How many of you have driven past Summitview Elementary and wondered why there was a light-up smiley face sign on the side of the building? Thanks to former staff members, the history of the Summitview Smiley has been passed along and we can now share that history with the community!

Shortly after Summitview was opened, poor lighting on the side of the building became a concern. Several people had tripped or missed the curb, especially when coming to Summitview for evening events. Around this time, Antietam Junior High, now known as Waynesboro Area Middle School, had recently selected a “Charger” (white horse) as their school symbol and Summitview had chosen “Smiley.”

The PTA at the time discussed the lighting situation with Mr. Gerald Stouffer, who was the first principal at Summitview (Fun fact, his daughter is one of our 4th grade teachers, Mrs. Seylar!). The idea was to put a light-up smiley face on the side of the building to incorporate the new symbol of the school and to provide lighting for evening events.

Local sign companies were contacted but none were able to provide a light-up Smiley Sign. Therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Destefan decided to provide translucent yellow plastic and make “Smiley.” The Destefans purchased the four-foot round yellow plastic from Milmar Plastics in Leitersburg, Milmar Plastics donated black scrap material for the eyes and mouth, and the aluminum frame was obtained by Mr. and Mrs. David Storely from the Jamison Company.

The Smiley sign and lighting figures were installed during the 1974-75 school year by Mr. Ray Myers and Mr. Wilton Fetterhoff, who were employees for the WASD maintenance department.

Summitview Elementary School

History of the Summitview Smiley