New London - There are fewer than 1,000 remaining members of the Bulkeley Alumni Association, but the group that calls the former Bulkeley School its alma mater continues to dole out annual scholarships.

The association awarded 12 scholarships this year to descendents of students of the all-boys high school that closed in 1951.

Harold J. Arkava, a 1944 graduate and secretary/treasurer of the association, said the $4,400 scholarships are the highest ever given out.

Since 1988, when the first scholarships were awarded, more than $700,000 has been disbursed, according to Arkava.

The last graduating class at Bulkeley was in 1951 when it became New London High School. Those who attended the regional high school in 1952, 1953 and 1954 are also considered "Bulkeley Boys,'' Arkava said. The youngest Bulkeley Boy is 74.

"The Grim Reaper continues to do his ghastly work on the Bulkeley constituency - but not its spirit,'' Arkava, 85, wrote to his fellow alumni in June to invite them to the annual reunion Aug. 5 at Ocean Beach Park.

Arkava, a car salesman who served on the city's Planning & Zoning Commission for 16 years, said 17 Bulkeley Boys died since he sent out the newsletter in June.

"Ours is a spirit undiminished by the onslaught of time,'' he wrote. "We shall continue to live through lineal descendents and grantees who proudly carry on our name and pride through the 'Scholarship Fund.'''

The city of New London paid $200,000 for the school on Huntington Street in 1951 and turned it into New London High School. The money went into a trust fund, and trustees were told by the state to invest the money and return in 25 years.

Arkava said the $200,000 grew to $1.2 million. A million was put into a scholarship fund for New London residents and Arkava took $2 and opened another account, which would give scholarships to the descendents of Bulkeley student who did not live in New London.

"Bulkeley was regional, there were a lot of kids from Niantic, East Lyme, Waterford and Old Lyme who went to school there," said Arkava, who felt those students should not be ignored.

Scholarship recipients and the colleges they will be attending are Katelynn R. Edwards, University of Connecticut; Monica Gatti, Western Carolina University; Elishava Glater, University of Massachusetts; Mira Kaufman, Brown University; Corey LaLima, Quinnipiac University; Jaclyn Marks, Eastern Connecticut State University; Joseph Massad, Notre Dame; Evelyn O'Regan, Connecticut College; Hayley R. Sandgren, Worcester Polytech Institute; Ashely Sgandura, George Mason University; Curtis J. Tripp, Notre Dame; and Kyle Turnier, Pace Univeristy.

k.edgecomb@theday.com