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December 1, 2018

Dear Grant Alumni and Friends.

THE CHALLENGE
The Alumni Association has received a most unexpected offer to help restore the William T. Fletcher Memorial Murals in the newly remodeled Grant High School auditorium. Our goal is to raise $200,000 for this restoration and the Leo Lester Browne Charitable Fund has agreed to match up to $100,000 of your donations for a limited time only. Our fundraising effort aims to preserve the artistically and historically significant murals through repair at their current site, unless re-plastering is required, in which case offsite restoration, potential relocation and reattachment is in order. The murals are Grant’s most  significant and valuable cultural heritage asset and have the potential to be the jewels in the spectacular remodel as well as preserving them for future generations of students to admire.

WE NEED YOUR HELP
We cannot let this generous offer expire without reaching our maximum goal!

THE MURALS AND WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT
Since the murals were installed in 1932, generations of Ulysses S. Grant High School students have gazed at these murals during assemblies, performances, elections, and award ceremonies. Students have not only enjoyed the bright colors and interesting figures of the artwork, but have also been exposed to the themes of artist Carl Hoeckner’s  timeless art. The murals are titled The Ideals of Education. They depict peace among those living in the Pacific Northwest and symbolize the aspirations of men and women alike. In the upper corners we can see Ulysses S. Grant and Susan B. Anthony facing one another, proponents of equality throughout the Civil War and emancipation, and the abolitionist and suffragette movements. William T. Fletcher was the much-revered first principal of Grant High School, who died suddenly at age 53, and Carl Hoeckner is an important early 20th Century Chicago artist, who taught at The Art Institute of Chicago.

THE CONDITION OF THE MURALS AND WHY WE NEED TO RESCUE THEM
These 20x25-foot canvas murals have been damaged over the years by exposure to light with sections blistering away from the plaster walls to which they were attached. According to Portland’s Cultural Heritage Group (full report available on request), there are some additional burns, abrasions, splatters and surface damage requiring restoration.

WHY WE SHOULD CARE
A reverence for things of the past has faded in this post-modern age. The conservation of the murals is about more than the continued presence of some ancient artifact; it is about connecting the future to the past. The murals reflect progressive and forward-thinking work of President Grant and Susan Anthony, the positive interactions between Native Americans and immigrant pioneers and the striving of both men and women to attain a hoped-for ideal. They are not just remembrances of the past, frozen in time and unrelated to life today. In terms of minority rights, immigrant rights and women’s rights, they speak as much to the 21st century as they do to the 19th or 20th centuries. Our hope for the future is grounded in that work from the past. Our students need the affirmation of the past to forge a clear path into the future.

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW
• Please donate to the mural restoration fund today. Make your tax-deductible checks payable to:

Grant High School Alumni Association
PO Box 13291
Portland, Oregon 97213-0291.

• Donations via PayPal may be made by visiting https://www.grantalumni.org/dues--donations.html Scroll down to the Fletcher Mural Restoration Fund button near the bottom of the page.
• Many companies will match contributions made by their employees. Check with your employer to see if you or your spouse has a contribution matching plan. Along with the challenge, this could potentially quadruple the value of your donation.

WE VALUE YOUR GIFT
To honor each donor, we have created several categories of giving:
Rank Amount to Amount
Commander in Chief Leo Lester Browne Fund
Joint Chiefs of Staff $10,000 and above
4 Star General $5,000 to $9,999
3 Star General $2,500 to $4,999
2 Star General $1,000 to $2,499
1 Star General $500 to $999
Colonel $250 to $499
Member of Grant’s Army $25 to $249
Donor names will be retained and listed in future Grant Alumni Newsletters. We hope you will be as generous as possible.

U.S. Grant High School Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN:36-4577438

U.S. Grant High School of Portland Oregon Alumni Association
PO Box 13291 Portland, Oregon 97213

To restore, preserve and contribute to the education of the cultural heritage assets of U.S. Grant High School.


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