FARMINGTON — A new entryway from the Quebec Street sidewalk to the Mallett School playground links the past to today.

Schoolchildren on Friday afternoon gathered in the playground area to say thank you to a man who has given so much back to the community over the years.

Richard “Dick” Bjorn of Farmington and his wife, Judy, have donated thousands of dollars to many Farmington area causes, including to the schools and town departments.

This time it was for the restored entryway that connects the sidewalk on Quebec Street to the new school that Bjorn funded, Principal Tracy Williams said. It has two columns with the words Wilfred G. Mallett School over them that can be seen from the Quebec Street side.

The new school opened in 2011-12. A plaque on the columns thanks the couple for their contribution.

Williams said it was a wonderful way to preserve the connection to the old school.

For the younger students who didn’t experience education in the old building, it is a concrete link to the pictures they see and the history that Williams hopes they will learn.

Students who had studied in the old school and are attending the new school thanked Bjorn for the memories he preserved.

Third-grader Erin Parlin said she loved the old Mallett School and believes it is great to have pieces of the old school mixed in with the new.

Many cards of thank-you and even a large thank-you banner was in Bjorn’s honor. Several students joined Parlin in thanking Bjorn for the memories he preserved.

“Our school community is really grateful for what turned out to be a beautiful and functional monument to the history of Mallett School,” Williams said.

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