Day long activities at three different locations honoring three different events highlighting Highlands, the Twin Lights and the American Flag will all take place Sunday, October 12 beginning at a breakfast before the 9:30 mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.
Under the direction of the Rev. Joseph Donnelly Council of the Knights of Columbus and the chairmanship of past Grand Knight Michael Napolitano, the day will honor the 125th anniversary of the Borough of Highlands, as well as the date the Pledge of Allegiance was said publicly for the first time, an event that occurred at the Twin Lights.
The third event commemorates the Knights of Columbus who lobbied successfully to have the words “under God” included in the original pledge. President Dwight Eisenhower included it on Flag Day, 1954, 71 years ago, after the phrase was incorporated into the pledge by a Joint Resolution of Congress amending the Flag Code.
The Knights of Columbus, the Rev. Jarlath Quinn, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help St Agnes parish, Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon, members of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, as well as the Highlands Police department, first aid and fire department as well as other organizations and individuals are all participating in the event and attending at least portions of it at its three different locations.
The 9:30 Mass will include a ceremony honoring the events being celebrated, after which all those interested will go across the street to Borough Hall. Napolitano will present a flag honoring the borough’s 125th anniversary to Mayor Carolyn Broullon and council members. While the flag will be raised to honor the presentation, it will then be displayed permanently under glass in the main meeting room at Borough Hall to ensure it is visible and protected from weather. The flag was designed and made by the Knights to honor the borough and its 125 years of history.
Following ceremonies at Borough Hall, which will include a talk by Broullon on the borough’s history, , the group will be at the Twin Lights museum Fat 12:30 for an outdoor ceremony at the site where the pledge was said publicly for the first time. After recitation of the original pledge and honoring its history, a second ceremony will be held beneath the flag with a recitation of the pledge as it is today, including the words ‘Under God.”
Following the Twin Lights ceremonies, the group will meet at the FVW post home adjacent to Huddy Park for a social event jointly hosted by the VFW and the American Legion.
This will be the first time in history the borough is being honored for its anniversary as an incorporated borough in a series of ceremonies also honoring the fact the pledge was originally said at the Twin Lights. The Knights of Columbus celebrate their founder, the Rev. Michael J. McGivney, and the mission of the Knights to create men in their faith and help others in their time of need. Their four core principals are charity, unit, fraternity, and patriotism. Founded in Connecticut, it is now a nationwide organization of more than two million men in more than 17,000 local councils around the world. The Rev. Joseph Donnelly Council, 11660 , was formed at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in August 1995. Its founding grand knight was James E. Smith, Jr., also a former councilman in Highlands.
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