It was ten years ago Friday, that the state lost the Old Man of the Mountain. A celebration at Profile Park marked the anniversary.
A lone bagpiper approached the shore of Profile Lake to set the tone of the morning. Throughout the ceremony, eyes and cameras hunted the jagged spot where the Old Man’s face once was. John DeVivo, General Manager of the Park said you can’t help but look:
I looked up on that day and I still look up every day and I ask people every year, 'How many folks out there look up every single time they drive through the Notch?' So now if you would please welcome my good friend and the man who literally willed this memorial plaza to happen – Dick Hamilton.
With his own strong profile and stony will, Dick Hamilton has become like a walking around version of the Old Man. He spoke of the fundraising efforts and then introduced the dignitaries:
"And now, our own State Senator, Jeff Woodburn…"
Thank you, Dick. Living in the North Country is often like a country western song. It’s a tough place to live, it’s a great place to live, it’s hard to make a living, and the old man of the mountain represented that spirit. That toughness, but also that tenderness.
Dick Hamilton nodded his agreement and drew the ceremony to a quiet end.
Now if you would join me for a minute of silence for the Old Man of the Mountain and how you remember him and what he meant to you.