Warwick. Warwick resident enjoys unique 90th birthday celebration
| 27 Jul 2020 | 01:57
A long line of cars with friends flying balloons and dropping of presents at the reviewing area neighbors had set up to watch a nonexistent tractor race. Photos by Roger Gavan.
The parade was led by pipers from the Ancient Order of Hibernians who stopped to change from their traditional music to “Happy Birthday.”
The parade featured a horse and buggy owned and driven by Fred Klepper.
The best gift of all was a kiss from her husband of 55 years.
Anita and Patrick Colman.
You might never guess that longtime Warwick resident Anita Colman, an active member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr, celebrated her 90th birthday on Monday, July 27.
If it were not for the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, her creative and loving husband Patrick would have hired a hall and invited her many friends and neighbors to a huge party as he had in the past.
But under the current circumstances, he decided to organize a parade of cars with balloons and gifts, led by a police car and bag pipers, and featuring a horse and buggy followed by an antique fire truck, to surprise his wife with a birthday celebration she will never forget.
“I was shocked,” said Anita Colman, who refused her husband’s suggestion she dress up for what she believed to be the annual tractor race, a popular neighborhood event.
“It was a complete surprise.”
- Roger Gavan