DENISON, TX -- Yellow Jacket Boats brought a strong economic presence and national notoriety to Denison in the 1950s.

Now, leftover lumber from the fabled decade is being used to help raise funds to renovate Munson Stadium.

Denison ISD unveiled the first of 10 benches Wednesday to a group of Denison business leaders at the Denison Country Club.

They plan to sell them to raise funds for the project.

David Kanally, president of the Wooden Boat Association, said the organization donated the labor to the project.

"The Yellow Jacket benches are made of surplus yellow jacket materials that were recovered when Yellow Jacket closed in 1959."

They wanted to stick to the boat theme, Kanally said.

"So it's very nautical looking. And we believe it will recall Yellow Jacket Boats to anybody who has any familiarity at all to them," he said.

Bob Adair and Lew White are building the benches.

"I feel honored really, I feel like we're contributing to the history of Denison, and the company itself - Yellow Jackets - and it's an honor to be involved with it," Adair said.

These benches take 100 man hours to build. And each one comes with a dashboard tag of one of the original boats.

Robert Brady, head of the fund raising committee, said he received 5 orders for benches Wednesday.

"Renovations for the stadium is gonna be a great project for the community, it's gonna improve the downtown look," he said.

The benches cost $2,000.The committee is still $600,000 short of their fund raising goal.