Masked spectators were hard to recognize
The Town’s tree-lighting ceremony had a new look.
Instead of huddling in front of the firehouse, spectators filled the circle and listened to John and Jackie Gioia play holiday songs. Except for a few spotlights, the circle was dark on Dec. 6. As crowd members wore masks and had caps pulled over their ears, it was hard to recognize people. For example, State Senator James Skoufis was at the ceremony, but I don’t think anyone knew it.
One couple was conspicuous however. Major General John Hussey wore his Army fatigues. And his wife, Janice, had luminous earrings. At exactly 5:30 p.m., Town Supervisor Richard Randazzo introduced the couple who had the honor of throwing the switch to light the tree.
In a brief appearance at the microphone, Gen. Hussey urged the crowd to recognize doctors and nurses as heroes. He also plugged the nation’s police officers. He said there was a bad incident in May but 99 percent of these people are doing a very good job.
Gen. Hussey, who will be relocating to South Carolina in January, then turned to his left to recognize the Town’s two highest officials. He said that Supervisor Randazzo and Deputy Supervisor Helen Bunt represent different parties, but they work together for the good of the community.
The Town replaced the Greater Cornwall Chamber of Commerce as the organizer of the event. Mr. Randazzo praised the chamber for doing an excellent job for several years. Mrs. Bunt, who helped organize the tree lighting, then led the crowd in a countdown from 10 to 0. At the last number, Mr. and Mrs. Hussey threw the switch and the tree was illuminated.
During the pandemic, you never know how many people to expect at an event. The cold may have kept some people from showing up, but there seemed to be an audience of about 100 people. They were scattered around the circle, and some were standing in front of the monuments across the street. Most were hard to recognize.
Once the tree was lit, the Gioias played “Here Comes Santa Claus.” A siren blared and a fire truck drove slowly around the circle. Standing on top of the truck was the jolly old man with the whiskers. He was waving to the crowd.
John and Jackie Gioia quickly packed their vehicle to head to the celebration in the Village. Bruce and Joanne Crozier created many of the holiday figures around the circle. The couple is known for their holiday displays. They won Cornwall’s house decorating contest in 2009.
