CROWS BEGONE Maryann Perrella and Kathy Fries set up one of many scarecrows in town representing community businesses and services for the fall holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Diana Fredenburg photo
Group displays the beauty of volunteering
Behind the flowers? Manor Renaissance
By Adriana Serafino | Manor Ink
Behind every beautiful town there are people who volunteer, spending their time making the community a wonderful place to call home. In the town of Livingston Manor, there’s a group of volunteers like this that has worked behind the scenes called Livingston Manor Renaissance. Often, volunteers get no recognition for all of their hard work, so Manor Ink is starting a series of profiles to acknowledge the many people who help make Livingston Manor such a beautiful place. Manor Renaissance is one such group.
In 2001, Sullivan Renaissance, an organization intent on beautifying and developing Sullivan County, was created by Sandra and Alan Gerry. That same year, town volunteers organized Manor Renaissance as the local adjunct to the Gerrys’ efforts.
PARADES, TOO Each year, Manor Renaissance participates in the hamlet’s Trout Parade. In 2023, Fries was its Grand Marshal. Manor Ink file photo
Currently, there are about 12 volunteers who routinely work every Wednesday on various projects in the hamlet throughout the spring and summer. They usually put in anywhere from 700 to 1,000 hours over the course of the year.
Manor Ink met with Kathy Fries, one of Manor Renaissance’s hard working volunteers. She’s been part of the group since 2009.
“It’s just to make it a beautiful, welcoming community, so that it’s a wonderful place for people who live here year round,” Fries said about the organization’s work. “If people come to visit, they drive down Main Street and they think this is a town that is loved and treasured.”
Things the group does include the hanging flower baskets, maintaining 22 self-watering planters on Main Street and planting several large garden beds and pocket gardens. They also pick up litter, sweep sidewalks, hang decorations for various holidays, mow, weed-whack and tend the garden near Rte. 17’s Exit 96 that is in honor of Terry Forshay who was a member of Livingston Manor Renaissance.
Every April, Manor Renaissance holds a townwide litter pluck and clean sweep to remove debris and the remnants of sand spread on icy winter roads around the town. Each year the group also stages two fundraisers. In May, a Flower Day helps to raise money in support of beautification and in June there is the annual Trout Parade which provides an opportunity for the group to do additional fundraising.
IN THE SWIM Fries applies paint to a trout silhouette destined for the fence on the corner of Pearl and Main Streets, one of the group’s many projects. Provided photo
Livingston Manor Renaissance does all this and more every season to help the community be a welcoming destination, thus strengthening the bonds between residents and visitors.
“I think what makes our group so successful is that we are organized. When we come to work on Wednesday, there is a plan of what needs to be done,” Fries said. “And this group will work here and there. Not only do we value each other, but we know that the community values us.”
If you’re interested in volunteering, interning, donating supplies or money – or just learning more about Manor Renaissance, visit their website at livingstonmanorrenaissance.com. You too can become one of Livingston Manor’s unsung heroes!