Washington High School students push for memorial to man who helped develop city
Students give a presentation on the current status of the project to honor Maj. A.G. Happer.
Washington High School teacher Jeff Bunner’s AP U.S. History class met with state Rep. Brandon Neuman, Jim Douglas, the author of “Born to Serve, the A.G. Happer Story” and Clay Kilgore, executive director of Washington County Historical Society, as part of its project to honor the man who figures prominently in Washington history. Pictured are, front from left, seniors Lauren James and Alexas Iams; back from left, Bunner, senior Maya Wells, Douglas, senior Nicholas Raimondi, Neuman and Kilgore.
Washington High School seniors, from left, Lauren James, Maya Wells and Alexas Iams explain the objectives for the remembrance project for Maj. A.G. Happer.
The grave of Andrew Gardner Happer, a forgotten Civil War hero in Washington Cemetery
The name was Maj. A.G. Happer.
It is a name not known to many, but one many should, according to the Advanced Placement U.S. History class at Washington High School. The students are taking on one final project before the end of the school year as they hope to establish a permanent marker for a man who is both a war hero and a selfless contributor to the city of Washington.
”At first, we kind of thought it’d be really hard to see this through,” said Lauren James, a senior and project organizer. “We’ve made a lot of progress, I think, and we’re all really happy with that.”
The project started with Jeff Bunner, the head of the social studies department and history teacher at Washington High School. His idea for the project began after reading “Born to Serve, The Major A.G. Happer Story” by Jim Douglas of McCandless. Bunner said he was moved by the selflessness of Happer, a Civil War hero who was severely wounded but recovered and settled in Washington, where he played a key role in its development. He thought his students would be up to the challenge of seeing him properly remembered.
“A big part of this project is motivating the kids to take ownership of the objective and the necessary action within our community to accomplish the goal at hand,” Bunner said. “It’s all about action and results.”
For Bunner, the project serves two purposes, with the first objective being to have the students complete all of the necessary steps to obtain a physical marker to commemorate Happer. The second goal is to get students to communicate with people outside of the classroom so they can see firsthand the kind of impact they can have on society.
For some students, the prospect of having to contact local officials seemed daunting, and even frustrating at times when calls would go unanswered. The skill set learned, however, appeared to be worth the effort.
“I’m not used to the face-to-face contact, like shaking hands with people and everything,” Maya Wells, a senior and head coordinator of the project, said. “To actually get in there and do that, it’s great because I’m going to have to do it anyway going off to college and going into the field I want to get into.”
The students have taken on full responsibility for the project. They have decided to break it up into long-term and short-term goals, each offering different ways to honor and remember Happer.
In the short term, the students would like to purchase a brick for the Veterans’ Walkway off of Main Street in Washington and to have a plaque placed explaining his heroism and community contributions. In the long term, the students would like to have a Pennsylvania state historical marker erected and a statue of Happer placed in Washington.
“We have to find out official information throughout the city, exact addresses, what we want the plaque to say and we have to find money to pay for it,” said Alexas Iams, a senior and student responsible for working on the state historical marker application. “We wanted to stress his role in the Civil War to make it more national and not as much local, and we tried to pick out the major points throughout his life and his service to emphasize on the plaque.”
The students have reached out to State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane Township, who has agreed to sponsor a majority of the nearly $1,000 needed for a state historical marker. Washington School District Superintendent Dr. Roberta P. DiLorenzo has agreed to pick up the remaining balance.
Students also reached out to Washington & Jefferson College to have a plaque placed inside the Admission House, the structure Happer built and lived in after the war. The students reported the college fully supports the idea and will allow the state marker to be placed on their property, in addition to the plaque inside.
Wells, the 18-year-old project head coordinator, could not be happier.
“To see the project actually be implemented and have the support we have, it’s great. It’s definitely worth it,” Wells said.
But for the social studies teacher that started it all, there is still some work to be done.
“I’m impressed, given their age,” Bunner said. “We’re at that phase now, where we’re right there but until we actually get something tangible, it’s not done.”