Fairhaven High School Adds Stunning Sundial to Memorial Brick Park

A new centerpiece is standing tall at the center of Fairhaven High School’s Memorial Brick Park, thanks to a generous donation from a local family who wanted to add the finishing touch to a beautiful memorial of Fairhaven’s past. From the signed brick to the new sundial, Memorial Brick Park pays homage to the students and faculty that walked the halls of Fairhaven High.

John Sharples, a Fairhaven High School alum, decided to jump in and volunteer to care of the park that took form in 2003, when it was decided to use that area as a memorial for people who either attended, worked, or taught at the school. They could buy a brick and get it engraved with their name to allow their legacy to live on forever.

“I get the bricks made, I get them engraved, and I put them in,” Sharples said. “From the very beginning, we always wanted something in the middle, but we didn’t know what.” With the help of a few others, Sharples suggested a sundial.

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“I wanted something that would fit,” he explained. “It’s all about time. Everyone with their name on a brick served time to our school. A sundial fits with what the memorial is all about.”

Sharples began doing some research, and mentioned the idea to Gay Encarnacao (née Whiting), who had been wanting to add something to the park to honor her parents. Gay and her three brothers – Philip, David, and Peter – all attended Fairhaven High School, and so did their parents. They decided to donate the funds needed to purchase the sundial.

Manufactured out of granite, the sundial is a gorgeous piece created by Tootell Monument Works in New Bedford.

"Upon finding a design we all liked, Matt (from Tootell Monument Works) was able to have his bronze supplier custom make our sundial with the memorial to our parents," Encarnacao said. "We could not be happier with the way it turned out!"

Thanks to the Whiting family, the carefully designed sundial will catch the sun’s rays and track the passing of time as the bricks below it continue to be a timeless dedication to the students and faculty that once called Fairhaven High School their own.