90-year-old woman gets varsity letter

BARAGA, Mich. (AP) - A 90-year-old woman has finally received a varsity letter she earned more than seven decades ago as a Michigan high school cheerleader.

Ellen Raymond was given the honor Monday in the Upper Peninsula community of Baraga, WLUC-TV reported.

Watch video and see pictures of the ceremony

Raymond was Baraga High School's only cheerleader in 1938 and recalls that she was supposed to get a varsity letter back then but it never showed up. She was honored for her dedication to cheerleading, but she also played basketball, did the pole vault for track and was valedictorian.

"I was promised a letter just as the boys received," she said. "In those days the girls didn't get letters at all."

In addition to honoring Raymond, school officials wanted to show students that it's never too late to recognize someone's accomplishments, Interim Superintendent Norman McKindles said.

"We wanted to make a correction to the error that was made back then and make sure Ellen received the varsity letter she so truly deserved," McKindles said.

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Information from: WLUC-TV