To the Editor:

The village of Voorheesville has a big heart. Drive by our beautiful Hotaling Park at the corner of Maple and Voorheesville avenues, and you will see a thoughtful, heart-warming tribute to our Voorheesville (Clayton A. Bouton) High School seniors.

The people of our village, like others in this country, have suffered greatly over the past few months, enduring isolation, social distancing, PPEs, shortages of essential household supplies, not to mention the ultimate: the death or illness of a loved one.

We have been deprived of the simple pleasures of gatherings with friends and families, and events that are rites of passage like reunions, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, Christenings, and graduations. Many of these are once-in-a-lifetime events.

Outings we have always taken for granted and which bring pleasure and meaning to our everyday lives have not been possible — activities that would have eased the burden during dark days. We’ve been living in surreal times that will deserve a note in history.

So much has become virtual, and done in isolation. We shop online, go to school online, attend church services online, order food from favorite restaurants online. This is hardly living when the human element is removed. People need to be with other people; we hunger for it.

Our school kids have suffered greatly, and now seniors find themselves robbed of their last hurrah with high school buddies. The excitement of that last year with events and privileges for seniors that make them feel special can never be recaptured.

And now graduation ceremonies and parties are in jeopardy. Not to see your child or grandchild or niece or nephew walk across that stage and receive their diploma is a small tragedy. No one knows the countless stories of sacrifice and hardship and obstacles overcome that elevate the importance of a graduation ceremony to a family and instill it with a meaning others would not understand.

For the past few months, students have been struggling with online learning — something that has been a challenge for many, and impossible for some. This is not the way things should be in your last year at high school in a small, close-knit community. It is very sad.

Thanks to all who decorated Hotaling Park so lovingly as a tribute to our Voorheesville seniors. It is a light in the darkness and gives us hope for good things to come. And they will come. Congratulations, Class of 2020!

Sandra Paige Sorell

Voorheesville