September 4, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 9 Area Gold Star Moms will be honored Beautification effort The Ho-Ho-Kus Shade Tree Commission recently planted a kousa dogwood at the Town Green in honor of the group’s com- mitment to the borough’s Tree City USA designation. Each year, the commission dedicates a tree on behalf of the residents to help beautify the borough’s public spaces. Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall (center) is pictured helping with the plant- ing as Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Administrator Don Cirulli (second from left) and Shade Tree Commissioners Kim Mitchell, Frank Grieder, and Chris Raimondi look on. On Sunday, Sept. 29, the United States will honor Gold Star Mothers and families. In Ridgewood, the Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee will commemorate Gold Star Mother’s Day at Van Neste Park, where luminaria will be lit from 7 to 9 p.m. to honor Gold Star Mothers and their families. However, the committee’s goal is to have thou- sands of other luminaria lit throughout Ridgewood on Sept. 29 to honor the Gold Star Mothers and families. American Legion Post 53 (Ridgewood), Washington Elm Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 192 (Ho-Ho-Kus/ Ridgewood), and Ridgewood’s Blue Star Families are com- mitted to bringing awareness to the community and to com- memorating the sacrifices these mothers and their families have made for the country. The community is invited to join in the event at Van Neste Park and to raise awareness for this event by talking to family members, friends, and neighbors. Donations in support of the Ridgewood event are wel- come. Checks made payable to American Legion Post 53 that state “Gold Star Event” on the memo line, should be send to: American Legion Post 53, P.O. Box 1525, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resi- dent Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the women who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Seibold’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congres- sional resolution established the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters.