The Groton Olde Home Days that wasn’t

The last weekend in August 2020 should have had the village of Groton buzzing with activity as it celebrated Groton Olde Home Days (GOHD). Instead, due to COVID-19, the days passed by without the usual highlight of summer in Groton taking place, which left its co-chairs Flo Allen and Christine Brown Personius feeling “lost and bored.”

“I feel like part of my life is missing,” Allen said.

Both she and Personius further elaborated on how much they missed the excitement of the last few weeks leading up to the GOHD weekend.

“I have been feeling so bummed about it,” Personius said. “But I have received some emails from different people saying how much they missed it and thanking us for all our work with it, so that has helped.”

Both Allen and Personius have lived in Groton all their lives, attended Groton Central School, albeit in different decades, and hold fond memories of GOHD for as far back as they can remember.

Allen recalled that GOHD was a thriving event for a long time, but by the late 1980s, it “began to fizzle out” due to lack of workers and attendance.

“Lee Shurtleff stepped up and organized the event, along with Chris Dempsey, for a couple of years,” Allen said. “Lee and the Groton Fire Department had ‘always’ been in charge of the grand parade and still is today.”

In 1991, Personius’ parents, Doug and Paula Brown, stepped up and volunteered to run the festival, which they did successfully for the next nine years. When they stepped down, the Village Office ran it for two years and then hired an event planner, who ran it for another few years.

Personius fondly spoke about the excitement of the Playland Amusements carnival that her father incorporated into GOHD and the “huge zoo” they brought in with “monkeys and giraffes and all kinds of animals.”

Allen’s first official involvement in the festival began about 15 years ago when she began heading up the annual Craft and Collectibles show as a fundraiser for the Groton Historical Society, a task she still undertakes today.

Though the weekend event was still happening, Allen had a desire to see it become more family-friendly and community-oriented, so she teamed up in 2015 with Kathy Thomas of Village Stitch in Groton, and for the next two years, they brought in a circus.

The circus was a good start toward drawing families back, but when Personius joined them to help organize the event in 2016, she said she “remembered all the things from my childhood, and I wanted to bring them back.”

Allen shared the vision to bring a carnival back, help support the local businesses and create a weekend of fun for the whole community. She and Personius have been a team since GOHD 2017.

It was that year that Personius contacted Joe and Roberta Sofo, owners of Playland Amusements, on the advice of her father, Doug, as that is the very same family-owned carnival he used when he ran the event because he trusted in its 40-year stellar reputation.

Not only has the return of the carnival been a success, but it has also served as a great fundraiser to subsidize more free events for everyone to enjoy, such as the CirqOvation Supershow, Ross Park ZooMobile, pony rides, petting zoo, horse and wagon rides, Sir James the Balloon Artist, Kelly Davis Events with Paw Patrol characters, the Cornell Big Red Bear, Cornell Raptors, Cayuga Nature Center, the Physics Bus, Groton Cruisers Car Club show and so much more.

Personius said she is the visionary.

“I get the ideas and start making plans, and Flo brings me back to the budget and balances me out,” she said.

The two have discovered they really complement each other, and both have a lot of fun with the whole thing.

Allen keeps herself busy working at TST BOCES by day, where she has been for nine years, currently in the Exceptional Education Department. She is also the treasurer for the Groton Fire Department, which she has been involved in for 25 years as an EMT. She and her husband, Jim, have two daughters, Jamie and Julie, and three grandchildren.

Personius has worked in her own family business for 20 of the 37 years that her father has owned Doug’s Trash Removal, right here in Groton, which is the only locally owned and family-operated trash removal company in Tompkins County. She and her husband, TJ, have made their home here and have two children, Logan and Caryssa.

“TJ and Jim really pitch in and help as our right-hand men during the last few weeks leading up to GOHD every summer,” Personius said. “Logan and Caryssa are also big helpers, as well as Flo’s granddaughter, Zoe Hodges.”

Both women are also very grateful for the help of Tim and Karli Potter, Jason Personius and the Groton Town and Village DPW crews for all they do to help each year, as well as Lee Shurtleff and the Groton Fire Department for all their support.

The big event that would have been new for this year’s GOHD was the Dialed Action Sports Team, a BMX sports show designed to promote anti-bullying and a healthy lifestyle free of tobacco, drugs and alcohol. Check them out at dialedactionsportsteam.com.

Personius has already secured them to come back for GOHD 2021, Aug. 26 to 28, and both she and Allen are excitedly planning now for next year to be bigger and better than ever.

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

Cops, Kids and Toys

Like most charities, Cops, Kids and Toys is struggling to find ways to fundraise in 2020. Its usual efforts are unavailable because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Expecting an even greater need this year, the organization is looking for donations of money and/or new toys to help keep it running. Monetary gifts may be sent to: Cops, Kids and Toys, 836 Hanshaw Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850. New toys can be dropped off at any police station in the county.

In October, the organization will be putting out its green and red bins to collect toys around the county, and in October and November, it will have fundraising days at Texas Roadhouse. Check CopsKidsAndToys.org for specific dates.

Cops, Kids and Toys serves families with children from infant to 18 years of age in Tompkins County. The application process will begin Oct. 1 and end Nov. 22. Application information will be posted on the website soon. For questions, contact info@copskidsandtoys.org or 607- 379-1215.

Thursday Grill Night

The Groton American Legion on Main Street hosts Grill Night in the pavilion at 5 p.m. Thursdays featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot and sweet sausage, pasta salad and salt potatoes for purchase. Face masks required when not seated.

Attention local farmers

The Groton Public Library has blue coolers outside its front door to hold fresh local produce for those in need. Local farmers or backyard gardeners who find themselves with excess produce may drop it off there for the community to have access to it.