Manor Woods: Renewed and Restored

Despite the gloomy day, nearly 30 people showed up to reopen Manor Woods on Saturday.

Village trustee Carl Henninger began the day with a welcome and thank you followed by a ceremony to remove the "No Trespassing" sign. After a tree planting ceremony, those gathered fanned out to begin the day’s journey: to spread mulch and restore the paths at the previously-neglected wooded space.

The paths in Manor Woods began as an Eagle Scout project in 1996, but had fallen by the wayside as those involved moved away to college. With resident Kevin Fry rallying neighbors, the issue was presented to the village and later recognized as something that needed attention.

“The original Eagle Scout project began with organizing neighbors and continued as a neighborhood project for over ten years,” said trustee Henninger. “Interest waned [over time] and there was really no driving force.”

According to Henninger, neglected paths and dead trees became a noticeable issue around 2004.

“Residents in the neighborhood brought [the issue] to the village about a year and a half ago. All of the hazards were removed, it’s safe now. This really is an effort that was jump-started by the neighborhood,” he added.

After Henninger’s welcome speech, resident Kevin Fry started jogging down the sidewalk. He was moving to the next event of the day, which included a tree-planting ceremony.

“This is a Hackberry Tree, donated by Mr. Fry,” Village Forester Peggy Drescher announced. “Pack 52 contributed this to Manor Woods. As a part of Tree City, we’re required to have an Arbor Day ceremony. We thought this would be a good fit since it’s a native tree to our area.”

Fry then said, “With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 coming up, our pack wanted to do something to commemorate that. That’s what this tree is for.”

He continued and said that the Manor Woods project has always been a combined effort of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, the community, and the village throughout the 20 years.