Sentinel photo by SAM BAUMGARDNER
Front, Senior Alivia Snook, Senior Isabel Bowersox, Junior Aubrey Walls; Back, Product Design and Development Teacher Kevin Reigle, Sophomore Dylan Stahl, Senior Keytinn Hocker, Senior Max Weader, Acting Mifflin County Sheriff James Aumiller, Senior Bailey Cullen, Junior Bo Reeder and Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Loundenslager.

LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County Sheriff’s Office partnered with local high school students to honor and display important sheriff history.

Students from four different classes in Mifflin County High School collaborated in order to create a plaque that displays the names and years served of every sheriff in Mifflin County’s history, a shadow box to display items belonging to a sheriff from the early 1920’s and a few picture frames to house some historic documents.

“I thought this (project) would be a good display of history for people to see when they come to the Courthouse,” shared Deputy Loudenslager.

Loudenslager had reached out to Kevin Reigle, a shop teacher at Mifflin County, seeking the assistance from the ​​Product Design and Development students.

As the project moved along, the students would pass along what had been done and what was needed to be done next among the participating classes.

“This project was a great way to practice successful collaboration and communication,” shared Reigle. “The sheriff’s office came up with some ideas that students had incorporated into the final products. After the initial design, they had to stay in communication with one another to complete steps of the building process.”

The students also used several different machines and tools, such as more traditional style machines including a planer, jointer and table saw as well as cutting edge equipment like a laser engraver and a Computer Numerical Control Router.

This project not only brought together history for the Sheriff’s office, it incorporated real world experience for the students involved with the project, helping them gain crucial knowledge for possible future careers.

According to Loudenslager, the items to be placed in the shadow box include an old pistol, badge, handcuff and keys, and an old notebook with entries, likely from the Prohibition period.