By Christopher Harper
It was a Christmas mystery.
Last year, someone created detailed holiday drawings on the classroom whiteboards at the elementary school here in Muncy, Pennsylvania.
“It went through the elementary building like wildfire. It was a game every day for the kids to come in and see who got ‘elfed,'” said Corey Palmatier, the Muncy School District’s building grounds supervisor.
The morning the first drawing was done, the Ward L. Myers Principal Steve Haddon went to the classroom to check out the sketch.
“It was this amazing detailed picture,” Haddon said. “Then they started popping up all over, and nobody knew who it was. It excited everybody; the kids loved it.”
Amy Rosenbaum, a first-grade teacher, said her students guessed she was the secret artist. “They walked in and were completely shocked and they thought I drew it. I explained I definitely do not have this art skill.”
Over time, Logan Pena, one of the school district’s custodians, was found out.
“Last school year, he did it sporadically throughout the building, so you never knew whose room was going to have a drawing on the board. So the kids were trying to guess whose room was going to be next, that was exciting,” said Nevada Davidson, the lead custodian.
Pena could stay under the radar partially because his work schedule is the second shift, beginning at 2 p.m.
Pena, who is self-taught, has Asperger’s Syndrome, which can affect his social skills. But all the attention has brought Pena out of his shell, according to the staff.
“I like being by myself and just getting the job done,” Pena said. “Doing the artwork is a great way to communicate — most of the time, I am just a ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ kind of person.”
One year later, the staff and students still requested drawings from Pena, whether students were asking for a particular animal or office staff wanted festive windows.
“We were just thanking Logan for taking the time to cheer up the building during that time of year — just spreading that holiday cheer,” Principal Haddon said.
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