C. Denise Di Biasi, Neighbor

I guess my first foray into beautification was back in 1989. I had a store in West Harrison that looked out at the Village Green, a lovely area of beautiful trees and grass. The two block strip of business in what is still referred to as ‘Silver Lake’ faces the green, or, the parking lot. It was always busy and always drab: so, one spring day, I decided to plant flowers in front of my store with my three year old son, Matthew. I purchased a flat of pink impatiens and planted them around the base of the tree right in front of the store (Matthew watered them) and, the rest is history.

I joined the Beautification Committee in 1990. After a few years and a change in the administration, it was disbanded . In 1998, I received a phone call from Hon. Ronald B. Bianchi informing me that he was reinstating the beautification committee. We had a small group of very dedicated volunteers. We started to plant perennial gardens in West Harrison and downtown. We implemented the Park Bench Sponsorship Program, Adopt a Plot Program, and, we selected the design of the metal exterior waste receptacles you see around town. In 2000, we decided to form a foundation where we would have better control of financing and accomplishing our goals: hence, the Harrison Beautification Foundation, Inc. was founded as a 501c3 charity.

The HBF, Inc.’s purpose is to support beautification efforts for Harrison through fundraising. The street clocks you see on Halstead Avenue (2006), and at the Lake Street Triangle (2009), were gifted to the town by the HBF, Inc. The Foundation, also, has paid for the flowers you see throughout our town since 2008, with the exception of the gardens that are sponsored by businesses, or, private individuals. In addition to this, the HBF, Inc. covers the expense of summer weekend watering for the gardens.

If you have an interest in the HBF, Inc., or, if you would like to sponsor a garden, you can contact me at gdibi3@aol.com. Please mention Harrison Beautification in the subject line.