Landon Cemented in Collingswood Again, But Hard Feelings Remain

Abbe Effron has worn many hats since she decided to build a Michael Landon memorial in Collingswood. Fundraiser. Project cheerleader. Advocate. And on Monday, quite unexpectedly, security guard.

After several months of plot twists and uncertainty, Collingswood re-installed the Michael Landon plaque in Knight Park on a rainy afternoon. So rainy, in fact, that the mason had to let several hours lapse before he could secure the memorial in the fresh concrete.

Effron had rushed to the park after hearing from Patch that the memorial was being reinstalled—she didn’t immediately get notification, but wanted to see the process unfold. But when she learned the mason planned to leave and come back, her new role fell into place.

“I’m staying here. I’m guarding it,” she said. “This concrete is wet and it would be easy for anyone to just come along and pry it out. I’m not leaving a $1,400 plaque to be taken after all of this.”

“All of this” is a succinct way to describe the months of drama surrounding the plaque, installed in 1997 to honor Landon (nee Eugene Orowitz), who spent his childhood in Collingswood.

It started when the borough removed the plaque during a cleanup, in a move that riled Landon fans worldwide, but that the borough said was for safety reasons. And it continued through a police investigation and a promise to re-install the plaque come spring. (Read all of Collingswood Patch’s coverage of the Landon plaque saga here.)

That day came on Monday—to the surprise of Effron. Watching the mason adjust the concrete base, she wondered aloud, “Why was this done in secret, yet again? Why is everyone so embarrassed that this man lived here?”

That’s how it has seemed to Effron since her first efforts to bring a Landon memorial to Collingswood. Early attempts were rebuffed and met with little support. It took the help of a Landon fan club to start the fundraising process in earnest. Eventually, Effron also connected with Cindy Landon, Michael’s widow, who donated the Little House on the Playground equipment that accompanies the memorial.

“It’s really time to let go of this myth that seems to be passed down from generation to generation that Michael Landon hated Collingswood,” Effron said in Knight Park Monday.

It’s true that Landon often spoke about the difficulties of being Jewish in the largely Christian Collingswood in the 1950s. Coupled with an extremely difficult home life—Landon’s mother was emotionally abusive to her son, Effron said—the future actor’s childhood wasn’t idyllic.

It’s also true, Effron added, that to be a Jew almost anywhere in small town American in the 1950s was difficult, and that Landon didn’t blame Collingswood specifically.

“He would come back as often as he could for high school reunions and he always said he was glad to see the town evolve,” Effron said. “But people won’t let go of the idea that he somehow hated Collingswood.”

Above all, Effron said, Landon was a good actor with his iconic roles on Highway to Heaven and Little House on the Prairie. He was also a humanitarian, working especially hard for children’s causes.

“He wasn’t just a star, he was a good person who did a lot for people,” Effron said. “Collingswood should want to honor that.”

Mayor James Maley said earlier this year that Collingswood had meant no harm in removing the plaque, which sat near the play set on a 2-foot cement pillar. He cited safety issues with the plaque’s location.

The plaque’s new location is several feet back from where it once stood and is now behind a bench, making it hard to run into.

“This is just beginning the re-installment, which was always planned,” Maley said Monday. “We’ll put a statement out in a couple of days to make it official.”

The mayor emailed Effron Monday afternoon to let her know about the re-installation. He told Patch there are no plans for a rededication. The Haddon Township mason working on the project, who volunteered his services for free, said landscaping would be installed around the memorial in the coming days.

Although exasperated that the Landon plaque drama unfolded at all, Effron proclaimed herself satisfied that the memorial is back in place. And if the town doesn’t want to rededicate it, she will.

“Absolutely, I want to have a rededication. Maybe the Landons will want to come out again,” she said. “Before all of this started, I didn’t realize how much this plaque meant to people, but it’s clear it does touch people who either knew Michael Landon or were his fans.”