Candlelight Concert warms a cold night

On Feb. 7, the coldest night of the year when the temperature dropped to single degrees, a sold-out audience witnessed one of the Greenwood Lake’s Historical Society first events during a Candlelight Concert performed by the Missy Ping Band at the historic Church of the Good Shepherd on Windermere Avenue.

The Valentine’s Day Candlelight Music Concert event, starring the Melissa Pinglora Mahony, was produced by the Historical Society Trustee, Thais Pilieri and her committee, including her two children, Luca and Morgan, who placed all the votive lights and decorations that created a beautiful and romantic environment that complemented the wide-ranging genre of covers that the Missy Ping band is noted for.

Beverages were provided by the Trails End Taphouse, and the proceeds from the event, totaling $1,000, were donated to the Church for originally welcoming the Greenwood Lake Centennial as the venue for some of its events during 2024, and now the Greenwood Lake Historical Society.

Built in 1910, the church is one of Greenwood Lake’s oldest buildings. And when it came time for the village residents to decide its future organization, the church became the venue for an historic vote.

“A meeting was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd to decide what could be done and the citizens, who had long discussed the future of Greenwood Lake, decided to move for the only feasible solution, incorporation. On Jan. 13, 1924 the people of Greenwood Lake voted for incorporation, with 72 people attending, the vote was 52 in favor and 20 against,” according to a story in a commemorative edition of the Greenwood Lake News in 1974.

The mission of the Greenwood Lake Historical Society is to maintain historic buildings in the village, and to honor and preserve that legacy that will continue sharing the story of the community’s vibrant past.