- By Dan Veaner
- Around Town
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Marcia Herrick was presented with a framed copy of the resolution naming her 2019 Volunteer of the Year by Lansing Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne, and surrounded by Lansing Center Trail friends. Left to right: Deborah Trumbull, Gary Mallow, Roger Hopkins, Ruth Hopkins, Marcia Herrick, Maureen Cowan, Ed LaVigne, Susan Ruoff, Reenie Baker SandstedThree significant contributors to the Town of Lansing were honored Wednesday at the Lansing Town Board meeting. Marcia Herrick and Doris Straw were named "2019 Volunteer of the Year", and Peter Wheeler was honored for contributing to the history of Lansing as a slave in Ludlowville, and then a free man.
Herrick was singled out for her contributions to the Lansing Center Trail for the past eight years. She is the one who has tirelessly mowed the trail, twice a week, May through October. She used her own lawn mower for the first three years, and kept the trail in such good condition that its use increased exponentially over the eight years. She also came up with and led the Scoops bridge and trail project. She was nominated by Ruth and Roger Hopkins, and the resolution naming her Volunteer of the Year was read and presented by Lansing Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne.
"I am honored and humbled, but this would not have happened without my Lansing Center Trails members," Herrick said. "We're small, but we're mighty. And Pat (Parks & Recreation Supervisor Patrick Tyrrell) and his crew have pulled me out of of more... (laughter) So I thank all of you. This trail is something that this town should be very proud of. It gets a lot of use. It's a kind of sanctuary, and I'm proud to be part of it."
Doris Straw was presented with a framed copy of her resolution by Lansing Councilwoman Katrina Binkewicz and Parks & Recreation Supervisor Patrick Tyrrell. Left to right: Gus Isaac, Owen Davis, Wayne Straw, Doris Straw, Patrick Tyrrell, Katrina BinkewiczDoris Straw was honored for her volunteer contributions to Myers Park since 2015. Straw designs and plants the park's flower gardens each year, and helps the Recreation Department with programs in the park, including running errands and cleaning bathrooms. She helps with other events in the park, for the staff and visitors to the park.
Peter Wheeler (thanks to Joe Wetmore for providing this picture from the book 'Chains and Freedom: Or, the Life and Adventures of Peter Wheeler')Peter Wheeler, born a slave in New Jersey in 1789, was sold to Gideon Morehouse, who moved him to Ludlowville in 1800. Morehouse treated Wheeler brutally, but Ludlowville abolitionists helped him escape. Among them were Thomas and Henry Ludlow, for whom the hamlet is named, and Morehouse's own daughter. The Town Board unanimously passed a resolution to honor Wheeler's memory.
"Town of Lansing condemns the history of slavery in our community and throughout the world," the resolution reads. "This recognition will be etched on a plaque that will be placed in Ludlowville Park."
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