art teacher Sydney Alexy helped to sketch an outline of the library and the outline was hung in the hallway outside the library. Following Mrs. Pratowski’s class, she assisted students with dipping their thumbs into a gray, metallic paint. One by one, students then pressed their thumbs against the drawing to help replicate the stone facade of the old building. 

Mrs. Pratowski encouraged students to become a part of the area’s history after sharing images from the book and some history about the Underground Railroad. She noted that those trying to escape slavery in the South would use the Underground Railroad (a collection of safe stops) to make their way to the North. Some of those stops included buildings featured in “A Village Remembered.”

Learn more about “A Village Remembered” by clicking here.