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Potsdam village board pays tribute to Ruth Garner on her 100th birthday

Posted 11/19/15

Potsdam's Ruth Garner, who turned 100 years old Wednesday, sits with fellow village board members Steve Warr, Eleanor Hopke, Ron Tischler, and Mayor Steve Yurgartis at a special meeting last night to …

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Potsdam village board pays tribute to Ruth Garner on her 100th birthday

Posted

Potsdam's Ruth Garner, who turned 100 years old Wednesday, sits with fellow village board members Steve Warr, Eleanor Hopke, Ron Tischler, and Mayor Steve Yurgartis at a special meeting last night to honor her. She smiles and laughs at the mayor's joke about how hard it was to round up votes for the resolution honoring her. North Country This Week photo by Craig Freilich.

By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – The Potsdam Village Board of Trustees, including Deputy Mayor Ruth Garner, met in special session last night to pay homage to Garner, who turned 100 years old yesterday.

The meeting room was full, with about 70 people in the seats and many more in the doorways and halls.

Garner arrived to a standing ovation. Mayor Steve Yurgartis read from the resolution honoring Garner that they were to vote on. “I reserve my vote,” Garner quipped.

The resolution noted her long service, including her election as the first woman elected to the board in 1973, and then as the first woman elected mayor in in 1977. She served in that post from 1977 to 1981 and again from 1993 to 2005. During her latter term she was part of 60 Minutes segment on older Americans serving their communities. The resolution noted that her service to village government amounted to 30 years.

Letters of congratulation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer were read aloud, and she took a call on speakerphone from state Sen. Joe Griffo, who had wanted to be in Potsdam for the event but was under the weather.

The rest of the evening was taken up with Garner accepting the good wishes of those in attendance.