When the Verna K. Blough Playground reopened in 2025, project planners described it as a tribute to the longtime teacher and an Oakland school lost in a 1973 fire.

Blough and the brick schoolhouse were back on the old schoolyard Saturday – preserved in art.

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David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TDDavidHurst and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.