2025 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration At Springfield Baptist Church From Southern Dutchess Coalition

The Springfield Baptist Church and the Southern Dutchess Coalition will again be hosting the 47th Annual Birthday Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 20th, 2025 (rain date Monday, February 17th, 2025) at the historic Springfield Baptist Church (8 Mattie Cooper Square, Beacon, NY).

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. He died on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. “Dr. King was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the Civil Rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.” (Britannica)

This year's theme of the celebration in Beacon is "Keeping The Dream Alive." The organizers say of the event: “The 2025 MLK birthday celebration promises to be another glorious example of Beacon's Unity, Community and Diversity. This special occasion will bring together members of our community to honor Dr. King's enduring contributions to civil rights, equality, and justice. We have planned a meaningful program that includes inspiring speeches, musical performances, and reflections on Dr. King's impact. We look forward to your participation and attendance. God Bless You All!"

2025 Celebration Lineup:

8:30am - Continental Breakfast
9:30am - The 11th Annual MLK Jr. Parade (Founded by Pete Seeger)
10:30am - Annual Celebration Service
2025 Annual Preacher: Rev. Barbara Williams

Lunch will be served directly after the service. Attendees may eat in the dining room or take out their meals.

Featuring the Southern Dutchess Mass Choir

Under the direction of Minister John Harris, all singers are invited to join the SDC Choir to sing at the Martin Luther King, JR. Birthday Celebration on January 20th. Rehearsal is scheduled for Saturday, January 18th 2025 at 1pm at the Springfield Baptist Church.

Essay Contest Open

The 11th Annual SDC Essay Contest is open. Details include:

• Open to 1st-12th Grade Students

• Essay Title: Theme: “Keeping The Dream Alive”

• Due Date: January 9, 2025

• Contact: Mr. Matt Bown 845-522-0780

Donations

This event is free. Say the organizers: “Your consistent monetary contribution to our past celebrations helps to defray the cost of the overall expenses for this day. Donations can be mailed to: Southern Dutchess Coalition, P.O. Box 333, Beacon, NY 12508 Please make checks payable to the Southern Dutchess Coalition.

Organizers

Jennifer Baker-LcClinton (Executive Chairperson)
Sharlene Stout (Executive Vice Chairperson, Music Coordinator)
Bonnie Champion (Annual Parade and Essay Contest Coordinator)
Matt Bown (Annual Parade and Essay Contest Coordinator)

How to Discard, Throw Away or Recycle Your Christmas Tree In Beacon 2025

In Beacon, when you are ready to discard your Christmas, simply remove all of the decorations, lights, tinsel, anything that is not an evergreen needle, and place it outside on the curb.

The City of Beacon’s Highway Department will come by to pick it you. To ensure pickup, you could send them an email or call, but doing so is not necessary.

The tree will be taken to Beacon’s Transfer Station (formerly known as “The Dump” where they used to burn the trash), and will be placed into the city’s large mulching pile, which is turned into dirt, that you can pickup up for free any time in your own vehicle.

When asked about the pickup deadline, by way of Carolyn Bennett Glauda to the City of Beacon’s Facebook page, who said: “For those of us who like to keep festivities going until January… how long will the city keep picking up trees?” the City’s Facebook page responded: “There is not a set deadline to pick-up at this time. You should be fine to keep the festivities going for awhile yet!”

The City’s Facebook page might be managed by Ben Swanson, who manages several technical aspects for the City, hence the cheery tone.

Riverview Funeral Home Merges With Libby Funeral Home

The Riverview Funeral Home has announced via press release that this December, Libby Funeral & Cremation Services will transition to Patrick Halvey at Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey. All business will be conducted from the Riverview Funeral Home location at 2 Beekman Street, Beacon. The Libby location at 55 Teller Avenue will be closed.

The plaque at Libby Funeral Home, which reads: “In Honor and Memory of Harrison S. Libby, 1936-2015 Founder and Previous Owner of the Libby Funeral Home. God Bless You and God Bless the United States of America.

Current Libby Funeral Home owner, Matthew Fiorillo, and General Manager, Joseph Schuka, stated, “This is the merging of two great legacy funeral homes in the city of Beacon. We have chosen Patrick and his team at Riverview Funeral Home because we trust them to continue caring for families with professionalism and to uphold our outstanding level of service. We believe the families of Beacon deserve nothing but the best and made this decision because we know it will have a positive impact on them.”

Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey is a third-generation business founded by Patrick Halvey’s grandfather, John Halvey in 1933. Patrick relocated the business to its beautiful location overlooking the Hudson River in 2017. The brand-new facility is elegantly appointed and features one of the largest viewing rooms in the Hudson Valley.

“I have immense respect for the legacy and tradition of Libby Funeral Home. As a homeowner in Beacon with extensive community involvement, I welcome the opportunity to service all members of our city with the comfort and care instilled by my father and grandfather,” said Halvey.

Riverview Funeral Home Used To Be In A House Also

Before relocating to Beekman Street, Riverview Funeral Home used to be in a house on Willow Street. It moved to its current location in late 2017, which they completely renovated after that property was a series of restaurants. According to Patrick Halvey, the third-generation son who was taking over the family business at the time, positioning funeral homes in neighborhoods was historically preferred by grieving families and well-wishers in times past.

Years ago, more parking spaces drew Halvey to the Beekman location. They have 36 marked spots in the new lot, with room for parking in back and front yielding another 12 spots, for a total of 48 [parking spots].

To contribute to Beacon’s walk-ability, Riverview Funeral Home extended the sidewalk near their property from a city-owned lot on 9D to Beekman Street to accommodate walkers to and from the train and Dia:Beacon. During their construction.

Anti-Genocide Jews From Beacon Hosted Human Menorah On Last Night Of Hanukkah

Flyer Artwork: Artist Unknown - Please Contact Us if you would like credit.
Photo Credit: Rebekah Azzarelli

Some Jews from Beacon hosted a human Menorah Lighting at Polhill Park on the last night of Hanukkah with the theme “Nobody Is Free Until Everybody Is Free: Lighting the Menorah For Solidarity and Peace.” The flyer for the this second lighting was distributed during the first lighting hosted by Chabad Beacon, which did not mention the genocide at all. This second lighting was in response to that.

The artwork for this flyer included the red watermelons and poppies, synonymous with Palestine’s liberation; peace doves, synonymous with the end of violence; the menorah; and the Star of David, which has come to be synonymous with Judaism, which is on the flag of Israel.

The Beacon Coalition group, which was formed during the Ceasefire movement in Beacon, also shared the lighting to their subscribers. A resident of Beacon who spoke out during that movement, Phoebe Zinman (see her Letter To The ALBB Editor here), was one of the organizers of this human menorah for freedom. Last year, at least 50 Jews from Beacon dedicated their 8th night of Hanukkah to demanding a ceasefire from NY Congressman Pat Ryan.

“Beautiful celebration,” said Rebekah Azzarelli to A Little Beacon Blog about this lighting. “Each candle lighting in the human menorah had their prayers.” In attendance were other citizens of Beacon, including Loren Miller, Dara Silverman, Arthur Camins and Tina Bernstein (listen to Tina’s podcast with ALBB, “A Jewish Voice Wanting To Be Heard Regarding Palestine And Israel” here), Ilana Friedman, Elizabeth Greeblatt, and others.