Project to draw up ‘Windows of History’

SOUDERTON » Most times, the view through a window is of the here and now.

“Windows of History” is aiming to also show the past and future.

Original windows from when what is now Univest Bank and Trust Co.’s headquarters at 14 N. Main St. was built in 1893 were replaced last year during building renovations, said Dan Yocum,

a founding member of the Souderton-Telford Historical Society, a Univest employee and a Souderton Borough Council member.

Those 125-year-old windows will now become the canvas for local artists to create “Windows of History.”

Univest donated the windows for the project, which is being organized by the Souderton-Telford Historical Society, Yocum said.

The windows were carefully taken out so they would not be broken and could be kept for the project, he said.

“They have the old bubble glass, the original frames,” he said.

“People in Souderton have looked out those windows and seen the town change and grow,” Yocum said, “and this project is an interpretation of that.”

“Guidelines will be kept loose as to not hinder creativity, but essentially we would like these old windows

to become artistic interpretations of Souderton’s past, present, and future,” Yocum wrote in “Windows of History” information.

“You will be provided with the window. The window (glass and frame) should stay intact,” artist guidelines say. Any medium may be used, the guidelines say.

The redone windows will be unveiled at this year’s Souderton Art Jam, Yocum said, with other displays expected to follow in places such as the borough offices and the library. This year’s Souderton Art Jam is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in Souderton Community Park.

Ultimately, the windows will go to the businesses and individuals who sponsor the windows, he said.

The sponsorship amount is $300 per window, with $200 of that going to the artist. Sponsorship checks may be made out to Souderton-Telford Main Streets, with “Windows of History” written on the memo line.

Both sponsors and artists are currently being sought,

Yocum said.

“We can only have as many artists participate as we have sponsors,” he said.

Persons interested in becoming “Windows of History” artists or sponsors can contact Yocum at 267421-3154 or dyocum500@ gmail.com for artist and

sponsor registration forms or additional information.

The sponsors may choose their own artist or be paired with a registered artist at random, he said.

“This is a unique and one-time opportunity to have so much local history at our fingertips and

we look forward to getting people excited and involved in the preservation and repurposing!” Yocum wrote in “Windows of History” sponsor information.

The deadline for artists to return completed windows is Sept. 1. The windows can be returned to either

himself, Yocum said, or the Souderton-Telford Main Streets office at 18 W. Chestnut St., Souderton.

He said he’s hoping to have the sponsors and artists lined up in time for the artists to be able to begin working on the windows by the end of April.