The Merry Pranksters visited Springfield High School today (Thursday) in the “Further” bus to celebrate Ken Kesey’s Birthday.  The author of “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” would be 74 today.

Three Springfield High School students created a stained glass panel to honor Kesey, who was an alumnus.  The panel shows the “Further” bus in a landscape with the words “One Flew East, One Flew West, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.

Art teacher Karen Perkins says this was a challenging project:

Karen Perkins: “We finally came up with something we were happy about and they had their glass design figured out and they just made the glass fit around the bus is basically what you gotta do. And they just learned so much.”

The panel was installed at the entrance to the Language Arts section of the school. Kesey’s daughter Sunshine was the one who suggested having the celebration for Ken’s birthday. She says she has grown to appreciate her dad more and more since he died in 2001.

Sunshine Kesey: “He had an amazing work ethic and had some crazy ideals that were hard to even deal with while he was alive. He really held everyone to high ideals”

Ken Kesey died in 2001. His mother, wife and children all came to the dedication along with friends.