We don’t know much about the county executive’s long-range plans, but we know he’s not thinking about a run for the presidency. The question came up on Oct. 13 while Steve Neuhaus was visiting Willow Avenue School.
It was a return visit. Mr. Neuhaus had come to Willow a year ago after getting letters from Debbie Gilson’s fourth-graders. The kids had asked him to proclaim a Mastodon Day, since so many remains had been found in Orange County.
The Executive granted their request and came back a year later with fresh proclamations. Apparently, Mastodon Day has become an annual event — or an excuse for Mr. Neuhaus to mingle with the teachers and students, which he seems to enjoy.
“Do you need my ID,” the guest of honor asked as he approached the greeter’s desk on a Thursday morning. The receptionist laughed. “That’s not necessary,” she said. “We know who you are.”
Mr. Neuhaus spent a few minutes in Mrs. Gilson’s room, while the kids debated the merits of the Electoral College. And he told them that Al Gore would have been president if the 2000 election had been decided by the popular vote.
The kids weren’t bashful. Almost every hand went up when the Executive asked what they had done during the summer. He went around the room, calling on each one and listening intently to their responses.
The executive would have been happy to stay, but he was due to meet the entire fourth grade in the auditorium — which is where he answered student questions.
“How did you become County Executive?” one youngster wanted to know. Mr. Neuhaus said he was the youngest of four candidates. He formed a slate, called “Team Orange,” with people running for other county positions, and he went everywhere — including farmer’s markets and lemonade stands.
“Would you run for president?” another audience member asked. “It’s very tough on your family,” Mr. Neuhaus responded. “ I have three children — ages six, four and two. My number one priority is seeing my kids have everything they need. Being president is not a family person’s type of profession.”
Besides answering questions, Mr. Neuhaus thanked the kids for reminding him of Orange County’s role in the discovery of mastodons. “You shed a lot of attention,” he said, “on topics a lot of people have forgotten.”
Researchers have found the remains of 30 mastodons in Orange County. There’s an assembled skeleton at SUNY Orange and another at Museum Village. “If people come to Orange County to see them,” the Executive said, “it helps business and it helps preserve our history.”
Town Supervisor Richard Randazzo was in the audience. In introducing him, Mr. Neuhaus mentioned that the supervisor was a Democrat. “We’re from different political parties, Mr. Neuhaus said, “but we get along. At the end of the day we all work together.”
The visit lasted almost two hours. Before leaving, Mr. Neuhaus urged the children to take good role models and follow them.
ABOUT MASTODONS
County Historian Johanna Yaun came to Willow Avenue School with Mr. Neuhaus. She told the students that when mastodon bones were first discovered, people didn’t know that animals could be extinct.
Researchers assumed they had found human bones, which made them think that prehistoric people were giants.
Charles Willson Peale was the first to assemble a mastodon skeleton. He painstakingly pieced it together in his living room while his wife was away. Before finishing the project, Mr. Peale had to remove the window to make room for the tail.
Mr. Peale was married three times, having outlived his first two wives. He had 16 children, whom he named after his favorite artists. Justin Rodriguez, the assistant to the county executive for media relations, accompanied Mr. Neuhaus and Mrs. Yaun.
