Greetings from River City. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, I was three weeks past my ninth birthday, and the war was very much a part of our lives. In school, we collected all kinds of things that were recycled for the war; we were all very serious. On the way to and from school, we were reminded of the war every time we saw the rectangular, silky flags with a star or two, or even three, hanging in the windows. Each star represented a member of the family in the military. If the stars were on a gold flag, we knew the person had died.

We had a flag for our eldest brother, Stanley, who, unbeknownst to our parents, tried to join the Marines when he was fifteen, having fiddled with his birth certificate; he was found out. Thousands of boys tried chucking high school for the service.

He went into the Navy when he was 17; he came home a man. I loved him dearly and missed my brother, as millions of others did theirs. Family members on both sides of the Atlantic were in the service, but none closer to me than handsome, charming Stanley. There were service personnel, or reminders of them and the war, everywhere you went.

Our father was a Navy yard crew chief and, like others at home, served as an air raid warden in our community. Wardens with room had a big wooden cabinet on their property filled with things that would be needed in case of a raid. It seemed huge to me. After the war, a Christmas tree was planted there.

Dad sent food packages whenever possible, to Mom’s family in Britain. Our uncle and other family served in the British services. War was all around us. We children were given reflective buttons to wear during air raids when everything went dark, except for the searchlights scanning the sky. You waited in that strange darkness, for the “all clear”.

We were aware of the suffering of adults and children in Europe and the Pacific. We worried for our mother’s family; an aunt riding in a bus that was hit, found the woman in the seat next to her, dead. Another Aunt, who was married for nine years, only saw her husband for two of those years.

This remembrance of D-Day has brought memories flooding. Probably best.

The Newburgh Heights Association is proud to sponsor one young adult between the ages of 16 to 24 to participate in the Newburgh Community photo project: Everyday Newburgh.

This project provides a safe space for teens and young adults to develop, through photography, a wide range of narratives on poverty, housing, gender, sexual identity, substance abuse, and other social and political issues affecting their lives. The goal is to raise awareness in the community of Newburgh through photography and advocacy.

Young adults in the city of Newburgh will participate in 10 free workshops from Saturday July 6th to September 14th 2019. Interested applicants from the Heights, who will be sponsored by NHA, can contact the Newburgh Heights Association. Live in the Heights and interested in being the heights Association sponsored student? Please email Rita and Hannah by June 17.

Contact: Artform@hvc.rr.com

Help keep Circus on the Green soaring! Safe Harbors of the Hudson has created an unique and powerful two-week circus arts program for the young people of Newburgh. This July, for the third year in a row, 25 youngsters ages 12-16, will spend two intensive weeks learning, working and having fun together!

At the close of the program, Friday, Aug. 9, our community will gather to watch a free magical circus performance developed by the youngsters and their professional coaches right in the heart of Newburgh on Safe Harbors Green.

Circus on the Green is free of charge for its participants, making the transformative magic of circus accessible to all students. Give them the chance to fly! Sponsor a student: $1,000 for the whole program; $500 for a week; $100 for a day.

Any donation will help give our young students the experience of a lifetime. Donate online at safe-harbors.org or mail a check payable to Safe Harbors of the Hudson, 111 Broadway, Newburgh, NY 12550. Please make sure to include in the note, that you are supporting Circus.

Join in Trapeze Workshops! If you’ve ever dreamed of flying or joining the circus, Safe Harbors, has made it possible, by bringing Trapeze Workshops to Safe Harbors Green. For more information, go to their website.

The Newburgh Elks #247 host their Annual Flag Day Celebration and Flag Retirement Ceremony on Friday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at Washington’s Headquarters’ Tower of Victory site. Lt. Colonel Brian Silver, 105th ANG, is the guest speaker at this free event, which is open to the public.

You are also invited to join them afterwards at the Elks Lodge at 356 Washington St.

Please do fly the flag. It’s rather sad that so few do. More people have seasonal flags in front of their house (rather colorful and nothing wrong with that) but rarely the Stars and Stripes.

From Aquanetta “Ferry Godmother” Wright; “For Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, I wanted a very special concert of Gospel and Jewish Klezmer [music]. With so much hate, the concert speaks to diversity, showcasing that we are not that different!

The event will be held in the oldest African American church in the Hudson Valley, AME Zion Church in Newburgh. Come feel the spirit of history. Get a ticket now!

For information on tickets and all Ferry Godmother events, go to FerryGodmother.com.

From the Not Too Early File: Celebrate The 4th of July in Newburgh: This year’s Celebration will be held on Thursday, July 4 (Rain date is Saturday, July 6). Vendors are Welcome! The Fireworks Display will light up the City’s skyline, launched at approximately 9 p.m. at the People’s Waterfront Park (former) Consolidated Iron site – adjacent to (former) Gully’s restaurant).

Events will begin at 12 Noon at UNICO Park at the waterfront. Artist/Vendor space is available at $40 per person space, on a first come, first served basis. Applications accepted on site.

The schedule: Vendors and Artists on the River from 12 noon - 9 p.m.; Music to be announced from 7 – 9 p.m.; Fireworks at approximately 9 p.m. For more information and applications, contact Special Events Coordinator for the City of Newburgh, Regina Angelo at (845) 565-5429 or go to cityofnewburgh-ny.gov.

Happy Father’s Day to our thoughtful, loving and affectionate dearests, Chris father of Nicholas and Gary father of Matthew, Amanda and Alex. God bless you both. May love and affection be the fruits of your efforts.

Johann Schiller, a Renaissance man, was wise in knowing this truth, “It is not flesh and blood but the heart, which makes us fathers and sons.” Add, mothers and daughters, as well.

Author Elizabeth Stone got right to the heart of the matter, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

As always, I close with my prayers for God’s blessings on your heads, my dears and on the heads of all our brothers and sisters in this world, from the youngest in the womb to the oldest on earth.