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Spartan News is a presentation of Mason County Central School District in partnership with Mason County Press.
SCOTTVILLE — Several hundred people gathered at Mason County Central High School Tuesday night for the Spartan Reunion, an evening that brought together MCC alumni, the Scottville Clown Band and the MCC High School Jazz Band while raising several thousand dollars for the school’s band program.
The evening began outdoors in the parking lot at MCC High School, with the MCC Jazz Band performing at 6 p.m., followed by the Scottville Clown Band at 7 p.m. The event had originally been planned as an outdoor concert and fundraiser featuring the sale of bricks and an auction of cabinets from the former Scottville school building.
Mother Nature, however, had other plans.
After the Clown Band performed just three songs, rain forced the musicians and audience indoors. The concert resumed in A.O. Carlson Gymnasium, a fitting venue for a gathering celebrating the history and traditions of Mason County Central.
The historic gymnasium was named in honor of Arnold O. Carlson, superintendent emeritus of Mason County Central Schools. With many members of the Scottville Clown Band themselves MCC alumni, the move indoors added another connection to the school district’s past.
The reunion was designed as both a community gathering and a fundraiser for the MCC band program. Bricks salvaged from the former 138-year-old Scottville school building were sold for $10 each, while four cabinets salvaged from the building and refurbished by Clown Band street leader and MCC alumnus George C. Wilson were auctioned. Proceeds from the brick sales and cabinet auction were donated by the Clown Band to the MCC band program. Unfortunately, two of the cabinets were not sold. They are being donated to the MCC Education Foundation to be sold at its annual Community Auction next spring.
Clown Band Life Member Edgar Struble looks over a cabinet with George Wilson.
By the end of the evening, the event had raised several thousand dollars for the band program.
The Spartan Reunion grew out of plans for a Scottville Clown Band concert that had initially been scheduled for the renovated Scottville Optimist Park and Scottville Clown Band Shell. When the Scottville Downtown Development Authority determined the park grounds would not be ready for public events this season, the Clown Band approached Mason County Central about moving the event to the school campus.
The change also provided an opportunity to turn the concert into a broader reunion of the Spartan community while supporting music education at MCC.
The Clown Band has a long history of supporting local school music programs through performances, scholarships and grants. Earlier this summer, its annual Patriotic Concert in Ludington also raised over $2,600 for the Ludington Area School District band program.
Tuesday’s gathering brought that tradition home to Scottville, where generations of Spartans — including many of the musicians on stage — came together to support the next generation of MCC musicians.
Editor’s Note: There are still a supply of bricks left and they will be sold during the home MCC football games this fall.
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