Welcome
Promoting Tech Education in Punxsutawney since 1913
We manage the Weber Trust dedicated to providing funds for the education of students in Punxsutawney
About The Weber Club
Our Mission
Fulfilling the Dream of Emma Weber
Supporting Educators
At John A. Weber Fiftieth Anniversary Club, our mission is to support high-quality educational services in "manual and domestic arts" to students of Punxsutawney as directed by Emma Weber in 1913.
Supporting Educators
Fulfilling the Dream of Emma Weber
Supporting Educators
We work closely with teachers in Tech Education at Punxsutawney Area Schools. These professionals in Tech Education and the Weber Club work to provide and improve the best tech education available.
Fulfilling the Dream of Emma Weber
Fulfilling the Dream of Emma Weber
Fulfilling the Dream of Emma Weber
In 1913 Emma Weber directed the incorporation of a trust to be known as the John A. Weber Fiftieth Anniversary Club. She funded the trust and directed the trustees to build a building to house the John A. Weber Manual Training and Domestic Science School. The building was built and maintained by the Weber Club until 1997 when it was sold the Punxsutawney Christian School.
Professional Development Programs by Weber club
Curriculum And Classroom Tools Support
Since 1998 the Weber Club has spent $696,000 on classroom tools and equipment for the Punxsutawney Area Schools Tech Ed program. We have worked to keep the program current with state-of-the-art equipment. Our students will enter the workforce having worked with equipment that is current and directly relevant to today's workplace. We encourage the Tech Ed Department to stay up to date in their curriculum and back it up with purchases to provide the classroom tools.
Investments In Tools Since 2012
CNC Milling Equipment and relevant tools.................... $55,000
Manual Milling Machine.....................................................$19,888
Vinyl Printer..........................................................................$12,000
CNC Router Spindle and Servo Upgrade..........................$22,000
Plasma Cutter........................................................................$25,000
2 3D Printers and Vinyl Cutter............................................$30,000
Robot Test Chamber............................................................$1,800
Flatbed Printer......................................................................$29,000
Laser Cutter...........................................................................$44,000
Haas TL-1 Lathe....................................................................$64,000
Speaker Series
The Weber Club provides speakers and activities to help students consider career paths in trades and manufacturing. The Punxsutawney Tech Education programs that we support with yearly donations give students hands on experience as well as classroom learning to prepare for employment in these fields.
Punxsutawney Tech Ed Teachers attend conference.
The Weber Club has funded our Tech Ed department to send teachers to the Aero Tech Conference to learn skills training for Aerospace and Aeronautical careers.
History of the Webers and the Weber Club
John Weber
Mr. Weber was a prosperous and entrepreneurial businessman in Punxsutawney by 1883. He owned and operated the J. A. Weber Men's Outfitter Store a.k.a. the Checkerboard Store. He helped found and finance many local businesses and served as the President of the Punxsutawney brewing Co., Treasurer of the Clark Steel Co., and was Vice-President of the Punxsutawney National Bank. He helped found the local Volunteer Fire company, the local natural gas utility and the BPO Elks Club. Weber married Emma Depp in 1881 and had two sons Clyde and Morris, who both suffered from poor health and died in their twenties.
Mr. Weber died at the Age of 51 on December 10,1910.
The Fiftieth Anniversary Club
On March 7, 1909, John Weber held a party for his 50th birthday. He invited his 11 closest friends, and the group began a tradition that each would host a party as each reached his 50 birthday. They called themselves the Fiftieth Anniversary Club. The original group was W.O. Smith, John P. Wilson, S. A. Rinn, F. C. Lang, A. B. White, W.A. Sutter, H. G. Bowers, Dr. S. J. Hughes, E. W. Robinson, E. C. Mckibben, G. C. Brown and Jacob L, Fisher. John Weber died the next year at the age of 51 on December 10, 1910.
Emma Weber and the formation of the Trust
Emma Weber died on August 8, 1913, of pernicious anemia. Her death ended a tragic series of events for her family. In a seven-year period she lost both sons, Clyde aged 21 in 1906 and Morris aged 28 in 1911, as well as her husband in 1910. When she died, Mrs. Weber was estimated to have been the wealthiest woman in Punxsutawney. She and her husband had been very active supporters of Punxsutawney and were concerned with the welfare of all of its citizens. Emma belonged the Womens Charitable Association of Punxsutawney and the Irving Club a literary club that survives to this day. Having no family remaining she left her fortune to the formation of a trust to fund the John A. Weber Manual Training and Domestic Science School, "in memory of her beloved husband John A. Weber, whose greatest desire was the uplift of the general welfare of Punxsutawney." Emma named the Fiftieth Anniversary Club as the Trustees of her trust.
Fiduciary Responsibility of the Weber Club
The club manages the assets of the trust utilizing professional asset management. We invest about 5% of the assets each year in support of our mission and have successfully grown the assets, doubling them since 2008, allowing our support to keep pace with new technology demands.