11 / 20
LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 2, 2016
by Lynne Bellusico
A couple of days before
the Oatka Festival, I was told
that the firemen had installed
a light to shine on the Soldier’s
Monument on Trigon Park. I
had hoped to get an article in
the Pennysaver, but the time got
ahead of me. They told me that
the light was installed in memo-
ry of George Cory. I suspect that
some of you remember George.
He was an electrician in LeRoy.
He installed the electrical boxes
on Trigon Park when more elec-
tricity was needed for the food
booths for the Oatka Festival.
He was our electrician at LeRoy
House for many years. I remem-
ber the day I pulled out some
very old light bulbs to show him.
With a funny grin on his face, he
said, “Let’s try them.” “Isn’t that
dangerous?” “No, not at all,”
and he screwed the old bulb into
the socket and turned the switch.
Sure enough, the light bulb was
bright, and I can still see his face
when the coils lit up. He was just
like a kid, fascinated with that
light bulb.
George was a proud member
of the LeRoy Excelsior Hook
and Ladder Company. He had
served as their President. He
also served as the Fire Police
Captain, and was always first to
a fire to set up the safety line.
I remember him in his crisp
white firemen’s shirt, usually di-
recting traffic during the Oatka
Festival. George always wanted
George Cory’s Light
to put lights on the Soldier’s
Monument. But he never had the
chance and George died in 2003.
But the members of the Excel-
sior Hook and Ladder Company
remembered George’s plans for
the monument and thought there
was no better way to remember
George than to install the lights.
George’s wife, Jane, thought it
was a wonderful idea, so on Fri-
day night, July 16, the firemen
gathered with Mrs. Cory and
George’s son, to officially turn
on the lights. This fall as it gets
darker earlier in the evening,
it’s easy to see how wonderful
the Soldier’s Monument looks.
I know George is smiling.
The Soldiers’ Monument was
finally completed in May, 1906
after many years of planning.
Although it commemorates
soldiers from the Revolution
and the War of 1812, it was pri-
marily a project initiated by the
members of the Grand Army of
the Republic, to commemorate
those who had served in the War
of the Rebellion, known today as
the Civil War. In fact if you read
the bronze plaque for the Civil
War veterans, it is labeled “War
of Rebellion.”
The Union soldier is made of
bronze and was designed by Ru-
dolph Schwartz. He is 7 feet tall
and stands on a 13 foot plinth
of Barre granite. The granite
is carved with crossed swords
and a laurel wreath. Each cor-
ner has a carved canon. On the
west side is a canon and palm
branch. The east side had a bugle
and oak wreath. The south side
has a musket and canteen and
cartridge box.
As I was reading about the
ceremony in 1906, I thought
it was appropriate for George
Cory, that on the day that the
statue was dedicated, the Excel-
sior Hook and Ladder Company
was in attendance and they had
invited the members of the Atti-
ca Hooks to be their guests. The
firemen – many who had served
in the Civil War, were part of the
10,000 people who assembled in
LeRoy that day.
Like many things that we
take for granted in our busy
lives, it is easy to overlook the
landmarks that are unique to
our community. Not just on Me-
morial Day, with the speeches
and the gun salute, but every
day, let this monument remind
us of those who have fought
and preserved our liberty and
the American way of life. And
thank you to the Hook and
Ladder Company, for making
this happen.