Reggie Holmes of Bridgewater, 90, has raised about $100,000 to help others in need.
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We’re turning over a lot of space in this week’s paper to one story.
Or maybe it’s more like several stories, ones that weave in and out with each other and make connections before going in another direction.
It’s the story of an 11-year- old Brookfield girl who loved Mickey Mouse.
It’s the story of a 7-year-old girl who used her feet in creative ways when she lost her arms.
It’s the story of another 7- year-old girl who learned to get around after losing the use of her legs.
It’s the story of the man in the middle, the one who connected and still connects all these people and many more, a man looking at life closer to his 91st year than his 90th.
It’s a story of hope and tragedy and friendship and family.
It’s the story of what happens when one person thinks of other people first.
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The stories of this story start more than a century ago, when Everett Holmes, grandson of a slave, was born in 1908.
Holmes believed in community service, devoting countless hours to making Bridgewater a place to be proud of for its residents.
Holmes was elected to the Village Board and in 1974, made history by becoming the first African American mayor elected to a village in New York state.
A Historical Sign along Route 20 in the town marks this achievement.
Holmes taught his children the value of community service.
His son Bobbie was well known for his honest talks to kids about drug use.
Daughter Juanita put Bridgewater on the upscale food map as owner of the former White House Berries Inn.
Son Reggie, well, son Reggie is how all these stories came to connect.
Because even now, with his 91st birthday coming up in January, Reggie can’t fight the impulse to help someone going through rough times.
Especially if that someone is a kid.
Reggie said he and his siblings didn’t have a lot of material things as children, but they knew they always had the love and support of their father.
“He was a good man,’’ Reggie said. “A good father.’’
When Reggie married Dorothea, who passed away in 2009, she gave him two step- children, Jimmy and Diane.
Both graduated from Mount Markham Central School and Colgate University; both are lawyers who also pursue creative writing.
“They are,’’ Reggie said, “the best things I ever did with my life. I am most proud of being their step-dad.’’
That pride and love for his own children motivated Reggie to take on what he calls his first project, the first time he said to a family, “You are not alone in this.’’
A family connection formed the friendship between Reggie and Charlie and Sharon Schmidt of Brookfield long before the idea of a project was born.
“I’ve always known Reggie,’’ said Sharon, whose step-father was Reggie’s cousin.
In the 1970s Charlie and Reggie both worked at Chicago Pneumatic in Utica.
Reggie was one of the first people they told in 1976 when the oldest of their three daughters, Sandy, was diagnosed with leukemia.
Sandy was then in fourth grade at Brookfield Central School, 9- years-old.
Her illness quickly became everyone’s concern.
“We used to live in town then,’’ Charlie said of their home before moving to Gorton Lake. “It’s a small knit community so everyone knew and supported us.’’
Both he and Sharon graduated in Brookfield’s Class of 1964 and were involved in the community through their church.
Their family’s sorrow was felt throughout the community.
The Brookfield Fire Department ran a benefit at the Madison County Fairgrounds to ...
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