Although the party is aimed toward children there were things for people of all ages. The event consisted of many activities such as trolley rides throughout the village with caroling, Mike the Juggler, games, crafts, face paintings, a tour of the fire apparatus, a free photo booth and refreshments and popcorn. Several children were able to meet Santa and his helpers and were well entertained with activities. Also, nobody left empty-handed.

Program Chairperson Holly Gerard said the Fire Department has been hosting the event for at least 25 years. She said it started hosting the party to give back to the community and just kept continuing.

Keep up the good work. We hope to see the party for many years to come.

Roses to Ellen St. John for her 30 years of commitment to serving food to those in need. The 81-year-old has been with the Cooperstown Food Bank since its beginning in 1977. St. John said the increase in families needing help has grown tremendously, especially in the past few months.

She said the food bank was assisting 80 to 85 families last year and in the last few months, the food bank has been providing food to over 100 families. Because of the increase in work that goes along with providing assistance to more people, St. John felt it was time to get some help herself by adding Co-director Audrey Murray last year. All work done at the Food Bank is volunteered.

Roses to Mark Loewenguth, owner of the Hoffman Lane Bistro, for preparing Thanksgiving meals for those who could not afford to prepare one for themselves. He has been doing this for about 10 years.

Roses to Mark Drnek, creative director of Oneonta based Sweet Home Productions, for coming up with the idea of creating a website that features local shops in the area.

The website, sweethomefortheholidays.com, allows viewers to click on the ``Store Front’’ photo of choice, which takes the shopper to a page of information about that merchant and the business, a free coupon and a video clip. The site also includes a community calendar of events for each local area, and a link to enter to win a free overnight stay at the Otesaga, which includes a breakfast and dinner for two. Maybe if people take the time to look at what is available to them right in their own backyards, they will not travel as far to shop.