By Betty Hopkinson
Guest Contributor
We lived in a house on Greenridge Drive in the first development in Manlius Village. Each house had a septic tank in the front yard. This area is full of natural springs and therefore this caused us all problems. At the time, Harold was a member of the Manlius Planning Board, and when he was asked if he’d be interested in running for the village board, he decided this could give him the opportunity to perhaps solve the problem of our septic system.
At the time, the village used a caucus to select those who would run for mayor and trustees. Someone nominated the candidate-to-be at a public meeting held upstairs in the municipal building which housed the firehouse and library. This is the building on the corner of Seneca and Cazenovia Road. He won the election and his first big job was to go door to door convincing people of the need for a municipal sewage system. Manlius village became the first municipality in our area to have this improvement.
At the time, village water came from a reservoir on the end of Pleasant Street. One summer, this reservoir was drained and cleaned of mud and debris. The trustees and mayor went in and spent part of a day cleaning the bottom. Harold came home tired and very dirty.
Another time, when the Swan Pond was being used for skating, the snowplow which had been cleaning the snow, fell into the pond. Harold and the DPW joined in fishing it out. This time, he came home with frozen trousers.
In those days, cigarette and cigar smoking was much more common, and allowed in most places. Although Harold didn’t smoke, he returned home smelling of cigarettes and cigars after each meeting.
Housing developments came fast accompanied with planning board meetings to plan the best for the village taxpayers: Stoneledge, Meadowstream, King’s Grant and others all around the village. These were taken into the village limits each in turn. It was important to see to it there would be advantages to being part of Manlius village. They would have municipal sewerage, municipal water, trash and garbage pick-up, an active planning board, etc. Many of these were not provided outside the village at the time.
The village moved their offices to the present building when the school no longer wanted the facility. The fire department moved to the new firehouse and the library moved to share the municipal building with the village. Busses were used to move the library with volunteers, including Harold and I, who carried loads of books to the new space until all was moved.
The Community Council, a group formed to offer recreational opportunities for youth, changed their name to the Parks and Recreation Department, Harold was involved in establishing this group as part of what the village offered. Many, many times he was part of the Christmas hot chocolate servings for those who attended the Christmas Tree-lighting ceremonies. He also could be seen bundled up as they all waited for Santa to arrive on the firetruck. He was instrumental in starting the Ski and Skate Sale each year, and worked to help with the sale, which benefited the Parks and Recreation Dept.
In 1977, the village purchased 39 acres to form Mill Run Park. Harold, always believing in park land, worked every Sunday with police chief Tom Whorrall to plan the trails and the pavilion. He saw to it that whetstones, which wash downstream from the old whetstone facility, were part of the massive fireplace facade.
Extending from the Swan Pond, the lower pond was excavated and landscaped. Harold worked with the landscape designer on these and other landscaping of the grounds around the municipal building. The soccer building and amphitheater were planned and built with his input.
Harold was on many committees to plan for the future involving many, many meetings and producing a long-range plan and street guide. He worked with the fire department to get our new firehouse designed and started. He was always a champion of our volunteer fire department and attended with pleasure the awards dinners the fire department had each year. He was proud of being given an appreciation award by the fire department in 2011.
He helped form the senior center and was part of the center’s board for a long while.
He rode in many parades, Memorial Day and Fourth of July — hardly missing any, sometimes riding in a friend’s convertible, and sometimes on a fire truck. He enjoyed cutting the giant P&C cake on the Fourth, and was a fellow chairman of the first Manlius celebration of the Fourth.
The village fish hatchery and adjacent park was initiated by him. One time when a fish hook was swallowed by one of the four swans, he went with the DPW to watch as the vet removed it from that very long neck. For many years, he was responsible for moving the swans during the winter. Later it was found to be better for the swans to have them left on the pond all winter.
Ever a visionary, he left with dreams of a trail for walkers from Manlius to Fayetteville, and the Erie Canal Park. He envisioned a terraced area above the amphitheater to provide level ground for audiences to place chairs while watching concerts there.
His interest in Manlius Village was great. He enjoyed helping solve the problems which were encountered as Manlius experienced tremendous growth. He enjoyed working with the various committees and mayors and trustees over all those years. He took great pride in his service to the community and always felt the responsibility toward those who elected him.
