By Dominik Lobkowicz
Nate Kenyon and Mary Walsh, trustees of The David B. Kenyon Fund, stand in front of new bookshelves in Dresden Elementary School’s library. The library and art room, now called “The Kenyon Center for Arts and Literacy,” were recently renovated and improved courtesy the Kenyon Fund and Lowe’s Home Improvement. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
A project to improve the art room and library at Dresden Elementary School came to fruition with the grand opening for The Kenyon Center for Arts and Literacy Oct. 20.
The school’s library and art room are both located in a modular classroom next to the main school building. The renovations brought running water to the structure for the first time, new cabinetry and furniture for the art room, new carpeting in the library, and a reading nook and bookshelves built by school custodian Norm Bachelder.
Nate Kenyon and Mary Walsh, trustees of The David B. Kenyon Fund, were on hand to cut the ribbon Monday morning.
Kenyon, David Kenyon’s son, said his parents moved to Dresden in the mid-1970s and he and his sister, Amanda Cederman, both attended Dresden Elementary School.
At that time the school had no art teacher or program, and Kenyon said his parents started an artist-in-residency program to bring a wide variety of artists, including writers, sculptors, clowns, and filmmakers to spend a week at a time at the school.
Though that artist-in-residency program has gone by the wayside and the school now has an art program, the Kenyon Fund has continued funding programs and concerts at the school by consulting with the school to determine its wants and needs and providing grants to help fund them, Walsh said.
The fund has also supported Dresden’s Summerfest and Winterfest, as well as summer programs at the Bridge Academy Public Library, Walsh said.
It was a couple of years ago when the trustees decided take on a bigger project to benefit the school, Kenyon said.
Walsh said the project began by speaking with students and gathering their ideas to improve arts and music at the school, as well as surveying the public. The outcome was largely in favor of redoing the art room and library, she said.
Along with the Kenyon Fund’s contribution, the project was supported by a grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Walsh said.
Dresden Elementary School Principal Mary Helen Williams said at the grand opening Nate Kenyon recalled loving books, music, and painting while he attended the school; all interests which his parents supported.
With the opening of the center, Kenyon said he hoped “all our Dresden kids right now will be able to use their imagination and creativity like he did when he was a little boy,” according to Williams. “It was a great moment.”
Kenyon, who now lives in Massachusetts, lauded Walsh for her work on the project.
“She’s really the mastermind behind this; I want to thank her for that, for sure,” Kenyon said.
