The Unsung Heroes of Light New Hartford

from Dawn Whalen

As part of the Light New Hartford Committee since 2009, there is one thing we fear in the weeks and days leading up to the event. It is not a fear the tree falling over, or of rain dampening the spirit of the day, or fear of the tree lights not turning on when the countdown reaches 1 (only happened once!), or fear of Santa being too busy to make an appearance. Despite the flurry of committee meetings, emails, texts and phone calls, our precisely organized, and might I add, expertly executed, festive holiday town event has this one, ever present worry – our one fear is this: will we have enough cookies at the library…for everyone !!

As some of you can attest, the minute the tree lights up there is a mad dash to the library; a sprint to put Rudolph and his sidekicks to shame! Most often I spend the end of the evening saying thank you and good night to the downtown businesses who remained open for the event so, by the time I get to the library, there is usually not a crumb to be found. This year, however, I was surprised to see ‘leftovers’ – and enjoyed one or two cookies – before dinner!

So, I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shout out and a huge THANK YOU to the unsung heroes of Light New Hartford – our COOKIE BAKERS! Whether store bought or home-made, whether one dozen or 400 (thank you Megan, Abby, Sarah, Mary, Eddie, Aiden and the NWR7 Middle School Cooking Club), whether plain shortbread or Italian frosted (thank you Lisa Roscello Dzis), or whether individually donated or donated through another event (thank you Breakfast with Santa Bake Sale), every last morsel was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Our entire committee is extremely grateful for your cookie contributions (especially Joanne Dahill)! Take a bow, cookie bakers – well done!!

And, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the two folks who provided us with something to wash down the cookies – our apple cider donors – Lyle Crowston and Mary New – we are so grateful for your generous contribution this year!

Until next year….keep the Light in New Hartford!

Submitted by,
Dawn Whalen
Light New Hartford committee member