Gordon Staples, who has kept the streetlights burning in Upperville for 60 years, will be honored by the community in a tree dedication ceremony on Sunday, September 25, 2005, at 12:30 pm. The Upperville Community League, which Mr. Staples helped to found in 1978, has planted a Kousa Dogwood tree at the Upperville Post Office in recognition for all that Mr. Staples has done for the village.

All members of the community and Mr. Staples friends are invited to attend the dedication.

Born in Upperville, Mr. Staples has been a bulwark of the community for eight decades. As a rural postman, he delivered the mail along Upperville's back roads, sometimes by foot when the snow was too high to drive.

He has devoted countless hours to preserving and maintaining Buchanan Hall, working on behalf of the Community League to establish and manage the Upperville Street Light Fund, and caring for the historic Upperville United Methodist Church.

Many residents of the village have been the recipients of his anonymous acts of kindness and generosity.

"Gordon is Upperville's unsung hero," says current Community League President Doug Gow. "This tree is a small token of the community's appreciation for the care and dedication he has shown for so many years."