On a balmy, carefree Saturday afternoon I joined Deputy Mayor Kevin Greene and Trustees Gerry Bambrick, Tom Tweedy and Jim Rhatigan to march in Rescue Company's 75th anniversary parade.

In a ceremonial procession we promenaded with the Floral Park Fire Department accompanied by 12 neighboring fire departments whose serried ranks, convoy of trucks, marching bands and hand salutes paid tribute to the men and women of our Rescue Company who have, under the most dire circumstances, nobly upheld the great tradition of public service.

The Floral Park Fire Department Rescue Squad was loosely organized in 1929 under the guidance of Arthur J. Ennis and then received full recognition a year later in 1930. The original 18-man squad did not have a rescue truck and the highest training was the Advanced Red Cross First Aid Course. During the early days this squad did not make rescue calls to residents but attended mostly to firemen who were injured or needed medical attention especially during Fireman's Day Tournament competitions.

Things have evolved at a remarkable pace since then. Our Rescue Company responds to some 900 calls a year and is equipped with an advanced life support ambulance and personnel who are highly trained to meet any medical emergency.

As the trustees and I mounted the reviewing stand on Tulip Avenue to observe the culmination of the march, we could not help but feel the justifiable pride that our fire department so richly merits. The spectacle and pageantry we witnessed was all the more grand knowing that underneath the tableaux of color and sound was real substance. Every one of those marchers has seen and faced the worst with a presence of mind, courage and fortitude that truly reflects human nature at its best.

We are happy to report that the sidewalk program on Mayfair Avenue is complete but work in the west end of the village will continue. Many of you may have observed that we have been replacing the sidewalk around village hall. We want Floral Park Village Hall and the environs encompassing and surrounding it to be something that our residents are proud of.

Across from village hall is our beautiful Heritage Park that was dedicated in May of 2001. It is completely financed by privately raised funds and is adorned with a panoply of plantings, brickwork, running fountains, a gazebo and many other improvements. This past week our village, represented by myself and Trustees Tom Tweedy and Jim Rhatigan and the Heritage Park Committee, received a $6,000 grant from New York State Assemblyman Thomas Alfano at the Heritage Park site. Thank you once again Tom Alfano for your continued support.

I also want to thank the Heritage Park Committee for their superb efforts. It was a special delight to see Nancy McLoughlin, our former village administrator and now a member of the Heritage Park Committee. I had the pleasure of working with Nancy for five years and being with her once again, I can truly say that her sparkle and grace is every bit as real as I remembered it.

The idea of Heritage Park is a simple but noble one. It begins with the notion that the history of the past can inspire the dreams of the future. Progress begins with the birth of an idea - whether it's to build, to grow or to create. So while we shouldn't live in the past, the past should live in us.

Three years from now, in recognition of our heritage, we will be celebrating the centennial of our village's incorporation. We have established a Centennial Committee to commemorate the event. It is altogether fitting that we should do this. Milestones are important; they not only mark a significant point in our development to look back and reflect upon but also open a pathway for things to do and goals to reach. Our 100th anniversary will give us an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary success of our quaint little village situated on the cusp of the world's greatest city.

There will be a Centennial parade, maybe even a Centennial Ball, a commemorative journal, invitations will be sent out to local, state and national dignitaries. We hope to be entered into the Congressional Register that day and perhaps even have a postage stamp issued in honor of our founder, John Lewis Childs.

Most ambitiously we will try to once again tell the story of Floral Park by publishing a richly chronicled new history of our community. In 1958, Edith M. Purcell wrote the story of Floral Park for the 50th anniversary of the village's incorporation entitled Across the Years, which can be found on the shelves of the Floral Park Public Library. It was a fine effort that traced the arrival in 1874 of John Lewis Childs from his birthplace in Buckfield, Maine to Floral Park then known as the village of Hinsdale. The book then distills into a history of the many organizations that have enriched our village.

As a result of scrupulous research by Walter Gosden, our village historian, a plethora of fresh information has been uncovered since the publication of Edith Purcell's book. These prized nuggets include numerous interviews conducted back in 1955 that have never seen the light of day. Some of these residents had lived in Floral Park for 70 years and their memories go back to the earliest days when the great promise of our village still slumbered in its womb.

Buttressed by this fascinating new information and other artifacts the time seems ripe for re-discovery. Unlike Across the Years, which had no pictures, Mr. Gosden plans to embellish the new publication with some early photographs of Floral Park giving a more full-length portrait of our yesterdays.

This journey back to yesteryear will be a stimulating and provocative adventure, one that will be in good hands. For in addition to being a talented local historian, Mr. Gosden is also a fine writer whose quill will give the poignant story of our past the lift and lilt of literary expression.

History can be the most humanizing of the arts for it is about the struggles and achievements of people like ourselves from whom we can draw inspiration. Indeed, the history of Floral Park is a story about us for it is we who made Floral Park just as surely as it is Floral Park who made us.

We are looking for volunteers for the Centennial Committee. If you are interested call Ginny Appel at 326-6300. These are exciting times - be a part of it.