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Ringing in the New Year

Local residents share their traditions and memories

WELLSBORO — The words of the song we usually sing at midnight on New Year’s Eve were immortalized by the poet Robert Burns. “Should an old acquaintance be forgot, and days long gone by? We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet, for days long gone by.” The “Auld Lang Syne” reminds us to remember and cherish old friendships and good deeds, and to look forward to good will in the year ahead.

This year, I talked with local folks who have seen more than a few changes from one year to the next. Each has unique ideas about New Year’s celebrations and some how you can celebrate your new year.

New Years during WWII

Lieutenant Commander Ray Kerr, 95, of Wellsboro and a World War II Navy veteran. In his youth, he faced death from the cockpit of a Navy fighter plane and flew in many of the Pacific theater’s battles.

Ray has seen his share of traditional New Year’s Eves. He’s kissed women at midnight before he married Barb, his longtime love, and watched the New Year dawn for decades. Some years have been better than others, but he greets each year with an expectancy for the best.

In his early 20’s, Ray sat in the cockpit of a warplane named the “Hellcat” with a huge motor and a lot of firepower. He was catapulted off the deck of a small aircraft carrier named the USS Makin Island, flew support for U.S. bombers and provided air cover for thousands of U.S. Marines.

He was there at the two and a half week battle during the invasion of Luzon in the Philippines and spent New Year’s Eve, 1944, and New Year’s Day, 1945, flying missions during one of the most intense battles of World War II.

He saw the raising of the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima a few weeks later and saved thousands of lives during flights by blowing out the Japanese weapons stronghold built into the side of the volcano at Mt. Surabachi.

Kerr still makes New Year’s resolutions. He says, “Be happy” and “Be optimistic” are his two favorite thoughts. He doesn’t know what the new year will bring, but he shares his motto for every day and year is “It’s a great day to be alive.”

Celebrating culture and hope

For Catherine “Cathe” Fletcher, New Year’s celebrations are full of tradition. In her mid 40’s, Fletcher has a family now and raises her two sons, Colin, 9, and Aidan, 15, in Wellsboro with husband Jason.

As a child she celebrated New Year’s Eve with her parents at their family home, she said. Uncle Kiko and his wife would join them for lasagna dinner and dancing. Her mom started the day cleaning the house, mopping the floors with a “cleansing” solution and burning sage. The kids helped her cook and prepare for festivities.

That evening, Fletcher’s grandma’s friend, Walter Mercado, a “fortune teller,” would suggest a color to wear to ring in the New Year.

Her family would eat 12 white grapes at midnight as each made a wish for the new year. This tradition has been around since the late 1800s and started in Spain. The goal is to have all of the grapes eaten, one by one, in 12 seconds.

For Fletcher, these memories are special now that her mother has passed. Some of the traditions are no longer celebrated, but her family still has dinner together on New Year’s Eve and everybody eats their 12 grapes.

“I think New Year’s is a time for new beginnings, however, I also remind myself that there is no time like the present. It’s a time to pause and reflect,” Fletcher said.

She carries on the traditions of her family for her family to celebrate culture and hope.

Embracing Life

Kate Sholonski, an author from Wellsboro in her mid 60s, is optimistic, that is not to say that her life is any easier than the rest of ours, but she has a healthy way of addressing challenges. Difficult times come and she tackles them with strength and courage. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is determined it will not steal her joy.

Sholonski writes about life’s challenges and sees the activities of New Year’s Eve differently. She likens life to a book, one that is so good you don’t want it to come to an end and want to keep reading.

The chapters of life build on one another and although the characters in “our book” and the plots in life may change, the book never ends, she says. Good or bad, the book really isn’t over until it’s all over.

“No matter what the storyline may be, it is all for good. If we struggle and survive, then that’s something great to celebrate. If we find ourselves in a peaceful flow, that too is worth celebration,” Sholonski said.

On New Year’s Eve, Sholonski looks at her calendar from the previous year and reflects on each day. She remember trips she has taken, meals with friends and family, work with clients, plays and movies she has enjoyed.

“It’s not just the major things that pop into my mind, but many day-to-day common occurrences I lived out on a regular basis. I then close my eyes and feel the gratitude for what I have learned, for the connections I have shared with others, and how I have grown as a result of challenges I faced,” Sholonski said.

On New Year’s Day, she crafts a motto to live by for the coming year. One year she chose, “Good enough is not enough” and another year chose “Playful presence” to remind her to not take life too seriously.

“I keep my motto on my computer desktop and then click on it periodically so that the power of this bit of inspiration stays present in my awareness all year long,” she said.

What will they do?

The old year always has a few bad experiences along the way — rejections, sadness, separations, tears. But passing from the old year to a new one helps us sweep the slate clean.

Kerr knows, with the wisdom of his years that no matter where you spend New Year’s Eve and Day, there is something to be positive about. He believes that it’s always a great day to be alive.

Fletcher knows that her young family benefits from their traditions and strives to ground them in some of those traditions.

And Sholonski?

“All of our life chapters are expressions of what we are learning and point us in a new direction. What’s the new direction? I don’t know, but turn the page and experience yours,” Sholonski said.

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