There was plenty of snow on the ground at Skaneateles, NY for the annual Dickens Christmas characters which show up in the village each year in the month of December. The man who played Scrooge for 20 years has now retired only to be replaced by a new Scrooge. But this new Scrooge was downright nasty! When I took his picture he demanded money and then shoved a piece of paper in my hand which he said was his bill for allowing me to take his picture! “Nothing for free here today” he said. I later pulled his “bill” out of my pocket and discovered a coupon for some free hand warmers at one of the local merchants!
More to my liking was Mother Goose at the Sherwood Inn. She was very pleasant lady and posed with her Goose that she has carried around for many years in the Dickens Christmas celebration. She is a local woman and was very knowledgeable about the history of Skaneateles Lake and suggested that I visit the upstairs of the library to read up on what Skaneateles was like around 1900. She told me that wooden boats used to be built at the north end of Skaneateles Lake and that the lake did not extend as far north as it does today, a fact that I didn’t know.
Because of the fog and light drizzle which was coming down, the best place to view the Dickens Christmas Characters was from the inside of the Sherwood Inn where two wood fires were burning and a nice hot cup of coffee and lunch could be had in the Tavern (before noon). The characters came down the street and assembled in front of the Sherwood Inn while we watched from our table at one of the front windows of the Tavern.
After lunch we ran into some more Dickens characters in the area of the library. The Ghost of Christmas Present was more to my liking as he had a cheery laugh for everyone. And then the characters assembled in front of the library and burst out in song with one of the Christmas carols. There were horse drawn wagon rides for all beginning in front of the Sherwood Inn and carols to be sung at the Gazebo at 2:00 pm. As for the new Scrooge, lighten up. It’s Christmas you know!
