BY JEFF FALK
Trees possess the longevity to out live us all. Some can live as long as our memories.
The Annville-Cleona softball team has chosen trees to remember the lives of four A-C students lost more than 35 years ago.
On November 3rd, the Little Dutchmen softball team will plant four trees at their home field at Annville-Cleona High School to honor four former students who were killed in a car accident in 1976. The trees will be planted on a hill, down the left-field line.
The A-C softball team raised funds to buy the trees after being told about the tragic incident by head coach Dave Bentz. The four students who died in Pennsville, NJ on the way to the shore for senior week were classmates of Bentz, a 1976 graduate of Annville-Cleona High School.
“After practice one day I told them about it,” said Bentz of his players. “We’re pretty close. I get pretty close to my teams. We were all crying after practice and they decided to buy four trees.”
Give the Little Dutchmen credit for following through on their emotions.
“It’s something pretty special,” said Bentz. “It’s a pretty neat thing. It meant so much that the kids would do that.”