Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By C. Eugene Emery Jr.
Journal Staff Writer

BARRINGTON -- A bonfire crackled in the sand and lighted candles floated off Barrington Beach Wednesday night as nearly 100 gathered to remember Jon Converse one year after his death in a car accident shook this community.

The group included adult friends and family members, but mostly teens, many of whom were classmates of the young man who would have been 17 and a senior at Barrington High School.

The gathering, which began with about 40 people at 6 p.m., came hours after Daniel and Terry Converse buried their son's ashes in Princess Hill Cemetery, a short distance away.

Dan Converse said he added a book of matches, a jackknife, a fishing lure and a family photo to his son's ashes before the burial.

"I put a box of matches so he could build fires, because that was his favorite thing to do on the beach. We have a camp up in Maine and it was his job every night to get the campfire going, and he was very good at it," he said.

The knife was "the first jackknife I had ever bought him, when he was 6, because he liked to whittle his own kindling. And I threw in fishing lure, because he liked to fish on the lake and the Bay during the day. And a picture of the family, so we'll always be with him," said Converse.

Thus, it was fitting that a three-hour bonfire would be held to remember the young man.
Some of the students honored him in other ways.

One carried in a cooler filled with memorial candles that were passed around. Several people took the candles to the water's edge and arranged for them to float; with no waves, they moved slowly away from the shore. Two other young men put long candles in the sand and tried to keep them lit.

But most people were content to surround the fire, some sitting, some standing, many hugging.

Converse was killed while sitting in the passenger seat of a car driven by an intoxicated classmate last Nov. 5. His death was particularly shocking to the town because it came months after another alcohol-related fatality -- the death of Patrick Murphy on July 17 on the Barrington River. He was killed by a teenage boater who later failed a field sobriety test.

The police had been concerned that Wednesday's anniversary would be marked by more teen drinking. The bonfire was arranged to give them a way to safely channel their grief.

"The answer to this issue is eternal vigilance from all age groups," said Dan Converse, his face lit by the flames. "Parents have to be parents, not just friends. But at the same time, kids have to make the right choices and preferably not drink at all. But they'll be put in situations where there is alcohol and who knows what else is involved, and the bottom line answer is to make the right choices.

"They have to help each other, and they've got to look out for each other, and they've got to be leaders and not give in to the peer pressure," he said. "It's a tough think to do because they're at a tough age. But it's something that can be done."
Converse said he believes that in the year since his son's death "a lot of kids have gotten the message, and are at least trying to do the right thing. But I would hate to see complacency."

gemery@projo.com / (401) 277-7442

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