Alrighty, welcome to the Arbor Day Liberty Tree Planting here at beautiful Hudson Park.

My name is Vin Parisi.

I'm the commissioner of parks and recreation here in Nurishell.

Before we get going with the ceremony, I just want to give a shout out to all of the city staff that made today possible.

Parks department, public works, communications, city manager's office.

This is a this is a group effort, Samantha with the planning.

So how about a round of applause, kids, for everybody with the city staff that made today possible.

Also want to give a shout out to our two classes from Trinity, Mrs.

Melody Castiglia and Miss Joe Rotaco from Trinity Elementary.

And from Isaac Middle School, sixth grade science class led by Dr.

Misner.

Shout out for Isaac.

Thank you so much.

So as you can see here, this entire ceremony is around this Princeton Elm has will be planted as a modern Liberty Tree in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America on this Arbor Day.

So that's what you're gonna really hear about.

And kids, when you are old and gray and still living in Nourishell, you could always come back, visit this tree and say, I was at that ceremony.

Not that any of you are ever gonna be old and gray, but if it happens, we know that this tree will be here forever.

So without further ado, I just want to pass it off to the Neurochell Deputy Mayor, David Peters.

Thank you.

So hello everybody, it's really good to be here.

And um, I just want to say, even if you don't become old and gray, you may become old and bald, but if you do, you know, really enjoy your time.

But but I'm here to, on behalf of this wonderful day in the city of New Rochelle to really thank each and every one of you who are here today for the planting of the Liberty Tree.

You know, trees are really important in our world, and it's such a wonderful thing to have the tree being planted here today.

But you know what makes us even better?

Seeing all of you kids that are here, all from Trinity as well as Isaac and Young.

Let's give them a hand one more time, can we?

Give yourselves a hand.

So we're really happy to have you here, and we hope that the lesson that you hear today and the lessons that you continue to hear are things that as you continue to grow and develop and learn that you understand the significance of trees.

So treat them well because they treat us well.

God bless you, and God bless everybody that's here today.

Thank you.

Turn it over to our city manager, Rafael Melinda.

Thank you.

Thanks, David.

Uh, thanks everybody for being here today.

Um today we gather to celebrate Arbor Day.

So it's a reminder of how important trees are to our lives, to our communities here in Neurochell and to our future.

Uh Arbor Day, just uh you probably heard about it in school already in class, began in 1872, a long time ago in Nebraska, when people came together to plant trees as a simple but powerful act of stewardship.

Since then, it's grown into a nationwide tradition dedicated to caring for and planting trees.

No Rochelle, if you didn't know, is is proud to be a designated tree city, USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.

It's it reflects our ongoing commitment to our urban forest.

And before we begin today, I want to just echo what uh Vince said.

Thank you to our city council, uh, our uh 250th committee members, public works department, parks department for all the work you do.

I want to also recognize um our staff uh here at City Hall for putting all these events together.

Uh so Arbor Day is a is it has a special meaning in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States, we are not just planting a tree today, we are planting a Liberty Tree.

Historically, Liberty trees were symbols of hope, freedom, and people coming together for something bigger than themselves.

By planting one today, we continue that tradition.

And I believe the first tree that was considered a Liberty Tree was back in Boston, and they planted it at the at the Boston Harbor, and that tree became grew into a big elm tree, and it acted as a kind of a rallying point for everybody that was opposed to what was going on, what Britain was doing to the United States, to the to America at that at that time.

So it became a real symbol.

So that was really the first kind of real liberty tree.

So thank you again to our students from Trinity and from Isaac Young, as as Vin mentioned, this tree is gonna grow, so you could come back and take a look at it.

You can see how it is now, but in a couple years it'll be really big.

It's gonna go strong and taller every year.

So for all of us, it's a reminder that even the actions can small actions can make a lasting difference.

One day others will gather under this tree because of what we do here today.

So thank you and happy hours.

All right, kids, and if you didn't know, that back, just so you know, that back building right there is part of our marine harbor unit with our police department.

They do a good job of keeping us safe here at Hudson Park.

Shout out to our police commissioner, fire in chief that joined us here as well.

Without further ado, somebody that's been on the forefront in our city and helping us in terms of planting of trees and caring of trees here within the city of Neurochell.

Please welcome District 5 Council members.

Thank you, Dan.

Can I put this in here?

Okay.

All right.

Hi everyone, happy Arbor Day.

It's so great to be with all you today, especially our students from Trinity and Isaac Young.

I want to start with a quick question.

How many of you like trees?

Oh, good, good.

Because trees do a lot more for us than what we might realize.

They give us shade on a hot day, they clean the air that we breathe, they provide homes for birds and wildlife, and they even keep our neighborhoods cooler and protect us from flooding.

So when we plant a tree, it's doing something simple that makes a real difference, not just today, but into the future.

And the tree that we're planting here today is a part of something much bigger too.

Because all across Neurochell, we're working to plant more trees and to make sure that every neighborhood gets the benefits from them.

So that's what matters today.

It's not just a ceremony.

We're building something together.

And the best part is that you're a part of that.

And so I just want to say thank you for being here and helping us plant this tree today.

Please welcome the chair of America 250, the Neurochell Committee, which is going to be celebrating the 250th birthday of America.

You're going to hear a lot about this as the year uh keeps going on.

Lisa Burton.

I don't know if you wanted to hold it or not.

Hi, can everyone hear me?

Yes?

Okay.

So who's having a birthday here today?

Does anyone have a birthday today?

This month?

This year?

Yay!

Okay, so America is also having its birthday this year.

That's what we call the 250th anniversary.

Because this is the year 250 years ago is when our nation was formed.

So I'm going to read something from Barbara Davis, who is our historian.

Does everyone know what a historian is?

Yeah?

She gets to tell the story and keep all of the stories of our city together in one place.

She's our historian.

So if you ever have a question about what happened 50 years ago, what happened 300 years ago?

Barbara Davis is probably the best person to ask and the first person that let you know.

So she couldn't be here today, but she wanted me to share a story about what happened in Neurochell 250 years ago.

So this is her words, not mine.

Let me take you back to almost 250 years ago.

October 22nd through October 25th, 1776.

There were probably less than 500 families living in New Rochelle when British troops marched this into this area to land what it in what was mostly farmlands and orchards.

The troops came in along the border with what is now Pelham, marching up from New York City and suddenly setting up camp here on the eastern ridge of what is now North Avenue, about where the Beachmont neighborhood is.

Do you know where Beachmont neighborhood is?

You know where the high school is?

It's right around there.

That's where the British came all the way from New York City, and that's where they set up camp.

On October 22nd, 1776, the families living here, this area where Hudson Park is, would have seen some unfamiliar ships sailing in.

The large sailing vessels landed just a bit south of here on what is now Davenport Neck.

The ships carried 8,000 more soldiers, Hessen soldiers as they were called then.

The British had hired these German soldiers to help with them with up the with the uprising of colonists.

They marched through town and encamped on the west ridge above the middle road.

By the night of the 22nd, there were more than 10,000 British and Hessan soldiers occupying New Rochelle.

Do you know how big 10,000 is?

There are 10,000 students in all of Neurchelle.

So if you took all the students from Kidney Garden to the high school, that's how many British soldiers were here.

And that and the only people who were actually living here was only the size of your high school.

So for three terrifying days and nights, Neurchell families tried to protect their homes and farms as their houses were raided for food, livestocks, and money from by some of these soldiers.

We have firsthand accounts of these acts, stories of how Hessen soldiers stole the town's supply of salt stored in the church, how they stole food from the table and from the hearth where it was cooking, how they caused bodily harm to Neure Shell men and women.

There were some patriots, colonists who fought for their independence, who came to their aid.

Blood was shed.

We know from an interview from Mr.

Current that the wounded British soldiers were taken by horse-drawn carriage here to this point known as Bonnie Fort Port.

Mr.

Corinth was the driver of the wagon.

Hudson Park is a fitting place for our 250th Liberty Tree because this place had a role in the Revolutionary War.

Two, it is the place where New Rochelle's first white settlers were memorialized.

Up on a hill, there is a memorial with the 151 Huguenot family names of the colonial period.

One of the names is current.

That's the same as the man who took the British wounded to this spot, the same family whose cemetery started during the revolution and is still active today.

It's located at the intersection of Eastchester Road and Webster Avenue.

So that was Barber's remarks.

And right now we're gonna just read, and I think everyone has it.

Do you have the poem, The Liberty Tree?

So it was written by Thomas Payne.

Thomas Payne was a revolutionary war patriot who had owned a property in New Rochelle.

And you can go see his house today, and there's a museum right next to it.

It's on North Avenue near the high school.

It's it's Payne Cottage, and then there's the Payne Museum, which I am proudly a board member of.

And we're right next door, so we hope you all come and visit us to see more and learn more about Thomas Paine.

But this is his poem about the Liberty Tree.

In a charity of light from the regions of the day, the goddess of liberty came.

Ten thousand celestials directed her way, and hither come the conducted the Dane.

A fair bunny branch from the gardens above, where millions were with millions agree.

She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love and the tree she named Liberty Tree.

The celestial exotic struck deep in the ground like a native it flourished and bore.

The fame of its fruit drew the nations round to seek out this peaceable shore.

Unmindful of names of distinction, they came, for freedmen like brothers agree, with one spirit endured, they won friendship pursued, and their temple was the Liberty Tree.

Beneath this fair tree, like patriarchs of old, their bread and contentment they ate, unvexed with the troubles of silver or gold, their care of the great and grand and the great, with timber and torah, their old England supply, and support her powers on the sea, her battles they fought without getting a growth for the honor of Liberty Tree.

Behir, oh ye sway this profane, how all the tyrical powers, kings common and lord are united amidst.

To cut down the gardens of guardians of ours from the east to the west, blow the trumpets to arm through the land, let the sound of it flee.

Let the far and the near all unite with a cheer in defense of our liberty tree.

Thank you.

All right, please welcome Senior Tree Inspector Paul.

Hi everyone.

Happy Arbor Day.

I'm Paul Rebel, Senior Tree Inspector, as Vince said.

Today, you children will help plant a Princeton elm.

It's a fast-growing, strong tree that can resist many diseases and bugs.

The elms can be identified by their dark gray bark that develops into having rough and deep lines.

In spring, it has small flowers that later become seeds with little wings called Samaras that spin in the wind like tiny helicopters.

Its green leaves of summer are oval with pointy leaves and serrations along the edge that look like small shark teeth.

The leaves upon the arching branches of this tree, which can grow 50 to 70 feet tall and almost 50 feet wide, too, will produce lots of cool shade.

They're great to see in autumn too when they turn a golden yellow color.

As this tree grows bigger, the more spectacular it will be to see in autumn each year.

By planting this tree today, you're helping our community grow something strong and beautiful.

Thanks for being tree helpers today.

Happy Arbor Day.