About Town: Summer Sail on Hudson for Good Cause

Considering that we’re in the middle of a cold, dreary, rainy week we’ve decided to set our sights on summer. After all, Memorial Day weekend is less than two weeks away and what else is there to do at work other than read archived copies of our column?

FORT LEE COMMON SENSE SOCIETY SPONSORING SAIL

The Fort Lee Common Sense Society is sponsoring a fundraising sunset sail on the Hudson River on Friday, July 8. The event is a fundraiser for the completion of a statue of Thomas Paine that has been commissioned for Monument Park in Fort Lee, adjacent to the Fort Lee Museum.

Why Monument Park? Because it was from Monument Park on Palisade Ave., where General George Washington housed 30,000 troops, that Thomas Paine walked to the top of the Palisades to bear witness to the fall of New York to the British. It was from the cliffs of our very own Palisades that Thomas Paine found the words that would give voice to a new independent nation. It was here in Fort Lee that Thomas Paine found the words that would help state the cause of why these subservient colonies must fight to become a unified nation, “These are the times that try men's souls.”

George Washington considered Thomas Paine’s quill pen to be the most powerful weapon in his arsenal because it was those words, and all the words that followed that sentiment, that gave unity to a disparate collection of colonies and served to rally the spirits of a war-weary people.

Since there are no authentic remains that would visually identify Fort Lee’s seminal role in the Revolutionary war, The Common Sense Society was formed to raise funds in order to commission and erect a statue to Thomas Paine to commemorate the power of his presence in Fort Lee, and to bring to the attention of a younger generation the significance of Fort Lee in the birth of our nation.

This fundraising sail will take place on the official tall ship of New Jersey, the 1920s era schooner the A.J. Meerwald. The sail departs the Alpine Boat Basin and Picnic Area (Exit 2 Palisade Interstate Parkway) at 5:30 p.m. on July 8, sails down the Hudson River to the New York Harbor, where you can see the Statue of Liberty at sunset, and returns to the Alpine Boat Basin at 8:30 p.m. The sail will include music by historic troubadour Thaddeus MacGregor and a history discussion by Palisade Interstate Park Historical Interpreter Eric Nelsen and the Common Sense Society's Tom Meyers.

Tickets for this fundraising sail are $65. To reserve your spot call 201-693-2763. Seating is limited to 45 people, so make your reservations now. Checks are to be made out to Thomas Paine Statue / VFW Account - all contributions are tax deductible.