26 TIMES • JULY 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com old timer Living memorials to the fallen in Woodhaven In the aftermath of World War 1, the newly formed American Legion joined forces with the residents of Woodhaven to create a unique memorial to the young men from the community who had given their lives for their country. When it was announced that trees would be planted in the names of the dead, the newspapers noted that it was a unique idea for the memorial and that Woodhaven was likely the only place in the United States creating such a living memorial. (A similar memorial would also be planted in Richmond Hill for that community’s PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Members of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society wrap patriotic ribbons at the memorial trees in Forest Park. 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. dead soldiers.) On May 11, 1919, the families of the fallen soldiers attended a dedication of 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, who would go on to become the very fi rst Commander of Woodhaven American Legion Post 118. Fifty-three oak trees were planted and another 17 would be added in the next few months as more names were added to the list of local casualties, bringing it to a total of 70. A large granite monument and brass plaque containing the names of the dead was also erected. 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 granite monument in Forest Park became established as part of Woodhaven’s Memorial Day tradition. Woodhaven’s Memorial Day observances always 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 and Monument in Forest Park where a ceremony hosted by the American Legion would be held. However, this tradition faded away in the early 1940s. The Memorial Monument no longer sat in Forest Park and the purpose of the trees along Forest Park Drive was forgotten for nearly 75 years until last year, when 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. The story of why the tradition faded and what happened to the monument is an interesting one, and was caused by a totally unrelated, but long-simmering controversy in the community. For more than 25 years, a battle raged over the proposed widening of Woodhaven Boulevard. Originally a single-lane dirt road, it had become necessary to discuss expansion as more and more people drove automobiles and traffic through Woodhaven slowed to a crawl. In order to widen the boulevard from one to 10 lanes, a large number of houses and buildings needed to be destroyed. When American Legion Post 118 in Woodhaven was formed, it had taken up residence in an old building formerly owned by the Wyckoffs which sat on Woodhaven Boulevard near 88th Avenue. This building was one of the casualties of this project, and American Legion Post 118 moved to their newly built headquarters on the corner of 91st Street and 89th Avenue, where they still reside today. As they now had a nice front lawn, the decision was made to move the monument closer to the neighborhood and the monument has sat in front of their headquarters for the last 75 years. At the same time, the decision was made to re-route the parade and they made the headquarters their final destination instead of Forest Park. Over the next few decades, the parades marched through Woodhaven, stopping at Whiting Square and visiting the newer WW II monument at Forest Parkway, before ending at Post 118’s headquarters, where they would erect a Garden of Remembrance around the monument: a yard full of white crosses, with the names of the departed on them. They still erect that Garden of Remembrance to this day, also paying tribute to the fallen in the subsequent wars as well as all of their members who have passed. Over time, as the families of the World War I soldiers grew old and died off or moved away and other ceremonies took over, the trees in Forest Park and their original purpose and meaning were forgotten. Signs and monuments are important factors in keeping traditions and memories alive and with that in mind the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society is exploring the possibility of installing a historical marker along Forest Park Drive, similar to the other dozen or so signs that have been installed in and around Woodhaven over the past 20 years. The Society is also already making plans for the decoration of the trees next year as well as long-range plans leading up to a 100th Anniversary commemoration of the end of World War I, the planting of the Memorial Trees and the birth of the American Legion. If there are any relatives or descendants of any of the soldiers who were memorialized on the tablet in front of the American Legion or by one of the trees in Forest Park, please contact the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society at woodhavenhistory@gmail.com. Now that Memorial Day is over, the decorations are down, but the trees still stand along Forest Park Drive. It is estimated that less than half of the original trees are still standing, but that still leaves between 30 and 40 trees that are nearly a century old. You can visit these trees by entering the park at Forest Parkway and Park Lane South. As you walk toward Oak Ridge (the old Forest Park Golf House), take note of the large trees lining the roadway. These are the living memorial trees of Woodhaven that have stood for a century in memory of the local boys who went off to war and never came home.
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