Winter 2013
Lions Spotted in Arboretum The Croton Lions Club, which has been serving the community for more than 70 years, has generously donated a beautiful teak bench to the Arboretum, which we have installed in Norma’s Garden. Lions Club president Stephen DeName, along with members Joe DiMarzo and Don Daubney, who is also a long-serving member of the Arboretum Board, stopped by to see the bench recently and were thanked by frequent Arboretum visitors Francesca and Isabel Slippen. The Croton Lions raise money to help a wide variety of local organizations—from the Croton Teen Theatre and Booster Club to the Little League and the Croton Caring Committee—and we greatly appreciate their support.
Thank you, Thank You! Thank you first to Rob and Maria Armanini, owners of Feed The Birds—the local source for everything related to wild birds—for supporting the Arboretum through the sale of reusable shopping bags emblazoned with our logo and the words “We Support the Croton Arboretum.” The Armaninis produced the bags at their own expense and have been selling them at their store, donating 100 percent of the proceeds to the Arboretum. The bags are made of non-woven polyproEthan Lewis pylene (NWPP), a fabric that is recyclable, non-toxic, non-allergenic and machine washable. Thank you also to one of our youngest supporters, middle-schooler and budding entrepreneur Ethan Lewis. He borrowed bags from Feed the Birds and sold them at his brother’s soccer matches and in (continued on page 3)
Calling All Members! The Arboretum will hold its annual meeting on March 7 at 8 pm in the small conference room on the second floor of the Municipal Building. Arboretum members are encouraged to attend (and are most welcome at any meeting), but if you cannot attend, please fill out the enclosed proxy. If you are not quite current with your dues, there is a membership form inside as well, (continued on page 2)
Annual Meeting
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and we urge you to send your dues—still only $25 per family—and proxy together. The purpose of the annual meeting is to elect directors, review the activities and events of the past year, and outline plans for the coming year. The membership elects directors for three-year terms, and the directors elect officers for one-year terms. This year Directors Karen Jescavage-Bernard and Marc Cheshire are standing for re-election, and there are several additional vacancies on the board, as Martin Smolin is retiring (see page 4) and Ken Sargeant has decided to become an advisor to the Board rather than a director because of the time constraints of his schedule.
Sandy Damage
The Arboretum lost a handful of trees during Sandy and the subsequent snowstorm, but the damage was surprisingly light, given the devastation elsewhere. Our theory is that the extensive tree work we did this past year—after the massive damage in the Arboretum from three 2011 storms—cleared out the weak trees and branches. One of the victims we were most sorry to lose was the huge shagbark hickory shown above. Long-time Arboretum Director Fran Allen has donated a dozen “flitches” from a hickory tree that was felled on her property during the 2011 Halloween snowstorm. An expert arborist cut up the wood with a portable sawmill, and we plan to use the planks, called flitches, for simple benches like this one, made by Arboretum Director Marc Cheshire.
If you think you might like to join the Board, please let us know of your interest and come to the annual meeting.
Craig Stevens
Some of the highlights of the past year are the return of Arborist Craig Stevens for our annual “winter tree identification” tour of the Arboretum. This year Craig emphasized how to protect trees from storm damage, a topic of increasing concern in our area. Barry Keegan also returned this fall with his popular program on Native American culture. Keegan is an expert and educator on the history and folkways of the Lenape and other Native American groups who once populated this area. The Arboretum co-sponsored the program with the Carrie E.Tompkins Middle School PTA. The first several days were devoted to sessions for fourth grade classes, followed by a very popular Saturday program open to the public.
It Takes a Village — Help from Many Quarters Bagatelle
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Viola Davis (1922 - 2012) We note with great sadness the passing of long-time friend and Arboretum supporter Viola Davis. While development of the Arboretum was still limited to a few hiking trails, Viola was among the first to see its potential for Croton schools. Because of her focus on science education, she worked tirelessly to interest and involve school administrators and teachers in developing programs that would incorporate the abundant resources of the arboretum for real time science and environmental research.
Bob and Maria Armanini
front of ShopRite during the holidays, and he solicited donations from friends and family. Together, the Armaninis and Ethan have raised $1,174 for the Arboretum.
A Mitzvah for the Arboretum A group of 11- and 12-year-olds recently spent a morning volunteering at the Croton Arboretum. Organized by Lori Cohen of Havurah on Hudson, the group spread much-needed fresh mulch on the trails and learned about the Arboretum on a hike with Arboretum President Karen JescavageBernard. The mission of Havurah on Hudson is to encourage and facilitate Jewish learning and Jewish identity in children of Havurah family members.
Given her impressive teaching career—Viola was recognized as a National Teacher of the Year—we were honored when she accepted an invitation to join our Board of Directors. She was a dynamic and inspirational member until health problems forced her resignation. We continue to miss her guidance and advocacy greatly. Our directors and members want to extend our sympathy to Viola’s family, and particularly to her grandsons, of whom she was passionately fond. The family has asked that donations in her memory be sent to the Arboretum, where we plan to plant trees as a living memorial. Contributions should be sent to: Croton Arboretum and Sanctuary Inc., PO Box 631, Croton-on-Hudson NY 10520. “The man that grows a tree, is in my opinion, more important than the man who cuts it down, and I foresee that in the future increased wisdom of men, they will reestablish the forests, and provide that great proportion of foliage so necessary to health, knowing that impure air is rendered pure by the vegetable power operating by means of foliage. Benefactors of the human race will set out proper trees in barren places, and restore the departed fertility and beauty.” —Dr. R. T. Underhill Croton Point, 1850
Goodbye and Good Luck . . .
May all your weeds be wildflowers —Unknown
. . .To long-time board member Martin Smolin, who retired at the end of last year. Martin joined the board in soon after it was formed in 1995 and is responsible for many of the Arboretum’s accomplishments and best moments. He brought financial expertise and was responsible for our establishing an informal endowment fund for major initiatives. It was this fund that allowed us to do the Martin Smolin extensive tree work needed to recover from the 2011 storms, and it also made it possible for us to obtain a $10,000 matching grant to extend our boardwalk in 2010. Martin was a very active and dedicated Board member. He served as docent or official photographer for our garden tours, joined in work days, and drafted our original by-laws. He found many excellent speakers for educational events, including Native American expert Barry Keegan and Arborist Craig Stevens (see story on page 2).
He also recruited half a dozen current and former board members, wrote accurate and wonderfully concise minutes as recording secretary for years, and made all those beautiful wooden signs that mark our trails. As a member of the Saw Mill River Audubon Society board, he brought the Arboretum into the Greater Brinton Brook preserve’s wider sphere of protection. His connection there also gave us access to SMRAS experience and expertise that was enormously helpful in building our boardwalks and our gazebo. Plus he kept us aware of the ecological impact of our choices of automobiles. He was a thoughtful and thoughtprovoking member of the Arboretum team, and he will be greatly missed. Thank you for all you have done, Martin; please don’t be a stranger to either the board or our wonderful wetland preserve.
Got comments? Drop us a line at the Croton Arboretum, PO Box 631, or at our website: www.crotonarboretum.org.