Longtime West Windsor resident Harley Pickens, who will be moving soon to a senior community in Somerset, will be honored by his friends, his community, and the Township Council on Monday, January 22. After a short greeting at the senior center beginning at 6:30 p.m., Harley and his wife, Eleanor, will be escorted to the municipal building for the 7 p.m. meeting.##M:[more]##
A 40-year resident of West Windsor, Pickens began his civic work in the 1970s on Grover’s Mill Pond Task Force, a group formed to study ways to clean up Grovers Mill Pond, which became overrun with vegetation in the summer. In 1989 he was appointed as a member of the West Windsor Parking Authority and later became treasurer. From 1994 to 1997 he was a member of the Senior Housing Committee, a group that generated ideas used in the Bear Creek senior community on Old Trenton Road.
His community involvement in West Windsor also includes Shade Tree Committee, vice chairman and Arbor Day chair; Friends of West Windsor Open Space, founding member, trustee, and assistant treasurer; Friends of West Windsor Senior Citizens, member and former officer; and West Windsor Lions Club, board member, program chairman, and past president.
He became the leader of the West Windsor Retirees’ Group following the death of founder Bernt Midland in 1997. He was chairman of the Ron Rogers Arboretum Committee in memory of the late environmental leader Ron Rogers. An active member in the 1998 initiative on open space tax, he was a member of the Mayor’s Special Task Force on Senior Housing from 1993 to 1997; chairman of the 9/11 Memorial Committee in 2002; chairman of the Lisa McNair Memorial Committee in 2003; and a candidate for Township Council in 2001.
Pickens, 78, was born in Baldwin, Long Island. His father died when Pickens was young, and his mother, who served in a defense plant during World War II, worked at a light switch manufacturer company. Pickens earned a degree in industrial engineering from Lehigh University, Class of 1950. He was drafted into the United States Army that year and ultimately became a major general commander in the 78th Division of the Army Reserves from 1980 to 1984.
His employment at RCA brought Pickens to West Windsor where it was an easy commute by train to Rockefeller Plaza. He worked there for 28 years, becoming manager of payroll and personnel systems. Eleanor, worked full time at Mathematica, and then part-time for West Windsor Police in the mid-1970s. Their two daughters now live in New York City and Readington with their families. Their son runs a bed and breakfast in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They have six grandchildren.
The couple is relocating to an active adult community in Somerset. “I plan to get involved in the workings of the over 55 community,” he says. “I won’t have to worry about cutting the grass and it’s all on one level.” The couple will stay in West Windsor until their house sells.
“I will miss my various township varieties and walking around town hall, where I know everyone,” he says.
Tribute to Harley Pickens, West Windsor Senior Center, Municipal Complex, 609-452-2046. Friends and neighbors gather to greet longtime West Windsor resident Harley Pickens on the evening he receives a proclamation from the West Windsor Town Council. For more information E-mail rjslinn@aol.com. Monday, January 22, 6:30 p.m.
