New Warwick Town Historian and Two Recognition Certificates Announced
Warwick Town Historian Richard Hull announced his retirement and awarded Recognition and Appreciation Certificates to Geoff Howard and Bill Olsen at the Oct. 24 Warwick Town Board meeting.
By Dannie Sinisi
Opening the Warwick Town Board meeting on Oct. 24 was Richard Hull, Warwick Town Historian. He announced his retirement after over 20 years of service. He spoke of his love of history and faith in his successors. He also spoke about how he enjoyed his role in giving Certificates of Recognition & Appreciation to members of the community who have outstanding and long lasting impacts on the area.
Nominees for new Warwick historian and deputy historian are Sue Gardner and Alan Held. Gardner is current deputy historian and has many accomplishments that qualify her for the town historian position. She has written a book, won the Martha Washington award, is active with the Warwick Historical Society and library, and she founded Friends of the Hawthorne House.
Held is a scholar of railroad transportation history and, said Hull, has engaged audiences for hours on the topic. He is active with the Historical Society as well.
The last two Certificates of Recognition & Appreciation that Hull will present were given to two Warwick men, lifelong residents Bill Olsen and Geoffrey Howard. Olsen assisted with preservation of Cascade Lake and the surrounding 468 acres of land and acquisition of the Pochuck Mountain range of approximately 500 acres. He and Seymour Gordon created Hallowed Ground Park.
They preserved the entrances to the Village of Warwick by creating a group called the Green Ribbon Committee that put green ribbons around the town. Olsen also cleaned up Greenwood Lake in the early 2000s and in turn created a bi-state commission to help keep it clean. He made a documentary video about preserving agriculture in Warwick in 2010, now available in the library. He worked on the 2002 Village Comprehensive Plan and also served on the Village board in the early 2000s.
Howard is equally accomplished in the Warwick community, where he has lived most of his life, with the exception of his time in Africa, supporting communities there as well. He has served on the Warwick Valley Board of Education and been director of Sustainable Warwick, an organization aiding sustainable strategies in Warwick. Howard is also a founding member of the community garden and orchard at the Warwick Valley Community Center at 11 Hamilton Ave. in the Village of Warwick.
Howard is also a founding member of Community 2000, now renamed Community2Gether, which acts as an umbrella for other organizations and devises its own initiatives. The group did a Visioning project that allowed the Warwick Town and Village residents to inform elected officials about what they envision for the future of the area. They created smaller groups to actualize projects, such as the Wawayanda Creek restoration group, the Wawayonders. Howard led these organizations and projects and mentored others, including me, to do the same.
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Picture one
Geoffrey Howard and Bill Olsen with their awards
Picture two
Richard Hull giving the awards to Bill Olsen and Geoffrey Howard
Picture three
Alan Held, Sue Gardner, Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer, Geoffrey Howard, Bill Olsen and Richard Hull Group Photo