Ridge High alum launch memorial scholarship
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 11:56 AM EST
BERNARDS TWP. – At the 40th anniversary reunion of the Ridge High Class of 1967 on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Olde Mill Inn, alumni did much more than reminisce about the old days.
The class used this special occasion to launch the Ridge High Alumni Memorial Scholarship (AMS) and to erect a “virtual memorial” to honor Ridge alumni who have died since the school was founded in 1962.
Ridge AMS plans to award its first scholarship to a graduating Ridge senior in the Class of 2008. The scholarship will be funded by donations and administered in partnership with the Bernards Township Education Foundation. Contributions are tax-deductible.
The Ridge AMS also will provide donors an opportunity to post a message of remembrance on the Ridge AMS Virtual Memorial at RidgeAMS.googlepages.com. The Web site was developed by Chris Sullivan, a Ridge AMS founder, 1967 alumnus and former Student Council president.
The initial entry on the virtual memorial, funded anonymously, honors John Peterson (1948-69), a 1976 Ridge graduate and former resident of the Bonnie Brae Farm for Boys who was killed in Vietnam.
“We will never forget your sacrifice, or your promise,’’ the entry begins.
“He (Peterson) is the catalyst for the Alumni Memorial Scholarship,” said Ed Lincoln, valedictorian of the Class of 1967 and another Ridge AMS founder.
“I was finishing my sophomore year at college when my parents sent me John’s obituary from The Bernardsville News,” Lincoln said. “I felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach.
“Basking Ridge was a small town, and Ridge High was a small school,” he said. “We all grew up together and we all knew each other. John was just a great guy who should have had a wonderful future. Instead, less than two years after graduation, he gave his life for our country. We owe him.”
Peterson spent his high school years at Bonnie Brae Farm for Boys in the section of Bernards Township then called West Millington. At that time, Bonnie Brae was a residential facility for youngsters from troubled homes.
While not a traditional standout as scholar, athlete or artist at Ridge, Peterson was admired for his warmth, optimism and determination. Those qualities earned Peterson an award as Most Improved Senior at his 1967 graduation.
“Imagine launching into adolescence among strangers, in a strange place. But John never acted like a victim of those circumstances,” said Stu Rickerson, a classmate who captained the football team in 1967 and is a Ridge AMS founder. “He stood on top of circumstance and built from there.”
Vowing that Peterson would not be forgotten, classmates decided to make Peterson’s virtues – character, determination, and nontraditional achievements – the criteria for selecting scholarship recipients.
“As we celebrate John’s life, we also want to recognize other Ridge friends who are gone,” said Carol Mason Schoenig, another Ridge AMS founder and the 1967 class president. “We hope our efforts will challenge other classes to outdo us in donations as they remember their friends through these scholarships to deserving Ridge students and on the virtual memorial. This year we plan to award $1,000 to a deserving RHS grad, and – depending on contributions and earnings – we hope to make an even more significant difference to future RHS graduates who demonstrate the kind of character John had.”
Organizers have donated all expenses associated with launching Ridge AMS, including legal counsel, Web site development, logo design and brochure production and mailing.
“One hundred percent of the donations go to the scholarships,” said Schoenig. “This is an all-volunteer enterprise.”
Parents, alumni, teachers, children, siblings and friends of any Ridge High class can donate through the Web site, and read dedications on the virtual memorial. Ridge seniors can learn more about the scholarship at the Ridge AMS Web site, or by contacting Ridge High guidance counselors. The guidance staff will recommend scholarship winners, who will be confirmed by members of a Ridge AMS committee.
“We’ve already received a few generous pledges,” Rickerson said. “Alumni have great Ridge memories. We hope friends and families of other RHS classes – especially more recent ones – will jump on board to give Ridge AMS a long, healthy life.”
Copyright © 2007 The Bernardsville News.
