[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 23 (Thursday, March 3, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL ON ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 2005

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Conestoga High School 
of Berwyn, Pennsylvania on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary.
  On March 5, 1954, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new senior 
high school in the Paoli Area High School System. This event was 
significant because the new and modern high school would be 
accommodating students from six different communities in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania and merging them into one, unified school. In an 
effort to involve the community in the creation of the new school, the 
school board decided to hold a local competition to name the school. In 
the end, a ninth grade student suggested the name ``Conestoga'' because 
the Old Conestoga Road passes through each of the six communities 
served by the school. Conestoga became its name to symbolize the 
connection of these communities.
  Construction on the school continued throughout the summer and into 
the next year. On September 9, 1955, the Conestoga High School opened 
with a student enrollment of 549 and a faculty of 35. As the school 
continued to grow and flourish, along came the need for additional 
space to accommodate the students. In 1959, just four years after the 
original school was completed, 19 rooms were added to the building. 
After the completion of the new wing, student enrollment was at an all-
time high of 1036.
  During the next forty years, Conestoga High School would undergo many 
changes. In 1967, 20 additional rooms were added to the main building 
and, in 1981, the school's library was enlarged and named for Karl 
Zettelmoyer in recognition of his years as principal from 1957 to 1971. 
Conestoga continued this tradition of recognizing those who had served 
the school when a new gymnasium was constructed and named for Principal 
John C. Rittenmeyer.
  Just recently, Conestoga has added fourteen general all-purpose 
classrooms and ten new science labs. The cafeteria was enlarged and 
modernized to meet the needs of the student body and the entire music 
area was reconfigured to house the growing interest in the Conestoga 
High School choir. In the family and consumer sciences lab, the 
kitchens were completely renovated and reconfigured and a new welcoming 
and spacious main lobby was built.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring 
Conestoga High School. Throughout the past 50 years, the school has 
provided an invaluable exemplary educational service to its students 
and has contributed greatly to the community. Conestoga High School 
should be commended for its exceptional record of positive development 
of the moral, physical, and emotional well-being of the young men and 
women who have attended the school over the past 50 years.

                          ____________________