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Cornwall’s Christmas Pageant tradition
Dec 10, 2024
The Annual Christmas Pageant in Cornwall takes place on Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Jane Prentice, director since 2005, will step down this year after 19 years of directing the pageant.
Lazlo Gyorsok
CORNWALL — Jane Prentice of Cornwall has directed the Cornwall Christmas Pageant since 2005. This year will mark her nineteenth and final pageant.
She will be turning the role of director over to Katherine Freygang, who is helping her cast this year’s pageant. “It is time for me to pass it along,” said Prentice.
The pageant tells the traditional Christmas story, complete with Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, and three kings.
Jane Prentice said they’ve been using the same script since the pageant began. She is not sure how long the pageant has existed, but she has written documentation going back to 1959 and knows that it was going on before that.
Jane took over the directorship from Charlotte Frost in 2005. Charlotte Frost took over from Prentice’s grandmother-in-law, Theodora “Dody” Prentice who, Prentice thinks, took over from Mary Shefflin.
The Christmas Pageant is filled with tradition. “Zejke Herman started as a littlest angel, became a shepherd, king and then narrator – 60 years of involvement,” said Prentice.
“Dody got the job because she had the costumes,” explained Prentice of her grandmother-in-law’s years as director. Those costumes are still in use with some repairs and updates over the years. Prentice said she and others “snatch up things that might fit at Cornwall’s annual rummage sale.”
Casting has gotten harder over the years, she commented. “Demographics and the people who live here have changed. In Charlotte’s day there was a choir at the church, and a children’s choir and the high school had a choir. Now we are a pick-up choir.”
“Before it was kind of like tryouts for the kings and Mary especially. Now it is about trying to fill the cast and find children to fit the parts. It is harder to find people,” explained Prentice. “One year, I called thirty-five men in turn to find the last king.”
“Now we really, really need community to make it happen.”
Added to that is that the parts are sung, so not only does she need someone who fits the role visually, but they have to sing.
Prentice recalled one year that was a disaster. “Mary lost her voice on the day of the pageant. I had to find a new Mary that day.” She added, “Basically it flies by the seat of its pants every year.”
The year of the COVID pandemic, “We did it outside on the front steps of the church. Being outside, we could have Robert the llama from Llama Quilt Farm take part.”
“It was beautiful when it was done. The lighting was great. Luminaries were on the front lawn. It was beautiful.”
She talked about favorite memories. “Something special happens every year.” For instance, one year she remembers “The little angel yawning” in the middle of the pageant.
One year “one of the shepherds had to help a ‘sheep’ (his family’s dog named Minnow dressed in a sheep costume) up the steps,” she said. “He was a Jack Russell, and his legs were too short. He was also elderly.”
Prentice talked about what she will miss about directing the pageant. “I think what I’ll miss is this: When it is all over and everything is cleaned up and everyone’s gone home, I sit in the dark with just the star illuminated, reflecting on how beautiful it is really – even with the disasters.”
This year’s pageant will be on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. with a snow date of Dec. 15, though Prentice said they have only had to cancel for snow twice in all the years of the pageant - once when Theodora Prentice was the director and once Jane herself had to call it off.
The pageant takes place at the United Church of Christ Meeting House at 8 Bolton Hill Rd. Anyone attending is asked to bring a present wrapped in white for children in need.
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Jacquie Rice, left, squad officer for the nonprofit Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service, and Barrie Prinz, president of the Board of Trustees and volunteer squad member, prepare for an ambulance call.
Debra A. Aleksinas
SALISBURY — While responding to a recent 911 call, members of the nonprofit Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service were hampered by darkness and had difficulty locating the caller’s residence.
“We had to slow the ambulance down, get the flashlights out and go looking for the house number,” which was not clearly marked from the road, recalled Jacquie Rice, SVAS chief of service.
Such delays by emergency responders, she said, happen all too often, wasting precious minutes which, in serious situations like heart attacks or stroke, could mean the difference between life and death.
House numbers that are missing or are not easily identifiable present a critical challenge for medical responders, said Rice, a long-time Salisbury resident who has volunteered with the ambulance squad for the past 45 years.
Numbers etched in stone walls or non-reflective numbers on mailboxes, fences or trees can be a nightmare to find once the sun goes down.
Most obstacles are preventable
Missing or poorly displayed house numbers are not the only challenges the ambulance squad faces as it traverses the 40 square mile community’s 70 miles of rural roadways. Winter brings with it the added challenges of snowstorms and dwindling daylight hours.
“There are all kinds of challenges that come with us being so rural,” Rice said.
Unplowed or blocked driveways, a single driveway with multiple homes, overhanging branches, locked doors, closed gates, snow- and ice-covered walkways and porches are among common obstacles that hamper medical response.
“We are really good at grabbing shovels off front porches,” Rice said, who noted that the ambulance service purchased a snowplow that attaches to its rescue truck for use during severe snowstorms.
Most obstacles are preventable, according to Barrie Prinz, president of the SVAS board of trustees and squad member, who was on call with Rice on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
“The more people are prepared, the more time they save for rescue personnel,” Prinz said. “A lot of folks are not anticipating calling an ambulance, but you can save critical minutes and save lives.”
Taking steps ahead of time to ensure movement inside the home also saves valuable response time.
“People don’t think, ‘What if I have an emergency?’ We’ve moved furniture and other items” to gain access to the patient, Prinz said. “Take a look around the house for obstacles, like stuff on stairs, furniture in hallways. Every minute saved is a minute we can spend on the patient.”
‘We didn’t want to wait’
Locked doors also impede emergency response.
“If we get to the house and the door is locked, we will break it down. If you have someone with you, have them go unlock the door after calling 911,” Prinz said.
Rice recalled that several weeks ago rescue personnel gained entry to a home by breaking a small windowpane on a porch door.
“We reached inside and opened the door, but we cleaned it all up and put cardboard on the broken window. We didn’t want to wait, as it was a medical emergency.”
As happens often in a close-knit town like Salisbury, Rice said she knew the person in distress.
“Salisbury is a very old community, so many of the people we go and see, we grew up with,” Rice said. “This gentleman was the father of some of my friends growing up. I kind of knew the layout of the house a little more.
“The types of calls that are very difficult are the people you know but they are also very good calls when you get there, and they feel more comfortable in their medical emergency.”
Many people also do not realize that ambulances and rescue trucks are wider and taller than normal vehicles.
“There are certain driveways where we have to pull in both mirrors to drive down,” because they are so narrow, Rice said. “If you want us there quickly, please remove the barriers. Help us help you.”
That includes low-hanging branches and overgrown trees and bushes, walls and locked or closed gates.
While a driveway’s clearance may accommodate an average-size vehicle, ambulances are 8 feet, 6 inches wide, not including side mirrors, and 10 feet tall, Prinz noted. “And we have some pretty long driveways in our town. If we have to leave the ambulance by the road and walk, that’s ok unless time is critical, and we have to carry you away.”
Another tip offered by rescue personnel is to secure any pets in a crate or another room.
File of Life could save a life
Other pertinent information useful to first responders is the medical history of the patient, including name and date of birth, illnesses or allergies and a list of medications with dosage.
Prinz suggests using a File of Life magnetic folder that adheres to the refrigerator door and holds vital medical data such as emergency contacts for everyone in the household.
“It is critical to have a list of medications in a place where we can see it, like the refrigerator,” she said. “If we don’t know you’re a diabetic, for example, that would help us save an incredible amount of time in determining how quickly you need to get to a hospital.”
The File of Life packet should also include a valid advanced directive such as a Do Not Resuscitate, also known as a DNR, order or a medical power of attorney.
“If we know what medications you’re on and your medical conditions, it can change the course of how we treat you and how quickly we treat you,” said Prinz.
The forms and magnetic envelope are available to residents free of charge at Salisbury Town Hall and the local library.
They can also be requested via the SVAS website by filling out the comment section, emailing salisburyambulance1971@gmail.com, or stopping by headquarters at 8 Undermountain Road in Salisbury.
Advance preparation is essential
While no one likes to think about having to call 911 in an emergency for themselves or a family member, it is essential to be prepared, said Prinz.
The ambulance squad is frequently called out to assist with falls in or around the home. Seniors with mobility issues can benefit by installing grab bars in the bathroom, or in hallways, said rescue personnel.
“I hope people don’t hesitate to call. Yes, you might be in an embarrassing situation and don’t want people to see you at their worst, but we really don’t judge,” Prinz said.
SVAS responds to 700 calls annually. “Everything from standby at a football game to folks for lift assists to medical emergencies resulting from falls or car accidents,” Prinz said. “The population keeps going up every year because more people have moved here, especially around COVID time.”
Rice also noted that the Good Samaritan Law provides immunity for individuals experiencing or witnessing underage alcohol intoxication or a drug overdose if they summon emergency services.
“There’s no judgment,” the squad chief said. “If you find someone unresponsive, we want you to call 911.”
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