photos by Boyd Loving
A true advocate for Ridgewood
Linda McNamara
To the Editor:
I was unable to attend the reception at Village Hall in honor of Roger Wiegand, but wanted to add something from my own personal experiences with Roger.
I started attending council meetings years ago whenever there was an issue that seemed important to me. For a few years, I would notice Roger and Boyd Loving in the audience before ever actually speaking to them. They didn’t know this, but I was always so grateful to see them there as I felt they were the voices of reason in a sometimes diverse airing of opinions.
Soon I was chatting with Roger when I would see him riding his bike through the neighborhood. When I could corner him, I’d pick his brain on whatever the latest issue was.
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So was Wilbur Edwards, Art Actar, Gerald Boyle and Thom Fitzgerald to name a few others who regularly attended council meetings and were true advocates for Ridgewood and we don’t have any plaques for them in town. Why was Rodger different?
Really, enough already…..let him rest in peace…..geez.
This is getting weird now.
I was a friend of Tom Fitzgerald and I spent many hours with Gersrd G. Boyle. He went to many council meetings asking that our public documents not be stored “where the 100 year flood was happening every 25 years.’He was so polite and as I recall was not treated very well. Today’s council does a much better job with honoring comments from the public. Roger was coming to meetings even then. He was such a presence because of his visibility in town on his bike and at every meeting for more than 20 years. He did so many things for our town with no fanfare including making sure our street lights were operating. It may seem over the top because so many people have commented but that is because there are so many people who knew him and miss him.
There were many things that Roger did for the community besides going to Council meetings, although that was a huge contribution of his as he kept many, many expenses and foolish ideas from going forward due to his diligent research and commentaries. He single handedly kept all the fire boxes freshly painted, for the safety of the residents. He recorded and reported all street lights that were burned out. He recorded and reported all double-wood utility poles, for the safety of residents and the aesthetics of the town. Add to that his particular personality that seemed to be a magnet for people from all walks of life and all ages. It was not the family who suggested a memorial, nor was it friends. The mayor and council immediately upon his death stated that they wanted to do something to honor Roger. The other people who are named by the first commenter were all great citizens, and there are many more as well. But for an accumulation of reasons, this council at this time in 2014 decided that Roger was deserving of a commendation. And please note, Roger busted the chops of these elected officials regularly, and clearly disagreed with much of what was going on under their reign, yet they felt strongly enough to unanimously agree to honor Roger. Why get nasty or sour grapes about it? Be proud if you knew Roger, and if you did not know him at least be grateful that he lived among us and did the things he did. Some heroes are unsung. Roger has been honored, leave the unfriendly comments out.
Most saints don’t set out to become a saint, instead they live a devoted Catholic life and spend their time serving God and helping people in need.
Eventually, their good deeds are recognised after their death, and the Pope canonises them.
However, there are a few things that must happen before anyone can become a saint.
1. To become a saint you must first be a devoted Christian, ideally a Catholic.
2. You must lead a saintly life. This includes being selfless and benevolent and an exemplary role model and teacher. It also involves loving and serving God.
3. You must perform at least two miracles. These are seen by the Church as affirmations that you can in fact intervene on the part of humans, and verifiable miracles are required for canonisation.
4. Hope for the best. After death, whether or not you become a saint will be down to living bishops and Pope. They will wait at least five years before beginning an analysis to make sure that your life on earth was pure, virtuous, kind, prudent and devout.
5. Get canonised. The Catholic church has canonised around 3,000 people. According to the church, the Pope does not make someone a saint – the designation of sainthood only recognises what God has already done.
The process of becoming a Catholic saint is lengthy, often taking decades or centuries to complete.
Firstly, a local bishop investigates the candidate’s life and writings for evidence of heroic virtue. The information uncovered by the bishop is sent to the Vatican.
Then a panel of theologians and the cardinals of the Congregation for Cause of Saints evaluate the candidate’s life. If the panel approves, the Pope proclaims that the candidate is venerable, which means that the person is a role model of Catholic virtues.
The next step toward sainthood is beatification, which allows a person to be honoured by a particular group or region. In order to beatify a candidate, it must be shown that the person is responsible for a posthumous miracle.
Martyrs – those who died for their religious cause – can be beatified without evidence of a miracle. In order for the candidate to be considered a saint, there must be proof of a second posthumous miracle. If there is, the person is canonised
I think we should have a statue of Roger at Village Hall.
I met him years ago when he stopped while riding his bike. We talked for over half an hour. He was the nicest man. Wonderful neighbor.
I thing we should change the name of our town to The Village of Wiegand
Let’s put Abdoo’s street sign on every road in town.