BENEFACTOR — James Bostick is photographed under his 1947 senior class photo at the Glenn Mills Senior Center. -- Christopher Dacanay

RICHMOND — Virginia Glenn has taken on a number of history preservation projects, and each one carries with it a bit of uncertainty.

Her most recent project was “on a wing and a prayer” regarding money, but passion for local history and the generosity of community members brought it to fruition.

Thanks to Glenn and several other contributors, a portion of Jefferson County history has been restored to its former glory.

Fifty framed class composites depicting Jefferson Union High School graduates now have a permanent home at the Glenn Mills Senior Center, located at 7576 state Route 152 in Richmond.

At more than 40 pounds apiece, the composites contain graduate’s headshots from each year. Many have names labeled underneath their photographs.

NEW HOME — Curtis and Virginia Glenn stood with newly restored class composites from Jefferson Union High School, which are being stored permanently in the Glenn Mills Senior Center in Richmond. -- Christopher Dacanay

Stored on both floors of the senior center, the composites date from 1939 to 1989. Composites were created until 1995, although the whereabouts of the last six have been lost to time, Glenn said.

In their new home, the composites can be appreciated by Virginia Glenn and her husband, Curtis Glenn, himself a 1963 JU graduate.

Additionally, Virginia Glenn’s late father, John Boyd, was a graduate in the class of 1943 — the school’s first four-year graduating class.

Her children are graduates as well. Charlie Glenn graduated in 1989, Carl Glenn in 1992 and Rachael Granatir in 1995.

Virginia Glenn was living in Mission Viejo, Ca., when she graduated.

RESTORED — Virginia Glenn and Mark Nelson held up a class composite from Jefferson Union High School that the latter and his workers at Nelson Fine Arts and Gifts restored at a discounted price. -- Christopher Dacanay

“This is our history,” Virginia Glenn explained. “If you lose something like these photos, you’re not going to get them back. It’s our families, our children — my dad, my kids’ dad and great-grandad. (Avoiding) the loss of something historical to us is extremely important.”

Constructed in 1938, Jefferson Union High School was one of the predecessor schools for Edison Local School District.

Along with Stanton and Springfield high schools, JU was under the Edison umbrella around the 1980s.

JU’s building has remained in use the entire time, currently serving as Edison High School.

Throughout all those years, the JU class composites hung on the walls of the JU building. That is, until Edison planned to remodel the building about six years ago, Virginia Glenn stated.

The composites were taken down in preparation for the remodel and placed in the possession of Nelson Fine Arts and Gifts in Steubenville. There, they were to be assessed and held onto until further notice, she said.

And for years, that’s where the composites stayed, many of them already in poor condition after being in existence for so long, she added.

To make matters worse, flooding in Nelson’s building — caused by a copper piping theft — rendered some further damage to the composites.

Approximately two years ago, the destination of the roughed-up composites was still in limbo.

That’s when Glenn entered the picture.

A Salem Township farmer and font of historical knowledge, Glenn has been involved in various history projects.

Her projects have included : Preserving a Civil War memorial near her home for the last 15 years, reprinting historical books and writing her own book — “Follow the Yellow Crick Road.”

Her novel concerns the history of northern Jefferson County’s Yellow Creek, which Glenn hopes to have published.

Glenn said she was aware of the composites’ existence through the familial connection and had inquired with others on several occasions about where they were located.

She learned of their fate from Aaron Richardson, president of the Edison Local School District Board of Education, who said the composites were not planned for a return to the JU building, so they were in need of a new home.

Glenn searched for local venues and societies that would be willing to host the composites. She continually came up short. That is, until she attended a meeting of the Richmond Community Historical Society.

An individual suggested she investigate the village’s senior center, which was deeded to the Salem Township trustees by the Richmond Lions Club.

Glenn later approached the trustees, who were on board with the idea and even had the building re-painted in preparation for the photos.

Next came the task of getting the composites suitable for showing.

Workers at Nelson’s took on the job, which involved digitally recreating some photos that were too far gone to salvage and reframing and adding new glass to every composite.

Those involved decided it would be best to redo all of the framing, as many of the original frames had been damaged beyond repair.

Wrapping up in February, the extensive restoration job would have cost as much as $25,000 normally, estimated Mark Nelson, co-founder of Nelson’s.

However, the business heavily discounted the price to make it more affordable, dropping it to $5,000, or $100 per composite.

Enter the uncertainty that comes with any history project funding-wise.

Glenn said she had no clue how the job would be paid for and had resigned herself to paying it off slowly through donations and grants.

However, she was in contact with James Bostick, a 1947 JU graduate who was living in Hawaii. Upon learning about the project, Bostick sent Glenn the full $5,000 to pay for the restoration.

The finished composites were delivered to the senior center about three weeks ago. One week later, Virginia Glenn, her husband, her grandson and a representative from the Richmond Lions Club worked on hanging the photos in the walls’ empty spaces.

Glenn said the center — rentable for events — will be a perfect place for the composites, allowing them to be seen by the public.

The display, which has a composite on just about every segment of wall, will be dedicated with an open house May 27, Memorial Day, Glenn said.

The dedication will start at 2 p.m. following the Richmond parade in the cemetery down the road. Light refreshments will be served.

Glenn added that Bostick, whose picture is displayed just underneath his own class composite, hopes to fly in from Hawaii and be present for the dedication.

Digitized versions of the composites will also be viewable at an interactive kiosk in the Edison High School field house, Glenn said.

The kiosk — which is being developed by Glenn’s daughter and Edison’s technology coordinator, Rachael Granatir — will allow individuals to sort by graduation year and send photos to their personal devices.

No matter how or when individuals view the composites, individuals are sure to find some familiar faces, including local artist Dave Barnhouse, whose painting print depicting the Edison High School Wildcats is displayed next to his own class composite.

Glenn noted donations are still welcome to pay for the composites’ upkeep.

Donations should be directed to: Save the JU Photos, c/o Salem Township Trustees, 2478 state Route 646, Richmond, OH 43944.

Perhaps one day the missing six composites will be found.

But at the very least, it’s good that these 50 were able to be saved and now have a new home, Glenn concluded, adding the composites are “a piece of history we didn’t want lost.”