By Cyndi Murphy
In July, the Halifax West High School graduating class of 1974 celebrated its 50th reunion with several events. Small group dine-arounds at local restaurants; a reception, dinner, and dance at Ashburn Golf Club; and, a memorial service at the monument outside the “new” school. (The original HWHS building, located on Dutch Village Road, from which the class graduated in 1974 was closed in 2000 and torn down. A monument built of bricks from the old school, plus iron silhouettes of students, was unveiled outside the new school building on Thomas Raddall Drive when it opened in 2003).
As part of its celebration, the Class of ‘74 established a legacy fund. Money for the fund came from the excess revenue of ticket sales and the generous donations of classmates. On October 22, two members of the reunion committee, Cyndi Murphy and David Cumby, presented a cheque for $4,304.31 to HWHS principal Lee Anne Amiral. Also present at the presentation were Jennifer Fougere, student government staff advisor, and Leafaith Rodrigues and Daaksha Ajith, grade 12 members of the student government. The school plans to use a small amount of the money to refurbish the monument, but most of it will go towards the purchase of bleachers for the newly refurbished gymnasium which is heavily used by school teams and community groups. It is very expensive to purchase bleachers, so the fundraising campaign continues. The Class of ‘74 challenges classes from other reunion years to meet or beat their legacy fund donation. Individual graduates can also donate to the fund by mailing a cheque or money order to the school. (Charitable donation receipts are available).
