Saturday's Cape Cod Canal cruise for the Mary Jane Pillsbury Memorial Scholarship Fund was part first-time fund-raiser for a new cause, part tribute to the late selectman and library director, and part simply party on the water on a near-perfect September evening.

With all 135 tickets sold out days in advance and hundreds of raffle tickets sold on board, the event raised $4,453 to support two scholarships, according to Matthew Pillsbury, son of Mary Jane and one of the event's primary organizers.

Matthew said he expected that the first scholarships would be awarded this spring: Probably one to a graduating Wareham High School student who will be attending college, and a second to a Wareham resident who is pursuing a master's degree in library science.

Mary Jane Pillsbury, who died two years ago after a battle with cancer, served as a Selectman for 15 years, as director of the Wareham Free Library for 25 years, and as a library employee for 10 years before being promoted to the top spot.

That civic involvement was reflected in the crowd aboard the Viking cruise boat Saturday: Three current selectmen (Walter Cruz, Steve Holmes, and Cara Winslow), four former selectmen (Bob Brady, Dennis Damata, Renee Fernandes-Abbott, and Cynthia Parola) and a host of long-time library supporters.

But there were also simply friends and family -- and friends of family. Perhaps most notably: Cousin Liz Pillsbury arrived in a rented bus with husband Frank and nearly two dozen co-workers from Fall River.

Food -- including 22 pizzas from Pizza Boy -- was donated as was pretty much everything else required for the cruise, said Charles Pillsbury III, Mary Jane's widower. A "welcome aboard" sheet handed out to guests contained a long list of contributors of supplies and services -- and 65 raffle prizes.

As the boat headed back to Onset Pier and Cara Pillsbury, Mary Jane's daughter-in-law, got ready to call out the winning numbers for those 65 prizes, Matthew stood by. Clearly pleased with the evening, he was understated in his assessment: "It worked out really good for a first-time fund-raiser."