Shippensburg University's historic fountain being rededicated Friday in ceremony copying 1896 event

SHIPPENSBURG -- The restoration and return of a Shippensburg University landmark will be celebrated with a rededication ceremony at 4 p.m. Saturday.

After a three-month restoration, the fountain in front of Old Main returned home in April. Originally dedicated in 1896, it was a gift from that year's class. This year's dedication ceremony will mirror that of its predecessor.

"It's going to be kind of interesting," said Tim Ebersole, executive director of university relations. "We looked at the original program from 1896 when the class dedicated (the fountain). We're going to have people that represent the people that were there."

Participating will be SU President Bill Ruud, master of ceremonies; B. Michael Shaw, SU Council of Trustees; Krista Williams, Council of Trustees student representative; Franklin County Commissioner Bob Thomas; Shippensburg Mayor Bruce Hockersmith; Kelly Atland, immediate past president of the alumni association; and Jonathan Michael, a student, said Pete Gigliotti, communications director at SU Each participant will represent the person in that position in 1896, Gigliotti said. For example, the fountain song and SU alma mater were sung in the past ceremony; this time around, Atland will recite the song and Michael will sing the alma mater.

An iconic landmark and most popular photo backdrop on the campus, the fountain's absence from campus for restoration this winter left a kind of void.

"When they took out the basin and there was

The fountain was disassembled and sent to Robinson Iron in Alabama in late January.

A team of companies led by Kreilick Conservation LLC, Orland, oversaw the renovation. The conservation company is partnered with Robinson Iron and Outerspaces, a Pennsylvania-based landscape architectural firm.

The project included putting down new concrete, relaying some of the original stones and then constructing a new basin. The fountain was returned in April and is now up and running.

The fountain was last renovated in the early 1960s. It has received regular painting and maintenance since it was first installed.

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Shippensburg University's historic fountain being rededicated Friday in ceremony copying 1896 event