History of the Palermo Senior Citizens
History is something that is best kept in records. If not, it is in the hearts and minds and sometimes changes as the wind blows. It is something fragile and is easily lost. Somewhere along the way, some of Palermo Seniors documentation has been lost, filed or is sitting on a shelf waiting to be found. The following is a small reconstructed bit… recalled by memories. The Palermo Senior Citizens formed in 1973. Meetings were held in the fireplace room of the Palermo Methodist Church. Later, as the group grew, the meetings were moved to Sunday School room. They are now held at the Palermo Town Hall. Leslie Craner was the first elected president and served till 1975. He also served as Tour Director. Bernice Jackson, Leslie’s sister, was elected in 1975 and served until 1990. She also was Tour Director for many years. On June 12, 1990, Bernice Jackson was presented with the Oswego County Senior Citizens Award of the Year at the Oswego County Legislative Chambers. Among those witnessing the award ceremony were her husband Harry, newly elected President of Palermo Seniors, Vera Delong and Barbara Brown. The mission of the organization is to promote the good welfare of Senior Citizens of Palermo and to provide them recreation. The Palermo Town Board, under Supervisor Howard Robbins, included Senior Trip money in the town Budget, a practice that is continued to this day. Many lap robes are sewn and donated to area nursing homes and the Veteran’s hospitals as well as tracheotomy covers and bibs. A special thank you to Dawn Ryder and Bernice Jackson for their contributions to this booklet. And a very special thank you to Barbara Brown for her research contributions and her donation to the Seniors of this booklet.
Past and Present Presidents of the Palermo Senior Citizens
Lester Craner Bernice Jackson
President 1973-75 President 1975-90
Vera Delong Harland Wallace
President 1990-91 President 1991-99
Olin Allen Janet Carp
President 2000-03 President 2004-Present