Pearle Lawson's second-graders at Penn Elementary show off their Bicentennial Quilt. Quilting, Lawson taught the class, was a colonial craft befitting the Bicentennial. Classmates displaying the completed blanket are Laura Coe and Mark Krenitsky, left, and Kenneth Snyder with Earl Calderwood Jr., right. Paula Krenitsky, center, was one of three parents who designed the drawings, traced and colored by the youngsters.

A special quilt made by Penn Elementary students in 1975 soon will return to the South Butler County School District.

Students and parents sewed the quilt to commemorate a historic moment — the 1976 Bicentennial celebration of the United States. Today, the blanket is weaved with bits of Butler County history into its fabric, too.

In April of 1975, Pearle Lawson held a quilting day with her second-grade class. The quilt is made of pictures drawn by students in the class representing their favorite storybooks, according to Butler Eagle reporting from the time.

The class eventually gave the quilt as a gift to Sylvia Brown, who at the time was a 92-year-old resident of Sunnyview Home.

Years later, after Brown's passing, the quilt returned to the Lawson family.

Pearle Lawson was an elementary teacher in the area, and her husband, James Lawson, was the founding president of Butler County Community College.

Today, the quilt is in the hands of their daughter, Jennifer Lawson, who also taught in the area. She now lives in the Syracuse, N.Y. area.

Jennifer Lawson plans to return to Butler County for a visit next month. She will be bringing the quilt with her.

“My mom was a terrific lady and truly a wonderful and vibrant teacher,” Lawson said. “I am sure many children who had her as their second-grade teacher will enjoy hearing about the quilt.”

David Foley, superintendent of South Butler schools, said the district plans on displaying the quilt and some related memorabilia in a school building. Lawson found the quilt packed away with old Butler Eagle newspaper clippings and letters about the class project, including a letter from former county commissioner Leon Gant sent to thank the class.

“I think it's a really cool thing,” Foley said. “I'm hoping maybe we can put it in the second-grade hallway.”Foley said he would bring the quilt to a school board meeting once Lawson drops it off.“She told me her mother threw a lot of things away from being a teacher, but this is something she really held on to and cherished,” Foley said.Lawson also is bringing her father's old cap and gown to give to BC3.“My mom was just a really cool woman,” Lawson said. “She was always doing neat things with her class.”

Pearle Lawson