30 TIMES • JUNE 2, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com old timer PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY F or the fi rst few years, the U.S. sat on the sidelines while the First World War raged overseas. At that time, Woodhaven was still a neighborhood in development. The elevated train had just been built on Jamaica Avenue, silent movies were the norm, as were wooden school houses, and Woodhaven ‘Avenue’ was a single-lane dirt road. Though the United States joined the war in April of 1917, it isn’t until later in the year that our local boys went off to war with rousing support from an almost enthusiastic public. But by May of the following year, the war began to take its toll on the locals. At fi rst there were a few isolated casualties. But as the weeks wore on, readers of the local paper would nervously look at each week’s headlines to see the latest news and grim announcements that more local boys had been killed. In November 1918, peace was declared but slow lines of communications kept local families on edge for a few more weeks and months as the fi nal list of casualties was produced. Eventually, it was determined that 70 young men from Woodhaven lost their lives in what would become known as ‘The Great War.’ After the war ended, communities around the country were looking for ways to memorialize the sacrifi ces of the young men who never came home. Less than two weeks after the war ended, then-Queens Parks Commissioner Albert C. Benninger announced plans to “erect a memorial tablet in one of the parks in Queens, probably Forest Park, for the soldiers of this borough who lost their lives in battle.” While the plans for a borough-wide memorial were eventually moved elsewhere, Forest Park was still eyed as the site for a more localized memorial. In early 1919, The Patriotic League of Woodhaven brought together a group of 60 delegates representing the civic, fraternal, religious, political and other organizations in the community to plan for a way to commemorate the young men who gave their lives in defense of their country. The resulting organization, known as The Woodhaven War Heroes Permanent Memorial Committee, sought to use a site near the golf clubhouse in Forest Park and plant one oak tree for each of the young heroes. The plans included a silver nameplate for each tree, and a granite monument with a bronze plaque containing Woodhaven remembers its war heroes the names of all of the fallen heroes. It was proposed that a tag sale be held to help raise the funds needed for the memorial. Essentially, tag sales were daylong events in which residents, whose addresses were listed in The Leader-Observer, would sell items from their household and donate the proceeds to the Permanent Memorial Committee. Over 200 households participated, netting sales of close to $1,000. The plans for the memorial came together quickly, and it was noted that the planting of trees as memorials was a unique idea in the United States at the time, it being the only one of its kind. The fi rst offi cial meeting of the Permanent Memorial Committee took place at the old Republican Club on Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven in mid-February; the trees were planted near the end of April and the dedication ceremony took place just six months after the war had ended, on Sunday, May 11, 1919. On that day, the families of the fallen soldiers attended the dedication of the oak trees in front of the golf clubhouse in Forest Park. The ceremony was presided over by one of the soldiers who did return home; James Pasta, one of the chief members of the Permanent Memorial Committee (he would go on to become the very fi rst Commander of Woodhaven American Legion Post 118). Prayers were offered by Reverend George Sherman of St. Thomas the Apostle Church, and local boys and girls took part in the ceremony. As each name was called, they would place a red carnation in a large white cross. At the end of the roll call, the cross and carnations were placed in an upright position among the Memorial Trees in the park overlooking the community the fallen heroes had lived in. Thereafter, Woodhaven’s Memorial Day observances included the Memorial Trees. Parades would begin at Whiting Square, at 91st Avenue and 84th Street, stretch clear over to the other side of Woodhaven before turning back on Jamaica Avenue, wrapping up with the long march up Forest Parkway to the Memorial Trees in Forest Park where a ceremony hosted by the American Legion would be held. Meanwhile, the Memorial Tablet had its own little history. It had been designed and ordered but by the time it arrived, it was too late to unveil in the park so it was held over until 1920. However, in 1921 it was announced that they hadn’t quite paid for it yet — and so, another tag sale was held, and the rest of the money was raised. In the days leading up to each Memorial Day, the ladies of the American Legion Auxiliary would decorate the trees in red, white and blue ribbons. Friends and family of the fallen soldiers that the trees were dedicated to would leave notes and fl owers at “their” tree. And so, the Memorial Trees and the Memorial Tablet in Forest Park became established as part of Woodhaven’s Memorial Day tradition. However, this tradition faded away in the early 1940s and the purpose of the trees along Forest Park Drive was forgotten for nearly 75 years. Last year, the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society, American Legion Post 118, the ROTC from Franklin K. Lane High School and students from St. Thomas the Apostle revived the tradition of decorating the trees. But why did this tradition fade? Why did the Memorial Day Parades stop ending in Forest Park? And what happened to the large granite monument in Forest Park? Check out next month’s Old Timer (the fi rst week of July) for the answers. In the meantime, if you drive or walk on Forest Park Drive over the next few days and you see dozens of trees decorated with ribbons, you’ll know why. And you’ll know that each of those trees were planted in the memory of a young man whose life was sacrifi ced at the altar of victory. If you have any memories and photos that you’d like to share about “Our Neighborhood: The Way it Was,” write to The Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, NY 11385, or send an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned upon request.
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