My Town Monday: Piermont, New York

Last Sunday, we got sent up the river. Not to Sing Sing, but to a lovely town very near by, Peirmont, New York. Friends of ours had mentioned the town on the west bank of the river and thought it would make an interesting day trip. As it turned out, they were right.

Originally known as Tappan Landing, the name Piermont came about when the town incorporated in 1850 and the name was changed to a combination of nearby Tallman Mountain and the village's unique man-made feature, the mile long Erie Railroad Pier.

Walking along the pier, which juts far out into the Hudson, presents you with a gorgeous view of the Tappan Zee Bridge to the north and lower Hudson Valley to the south. People where strolling and biking along the mile-long expanse. Fishermen were out casting their lines in hopes of catching perch, shad, striped bass and winter flounder. And several families of geese were raising their young on a nearby bank.

The pier has its own historical significance. During World War II it was a major embarkation point for hundreds of thousands of American troops traveling to fight in Europe.

This Memorial Day it will also be the site of one of the four Watch Fires set along the river as a beacon to honor our fallen military and those missing in action. For twenty-four hours, veterans will keep a vigil at the fire, standing guard as it burns into the night and through Monday.

Several stories tall and built of huge tree-size logs, the Watch Fires themselves are the exact size and configuration of the fires that were set by George Washington's troops to announce the end of the war. The General knew that they would be seen for miles by people living along the river and serve as an announcement that we'd won.

A fitting commemoration then, and now.
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