In an overwhelming outpouring of support for what will become the Reflections Memorial, a fundraiser Sunday jumpstarted efforts to honor and remember those who died and those who showed up to help in October’s Route 30A Schoharie crash.
The afternoon of music, food, and fellowship raised $17,000 for an eventual memorial at the Apple Barrel, site of the horrific October 6 fatal limousine.
But instead of the horror of that day, the hundreds of supporters who turned out ate, drank, and focused on what’s ahead—inspired in part by 13-year-old Cecilia Bauer of Scotia.
Cecilia was at the Apple Barrel the afternoon on the crash, shopping with her grandmother; she’s the one who placed the first 911 call for help.
Afterwards, Cecilia put together a pair of fundraisers, one at her school and another at her aunt’s store.
Sunday, she presented Reflections Memorial Foundation board members Lois Goblet, Tracy Purcell, and Shirley Ball with an envelope stuffed with $320 she raised.
“It’s just amazing how the community pulled together for this,” said Ms. Goblet, who volunteered her family’s Hessian Hill Farm as the site for Sunday’s event.
“Everyone we asked said yes—and then some. We had people just showing up, offering to help.”
Centerpiece to Sunday’s fundraiser was a silent auction that featured everything from Beekman 1802 cookbooks to a child’s Ford pedal tractor to baskets filled with local gifts and gift certificates.
“We divided up the calls and went to town,” Ms. Goblet said. “It was just an amazing effort all around. And it really paid off.”
In addition to the auction, the event sold hoodies and mugs with the Reflections Memorial logo, designed by Linda Quinn and incorporating the Mother Earth symbol of the Iroquois Confederacy, a link between Amsterdam, where most of those killed on October 6 lived, and Schoharie.
Comedian Greg Aidala emceed presentations and music provided by Matt Durfee, the Andrea Scow Band, and Black Fox River Project, and there was plenty to eat and drink from local businesses, who donated all profits to the Reflections Foundation.
The Reflections Memorial Foundation continues to accept donations at PO Box 488, Schoharie, NY 12157 or at any Bank of Richmondville branch.