Community Corner

Eastchester's 350-Year History Celebrated at Anniversary Gala

Written by Susan Kathryn Hefti 

Brought to vivid life during the 350th Anniversary Gala at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville on Friday night, the Town of Eastchester's history was on display at every turn.

Signaling to partygoers that this was no ordinary event, a giant image of The 1665 Eastchester Covenant - the historic document describing the code of civic conduct prescribed by the families who settled the town in the 17th century - was projected above the dance floor throughout the evening.

Adding even more dramatic flair to the festivities, Eastchester Town Historian Richard Forliano dressed in colonial costume as he regaled guests with stories of the town's rich 350-year history.

And with a founder-descendant on hand - in the person of Virginia Kathryn Fish Reynolds Hefti, the widow of the former Commissioner of Planning and Community Development Robert T. Hefti - Forliano dazzled the standing-room-only crowd with the significant historic chapter contributed by Hefti's family.

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A direct descendant of Henry Fowler - one of the settlers of the Town of Eastchester and a Signatory to The 1665 Eastchester Covenant, Hefti - who will turn 89 onThursday, June 5th and is a member of the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution - was thrilled to take part in celebrating her family's historic contributions to the town at the 350th Gala.

A legacy freshly explored in Out of the Wilderness, the forthcoming book on the town’s 350 year history, Mrs. Hefti's family's history is also the topic of an October 24th lecture on Henry Fowler hosted by the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and presented by the Town Historian Richard Forliano

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For more information about the Town of Eastchester’s 350th Anniversary, please visit www.eastchester350.org.


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