As the Columbus Monument Corporation Board was preparing for the 86th Annual Columbus Day Wreath Ceremony, our emotions were mixed with thoughts – negative and positive. We were happy to have our Italian American and Central New York communities share the celebration we have always cherished reflecting our heritage and the hard fought “battle” our great grandfathers and grandmothers were engaged in to bring the Columbus Statue and Monument to life in 1934.

But we had also just been told by Mayor Ben Walsh three days before Columbus Day that he was moving forward to take our monument and statue down forever. I can’t begin to describe the palpable pain in processing all those thoughts. We began to look at old newspaper clippings and pictures from The Post Standard’s account of that day, Oct. 12, 1934--- items we were going to bring down to the ceremony.