Trees planted for lost soldiers in Summit Hill

The Summit Hill Shade Tree Commission planted trees Saturday and recognized the borough’s first military members killed in action in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Lou Vermillion, chairman of the commission, said it was the 19th annual Arbor Day ceremony in the borough. He said it is “somewhat special this year since it is the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day and the Summit Hill Legion Post will participate in the program.”

The military members honored were:

• William Thomas Davis and Harry Lawton, who both served in the U.S. Army in World War I.

• Joseph John Yurko, who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and who had served at Pearl Harbor.

• Kenneth James Breslin, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

• George Michael Bevich Jr., who served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.

Summit Hill Mayor Paul McArdle, a veteran of the Korean War, said of the deceased soldiers, “They all left here as teenagers. We came back. They didn’t.”

McArdle played taps on the bugle.

Also taking part in the event was Kevin O’Donnell, commander of the Legion Post.

Besides memorializing the war veterans, trees were also planted in memory of John “Larry” “Crimpet” Crampsie, a Summit Hill native who served in the Vietnam War and after that established a successful real estate business in the Lehigh Valley. Crampsie died Aug. 14, 2017.

One other memorial tree planted was in memory of Ryan E. Jones of Summit Hill, a health care worker who died at the age of 42 on Oct. 4, 2013. The tree in memory of Jones was contributed by his mother, Ellen Jones, and his brothers, Richard and Brad.

The tree in his memory was donated by six of his friends, who called themselves “The Hillers Lunch Group.” They are Charles Vaccaro, Thomas Vaccaro, Tom Bonner, Joseph Castagnola, Wendell Pribila and Vermillion.

The trees in memory of the military members were planted earlier this week at the American Legion Post in Summit Hill.

Vermillion introduced the other members of the Shade Tree Commission. They are John Kupec, Mary Ann Szczecina, Mary Helen Shelton, John Kupec III, Kevin Ruch and Ed Kerestes.

In the past 19 years, nearly 500 trees have been planted in Summit Hill through the Shade Tree Commission, Vermillion said.

He said, “One of the commission’s responsibilities is to maintain our new trees through pruning and mulching as well as removing and replacing hazardous or diseased trees.”

Kupec is a master gardener and an adviser to the commission on trees. He said his goal is to create an arboretum in the town.

During the program, a banner was presented to the commission designating Summit Hill as a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation. This is the 13th consecutive year the borough received the designation.

Steve Ziegler, service forester with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, presented the flag to Vermillion. Ziegler said that the only other Carbon County town meeting the criteria for a Tree City USA designation is Lehighton.

He said four criteria are considered in the Tree City status: the town must have a shade tree commission, must have an ordinance in place for tree care, must designate $2 per capita to its parks and must have an Arbor Day ceremony.