Mayor Newhard: A November to Remember

  Dear friends, we have been through so much this year. These are tough times as numbers rise across our country and as we deal with mortality and the resurgence of COVID-19, we continue to reframe our lives and daily activities. The promise of a vaccine gives us much hope.

  November is normally a month of community events and activities – it’s the beginning of the Holiday Season. This will be one we may remember for creativity, surprise, and the spirit of ingenuity. I know behind the scenes that preparations have not skipped a beat. 

  This week the Warwick Valley Gardeners will be at Railroad Green “in force” to decorate for the season. The Warwick Fire Department has prepared the lights for the tree at Lewis Park and this year’s  annual tree lighting can be viewed on the Warwick Fire Department’s Facebook page.  

An outdoor Holiday Makers Market is planned at Lewis Park the weekend after Thanksgiving. A group of volunteers has been enlisted to help decorate the street lanterns with fresh greens. Stores and restaurants are decorating for the days ahead. We will light the menorah, hang wreaths, and string lights – all with a new sense of how fragile this all is and how meaningful these rituals are to us.

  November is a great time of year for tree planting. The Town of Warwick’s Shade Tree Commission and the Warwick Valley Gardeners planted a Kousa Dogwood in Kings Estates in an Arbor Day ceremony titled, ‘Trees Are Life.’ In the midst of COVID-19, Arbor Day ceremonies were put on hold, it was heartening to see this activity continue. The Village has its own Shade Tree Commission, and this Fall planted a grove of five Dawn Redwood trees in the Roger Metzger Arboretum as well as four Columnar Hornbeams on Parkway, both in Stanley-Deming Park. 

  In the coming weeks, many other trees are to be planted throughout the Village. November is also a time to plant spring bulbs. A stalwart group of volunteers planted 1,000 daffodils around Frederick Franck’s, 7 Generation’s sculpture in Hallowed Ground earlier this month. All of these plantings are a lasting part of the meaningful enhancement and beautification of our community.

  So, a November to remember, not for difficulty or strife but for the goodness and strength of the human spirit. Warwick’s response is one of generosity, kindness, and reinforcement of the things that inspire us; it accepts challenges and offers promise. Under every mask is a knowing smile of better days ahead.