Dear Classmates,

I am writing to you to remember our classmate Curtis Chase, who was killed in Vietnam 55 years ago today.  As most of you know, the playground at the Plymouth River Elementary School in Hingham is named after Curt.  When the school was built in 1967, Rick Schuchard’s father, Walter, was Chairman of the School Committee.  He got to know Curt through Rick’s friendship with Curt and was instrumental in having the playground named Chase Field in Curt’s honor.

When I recently stopped by the school, I noticed that the sign in front of the school was in a state of disrepair (see the attached picture).  It occurred to me that this was an opportunity to replace the sign with a new one that also included the name “Chase Field”.  This seemed to be a good class project for our 61st (aka our 60th) Class Reunion and, after reviewing the idea with several classmates and getting their support, I set about developing a plan to create a new sign.

I worked with a sign company to design the sign and get an estimate of cost.  Last fall I met with the Principal of the Plymouth River School and the Superintendent of the Hingham School Department to obtain their approval for the project.  The Superintendent then helped with getting get the Hingham School Committee to also approve it.

Attached is a drawing of the new sign that includes the addition of the “Chase Field” name.  Note that the back of the new sign will include the inscription “Gift of the HHS Class of 1961”.

We are hoping to have the sign finished and installed in early September, in time for our Class Reunion that month.  The cost of the sign is approximately $5,000, which we need to raise by June 30 in order to make the September date.  Our goal is to raise money from as many classmates as possible.  We are asking each classmate to donate whatever amount they are comfortable with, up to a maximum of $250.

We have established a PayPal donation page solely for donations to this project.  You can access the page and make a donation by clicking on the following link:

Click here to donate to Chase Field Sign Restoration

And, for those who would rather donate by check, please mail your check, made out to “HHS 1961” with the designation “for Chase Field Sign”, to Bill Quinn at 6 Sanborn Road, Hingham MA 02043.

If donations exceed the cost of the sign the excess will be donated to the Chase and Arkell scholarship funds for graduating HHS seniors.  We will send reminders and progress notes over the next few months.

Many thanks for any support you can provide,

Bill Quinn

5/6/2022