Remembering is much more than the act of not forgetting, it is the pursuit of forever honoring those who embodied and defended the very essence of what defines our community.
A community is only as strong as its willingness and ability to remember. Thankfully, each Memorial Day at the corner of Penn Street and Church Road, North Penn High School’s Key Club carries forward a solemn tradition. We can once again unite and rededicate ourselves to honoring the 18 students of our community who made the ultimate sacrifice for country, community and family.
As we prepare for the celebratory graduation of the class of 2024, we should reflect on the class of 1961 that was just as hopeful and full of promise. That class lost one of their own members in Vietnam, which led to a single tree being planted by North Penn students to honor a life cut short during an era of tumultuous change. Over the years, an orchard of 14 crabapple trees would mark the toll of a protracted war in a foreign land — sons that never returned to walk across the same school ground that now hosts a permanent reminder of their valor.
To upgrade and sustain the memorial over the decades, our community invested countless contributions from community members, businesses and the school district. Through the generosity of Kiwanis Club of Lansdale and the leadership of the Key Club, a monument was dedicated in 1994. In 2010, another monument was dedicated for graduates lost after Vietnam. Four names have since been added, representing sacrifices in Lebanon, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Final touches are made each year at this time to prepare the garden on Memorial Day, such as recently new lights and refurbished benches. The district even hired an arborist to maintain our community's hallowed grove, with a new sapling planted a few years ago to replace one of the original trees. Fresh flowers are planted each year by Key Club Advisor Linda Hallman-Law (NPHS ’71) and her student volunteers. Linda is in a small group of dedicated club advisors who have carried the torch across generations, leading hundreds of North Penn students over the decades that have made an annual event possible. This year marks her last formal year as she will retire after 53 years of superb service to North Penn.
The ceremony culminates with each name being read while a family member or representative places a flower at the base of the monument. I’m forever influenced by the family and friends of their loved ones — and especially the fellow vets who survived to share the memories and dreams of the fallen. Their numbers are dwindling as time marches forward, and it is the duty of the North Penn community to never forget and carry this honorable tradition forever forward. We honor them in thoughts and prayers but also through action, unity and the shared values that demonstrate the best of what our community represents.
Remembering is much more than the act of not forgetting, it is the pursuit of forever honoring those who embodied and defended the very essence of what defines our community. Please learn the names and stories of these cherished North Penn students so we can share their legacies with future generations.
The North Penn High School Key Club ceremony will take place, rain or shine, at 11:15am on Memorial Day, parking is available at Penndale Middle School.
STANLEY S. COPE, JR. CLASS OF 65,
ALBERT M. FINN CLASS OF 62,
JOHN A. GOLORIOSO CLASS OF 66,
WILLIAM E. HANNINGS CLASS OF 66
JAMES W. HOLLIDAY CLASS OF 61,
GREGORY JEREMICZ CLASS OF 65,
ERIC A. LORD CLASS OF 68,
ROBIN B. MILLER CLASS OF 67,
BARRY A. MOLETTIERE CLASS OF 67,
ROBERT I. MOORE CLASS OF 66,
RONALD J. MURPHY CLASS OF 66,
ANDREW MARK PHILLIPS CLASS OF 69,
GEORGE E. SHADE CLASS OF 63,
DAVID R. WEIGNER CLASS OF 62,
ROBERT B. GREASER CLASS OF 78,
CURTIS COOPER, CLASS OF 80,
JOSEPH B. MAGLIONE CLASS OF 99,
TRAVIS M. STOTTLEMYER CLASS OF 06
