By Gary Wiggins and Ron Tobias

To commemorate its upcoming 50th reunion, the Charlestown High School class of 1961 has donated $1,995 for the placement of a granite bench in the Pirate Pride Way of the Alumni Garden at the new Charlestown High School.

Pirate Pride Way is a fundraiser for the CHS Pirate Pride Booster Club, and the sale of memorial benches and bricks goes toward that effort.

 The Bench will be a lasting tribute to the class and its 50th reunion in 2011. It includes the class motto, “Not finished, just begun.” Athletics played an important role in their time in high school, as it does now, so the class of 1961 considers the bench in part to be payback for the many hours of training and enjoyment they took from athletic activities, either as team members or fans.

While the bench will serve as a lasting memorial to the class of 1961, the class members are also raising money to present a scholarship to a deserving CHS senior who will graduate in 2011.

Since academic achievement is the most important goal in high school, the class felt that it should also give a scholarship to show that they value the academic side of high school. A goal of $2,000 has been set for that purpose, and the class is already more than half way toward meeting that goal.

For more information on the memorial bench and the Pirate Pride Way, please visit: http://www.charlestownpiratepride.com/PiratePrideWay.htm

More information regarding the 50th Reunion of the Class of 61 will be coming soon!