By C. Harris-Lockwood
So, when I was growing up in Marcy, there were three Utica high schools with three separate baseball teams, football teams, basketball teams, cheerleaders for all of those teams, varsity and junior varsity, softball teams, track and field teams, three school musicals, three student councils and sets of class presidents. You get the picture.
I went to Whitesboro High School where we had Girls’ choir, a ‘Capella choir, Junior Choir, chorale, orchestra, band, Jazz band, marching band baton twirlers and all of the above mentioned sports. There were plenty of things to do for lots of kids around here. Plenty of opportunities to explore.
We also had school dances. I was president of my class at Whitesboro and was proud to host the dance when it was our class’ turn to sponsor the school dance. There were three different Homecomings in Utica, and 3 different Senior Balls and Junior Proms in Utica where we had our own at Whitesboro.
New Hartford had the same complement of activities for high school kids. And then there were the Catholic Schools; they may not have had as many of the activities but they had CYO(Catholic Youth Organization) and would throw CYO dances. And they operated Camp Nazareth, a sleep away summer camp on a lake for boys and girls.
The Catholics also had very competitive sports teams. What was especially engaging were the summer leagues where those who competed against each other during the school year then gathered as a team in Babe Ruth and American Legion summer leagues and made great friendships.
And every summer there was at least one major community theater production, more often than not, multiple ones, engaging hundreds of young people along the way. There was the Grace Church Coffeehouse on Devereaux Street.
And let’s not forget ice skating at the Auditorium. Every summer, tons of kids from across the county would cool off skating on the ice. I think rental skates might have been $.50 if you didn’t bring your own. And there was Skate-A-Rama too.
Girls could be Candy Stripers at local hospitals.
The YWCA held dances for teens with afterschool swimming with activities and arts and crafts. The YWCA also had a sleep away camp on a lake for their girls, Camp Als Ikh Kan .
The Cosmopolitan Center held dances and had a day camp, Camp Healthmore for children and jobs for older teens. This is in addition to a library, a gymnasium, a playground and programs for kids.
The YMCA and the Knights of Columbus had pools and programs. Corn Hill United had the Teen Center for the Arts and Block Clubs.
Clearly, my point is that at one time there were tons of things for kids and young people to do around here.
Think about it. If you grew up around here you know this is true. I want to point out that all of our elected officials grew up around here and have benefitted from the rich array of opportunities we kids had that Utica held and provided. We have all been shaped by the lessons we learned organizing the dances, competing on the fields, on the ice, in the pools, the clubs, on the stage, in parades. I want you to take a look around today and focus on what we have for kids.
When Mayor David Roefaro hired consultant Tom Costello in 2010 to study the impact of the takeover of MVCAA (Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency) as Utica’s Community Action designee, he determined that the greatest loss was to that 16 – 24 year old population. It actually starts earlier than that but you must see the point.
We need to do more for our kids and young people if we expect more out of them. There literally is nothing for them to do and nowhere for them to gather to learn social skills and broaden their horizons.
And what do we expect from them? What are we willing to do to engage their talents and imaginations right here at home?
I suggest that we, as a community, decide to restore CSBG (Community Service Block Grant) funding and install For The Good, Inc. with the designation as Utica’s Community Action Agency to begin the work necessary to support our youth in a way that prepares them for a successful future, instead of jail.
