To the editor:

The cauldron for the FISU Games is cute and appropriate. But what about the cauldron from the 1980 Olympics, which sits forlorn at the Horse Shows Grounds on Cascade Road? I walk my dogs there every day, and often see people drive in looking for it, partially hidden behind overgrown trees, indicating that visitors are aware of it. It bears a plaque saying it would be the symbol of the 1980 Olympics forever. It’s even featured on the brown and gold road signs around Lake Placid for the Olympic tourist area.

It was never a thing of beauty, but today it is an embarrassment for this town, whose fame rests on its Olympic history. The metal portion of the cauldron is missing slats, and the legs are held together with zip ties. In a good wind, it clanks and wheezes. Its masonry base is stained black with mold and is also losing stones, exposing the structure underneath.

The area in front of it is kept nice in the spring for the horse show, with a white fence and barrels of flowers. But with all the money that has been spent on upgrading the Olympic venues for the upcoming FISU Games, couldn’t a few thousand dollars have been spent on the symbol of 1980? It may never burn again (unless the gas fixture is replaced with LEDs), but that’s hardly the point. It could and should still look nice and be one more site of our town’s famous Olympic legacy.

Julie Sloan

Lake Placid