A bench that may have once struck fear in the hearts of Center School’s students has returned to the elementary establishment with a new look.

In late November, Roxanne and James Bungert presented the school with the bench. Last seen with drab, dark brown paint outside of the principal’s office, the bench has been sanded down, refinished and painted with scenes of the town.

The bench, actually an old pew, was originally from the old St. Anthony’s Church (the current church was rebuilt around 1970). The school staff aren't sure how, but it ended up at Center School. When the old addition on the school was set to be demolished in 2002 to make way for renovations, the pew was one of many items auctioned off.

A former student at the school and Mattapoisett native, Roxanne Bungert purchased it and put it in the basement where her kids and grandkids could sit on it while they hung out.

“I have a fond attachment to Center School,” said Bungert, who also purchased chairs from the auditorium and two ceiling fixtures.

Bungert’s husband went to school in Fairhaven, but their four children and five grandchildren learned their ABCs at Center School.

Now that they’re all mostly grown up, Bungert said the pew had fallen out of use.

“It thought, well gee, why don’t we just give it back to Center School?” she said.

“It was in a pretty deplorable condition,” according to Bungert, so she and her husband removed the paint, sanded it down and refinished the wood. Then they asked Acushnet artist Virginia DesRoches to paint the backrest with familiar scenes from Mattapoisett, including the seahorse, Ned’s Point, and, of course, Center School.

They delivered the bench, with the names of the Bungerts who attended Center School painted on the back, to the lobby on Nov. 24.

“It’s just strikingly beautiful,” said Principal Rose Bowman.

She said the bench wasn’t always used for kids waiting for a talking to.

“It was the place that everybody sat,” she said. “When I was being interviewed for a position at the school, that was where I sat. It has great memories for those of us who have been with the school district for many years. It’s a really special thing for us to have.”