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Happy birthday, Shirley Hosler

To the editor:

Shirley Hosler is the Mother Theresa of Saranac Lake.

Recently, in one 24-hour period, she cleaned out a garage of dishes, Christmas decorations, fiber-optic Christmas tree and natural Christmas tree stand. Then she quickly found a place to dispose of the dishes, donated the artificial tree and tree stand to the Adirondack Park Agency for its staff’s annual children’s holiday party, and kept the smaller Christmas decorations for the “troops,” children and people in nursing homes, who are her passion.

The next day she hit Saranac Lake’s annual, village-wide yard sale, collecting children’s books, greeting cards, kids’ bicycle helmets, a bicycle for a 12-year old girl who had had hers stolen, a night stand for a woman who needed one and games. But before that, she made a trip to Price Chopper to collect day-old baked goods for the Lakeside Apartments in Saranac Lake.

So it goes, week after week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she’s at the Saranac Lake Adult Center for noon lunch, clearing tables and calling nickel bingo. Wednesday evenings, she clears tables at the Methodist Church’s free Community Supper. In between, she visits sick people she knows at the hospital and nursing home, talks up a local Samaritan House for the homeless and raises money for gifts to soldiers. Shirley may not be famous enough to be a member of the Saranac Lake Walk of Fame. But just about everyone knows her locally. Perhaps there should be a sign on or over over the bench outside the Adirondack Daily Enterprise office, where she often sits, that reads, “Shirley’s Office.”

In any event, Oct. 3 is her 79 birthday. So if you happen to see her, wish her a “happy birthday.”

Paul J. Herrmann

Saranac Lake

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