The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

ELDRED, NY – At a time when the world is at war and so many people can’t seem to find a decent word to say to each other, several hundred people came together for one cause, for one reason, and to fight one huge battle.

They gathered on a rainy, chilly September day to raise money for St. Baldrick’s, the largest volunteer-driven foundation for children’s cancer research. The organization funds more grants toward that end than any organization except the U.S. government.

Held on September 12 at The Corner in Eldred, the Conga Against Cancer / Human Line of Hope was organized by Sullivan County resident Lou Monteleone, affectionately known as The Lord of the Trout.

Monteleone set up four ways to contribute. The Corner Store in Eldred was decorated with the “Line of Hope” – hand-holding paper dolls that encircle the walls. Each doll represents a $1 donation to St. Baldrick’s.

Then Montelone set aside a day that started at 11:00 a.m. with people shaving their heads in return for donations. Chief shaver, Pam Kocher, from Pam’s Cutting Corner in Eldred donated her time, her implements and her services to shave heads, beards and mustaches. It was her first time as a St. Baldrick’s shaver. “Lou asked me to volunteer, and I was happy to … it’s a really good cause.”

Occasionally, Mr. Monteleone grabbed the electric razor away and did a little shaving himself.

There were lots of men, several older boys and even a couple of brave women who stepped up to the plate. Shavee Ryan O’Mara drove up from North Carolina where he had just moved about a month ago. He had collected a little over $2000 since March.

Amanda Baum, also from North Carolina, did double duty. The Pre-K through 5^th grade art teacher was honoring her Uncle Russell and Uncle Harvey, both of whom had passed away from cancer. Baum first had her braids cut off to donate to Locks of Love, the program that provides wigs for children who are going through cancer treatment. She had donated hair to this program twice before. Then Baum had her head shaved, raising a little of over $2000 in donations. She said she was inspired by Lee Karasik (who was also there to get his head shaved). Baum and Karasik worked together at the Center for Discovery. Having prepared her students to see her bald, Baum mentioned that they kept asking her when it was going to happen and “Why do you still have hair?”

Master money man Monteleone ran the shaving with an iron hand, cajoling more and more money out of friends and relatives of the shavees and even from total strangers, by threatening to leave a head half-shaved.

And then Monteleone put his money where his mouth was, or rather where his head was and, went bald for St. Baldrick’s himself, having been proceeded by celebrity Paul Ciliberto of Thunder 102’s Ciliberto and Friends. Unlike Ciliberto, though, Monteleone sacrificed his mustache for more money.

In between the morning and afternoon events, the slightly damp, but decidedly enthusiastic crowd gathered under one of the many tents donated by Steven Booth of All American Event Rentals. There they enjoyed entertainment by the SJP Band and comedian Ava Levy, all of whom donated their time and talent.

At 4:00 p.m., participants in the Human Line of Hope and Conga Across America, lined up on the side of Route 55. They were wearing letters around their neck that spelled words of encouragement like “hope,” “cure” or “courage,” or the names of loved ones affected in some way by the disease. Each letter represented a $10 donation. As those in line held hands and swayed to the music, the emotion was palpable.

Monteleone said, “The Human Line of Hope is a replica of what I did with the paper dolls holding hands in solidarity, so I said I can do the same outside using humans to unite everybody together, hold hands, play some great music that has to do with hope and courage and bravery, and dedicate it to all those children and adults who are battling this disease, or to people who been lost to cancer.”

Following the Human Line of Hope, everyone standing in line received a small American flag and held it aloft while they listened to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”

And then at 4:30 p.m., the crowd, still wearing their letters, began the Conga Across America. They congaed down the street, over to the Peck’s Market parking lot and then into the field where Monteleone gathered the people holding letters to spell “Let’s Conquer.”

Food for the event was donated by The Corner Grill. And door prizes galore came compliments of many area businesses. All proceeds went to St. Baldrick’s. After the event, those who walked over to the Piazza by The Corner enjoyed brick oven pizza and entertainment by John Zanger.

Monteleone was “absolutely shocked” at the outpouring of love and generosity on the part of the attendees. He told the crowd, “I put a number of $10K on this … when I checked this morning, we were at $9500. It’s always nice to dream, but you guys have raised thousands of dollars, there aren’t words to describe how I feel right now.”

As the event was winding down, Monteleone was still taking it all in. “I feel absolutely great. We more than exceeded our goal, and I’ve got a ton of donations in my pocket that have to be counted. There were 103 people in line for the Line of Hope / Conga. It’s definitely pleasing, especially on a day like today with the rain. For the people to brave that out for 20 minutes was wonderful.

Monteleone is still gratefully accepting donations. You can call him at 845-557-3321, go to the St. Baldrick’s Web site, and type the word conga in the search box, or go to any of the following Facebook pages: Conga Across America, Human Line of Hope, The Corner in Eldred, Lord of the Trout Fan Club, or Lord of the Trout’s Conga Across America.

To see more photos or to purchase prints from Conga & Human Line of Hope, visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.