It was December of 1893, workmen had just chopped down the old willow tree that stood beside the bridge on Main Street, near the Fountain Hotel, and had carried the chunks to a nearby business place, there to be used as firewood. For years that tree had stood as a landmark in Glen Rock, a proud and defiant survivor of bygone days when the entire surrounding area was largely wooded. In the early 1890's men were still living who knew not only when the willow had been a sapling, but also when there was no Fountain Hotel, no Main Street, and no Glen Rock.
The editor of the Item, Glen Rock's weekly newspaper, sometimes heard these old-timers reminisce. He believed that the sudden demise of the old willow was newsworthy, and used the occasion to go beyond the mere reporting of facts and wax eloquent.
"So time deals with everything," he wrote. "A few more years or months or days and we too shall pass away. Whiter do we tend?"
The answer to this intriguing question is best left, for the while at least. Our immediate concern, from the vantage point of 2010, is rather this: "Where have we been?"
Recently a small group of residents got together to discuss possibilities for Glen Rock's Sesquicentennial Celebration. Our borough was incorporated in August 1859, but the Centennial (100 years) was not held until 1960. So when do we celebrate our 150th Anniversary? The decision was reached to celebrate in 2010, fifty years from the Centennial. The group proceeded to identify several committees needed to hold this celebration and a board of directors was elected to be known as the "Glen Rock Sesquicentennial Committee."