Leominster High School

LEOMINSTER — Dozens of members of the Class of 1973 gathered at the high school last weekend to celebrate their 50th reunion and present a meaningful class gift.

A ribbon cutting was held on Oct. 13 to officially dedicate the two mural panels that are hung on the wall by the main staircase. The works of art made possible by monetary donations from the classmates depict four faces that represent Leominster Public School students and inspirational words written in the most common languages spoken by students in the district – English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic.

LHS Class of ’73 Reunion Committee member Robin (Haase) Philbrick said the dedication of the “meaningful works of art…was a special event” and that their reunion “was a tremendous success thanks to 13 months of dedicated planning.”

The classmates, some who had traveled from across the country for the monumental occasion, chatted and hugged and posed for pictures by the murals before gathering in the cafeteria to kick off their reunion weekend celebration. Philbrick thanked them all for coming and the plethora of people involved in the reunion, which included fellow classmates and many school staff and students from various departments.

She spoke about how the class gift came to be thanks to a collaborative effort between the Class Gift Committee, LHS Principal Josh Romano, LHS art teacher and head of the art department Shelly Sabin, and artist and LHS Class of 2010 graduate Chris Bomengen.

“When our Class Gift Committee first met with Mr. Romano and Mrs. Saben, we all agreed that we wanted our gift to be relevant, meaningful, and an inspiration for all students,” Philbrick said, adding that they knew it should be a mural and knew who should paint it.

“His incredible work can be seen in many places around the tri cities,” she said of Bomengen, whose later mother Sherrie Leahey was a member of their class. “As you can imagine, these family connections have made the project all the more sentimental for us.”

The Boms’ Freehand Pinstriping & Graphics business owner and Fitchburg resident said he was thrilled when Philbrick reached out to him at the beginning of the year to ask if he would be interested in painting a mural.

“That of course being my late mother’s graduating class, I was happy to accept the honor,” he said. “My mother unfortunately passed before I began these large, highly detailed spray paint murals so, for me, this was a pleasure to do on behalf of her memory.”

Sabin said the “different nationalities” represented in the mural are “meant to be inclusive,” and noted that one of the children depicted has Down syndrome.

“We wanted kids to see themselves in the mural,” she conveyed.

Bomengen said that the young people depicted in the mural he created “aren’t any specific individuals per say, but instead a representation of the diverse community from both 1973 and today.” He added that “the design was a collection of ideas from several members of the graduating class” and Sabin.

“Chris describes himself as a realism muralist who specializes in portraits using spray paint as his medium,” Philbrick said to the classmates gathered for the ribbon cutting. “The mural Chris created for us features four faces representing students of the Leominster Public Schools, beginning from early childhood, through primary and secondary school, culminating in graduation, and then transitioning into young adulthood.

“The portraits, in shades of grayscale, overlap to create a unique visual perspective,” she said. “The background has bursts of color in Leominster blue and the 73 on the graduate’s tassel acknowledges our class gift in honor of our 50th anniversary. When Chris sent us the draft proposal, our hearts were touched, and we were inspired by his work.”

Bomengen estimates he put about 30 hours into the project that took him seven days to complete and posted a time-lapse video of the process on TikTok.

Sabin and three other art teachers painted the second mural that features 25 “inspirational characteristics and attributes that students should aspire to,” Philbrick said, words that are sprinkled around the mural title – “In a world where you can be anything, be…”

The words include humble, courageous, inquisitive, trustworthy, a leader, optimistic, innovative, compassionate, respectful, and tenacious, which “express diversity through a variety of the languages spoken by the students of Leominster Public Schools,” Philbrick articulated.

Sabin said that although they “lost time because of the flood,” she and her fellow art teachers were able to complete the panel in time and were happy to be part of the “important” project.

“They wanted this to mean something and be memorable and last a long time,” she said of the Class of ’73.

Philbrick was honored “to be the liaison for this project and to work alongside such helpful and enthusiastic faculty and staff” and said their reunion came together wonderfully despite some challenges along the way.

She said the classmates had a wonderful time catching up with each other, the culmination of all the planning that included “hundreds of ideas and documents, our determination to use local vendors and services, a horrendous flood that led to two venue changes, and a tense 24-hour reunion rescue.”

According to Philbrick, the anniversary class savored all the reminiscing about their high school days over the weekend, saying there were “old friendships renewed, new friendships forged, endless laughter, care, and concern for each other, and new memories to carry us through ’til the next time we meet.”