“They are one of Oswego County’s most successful volunteer organizations and many people aren’t even aware of them,” said writer Jim Farfaglia about the Oswego County Pioneer Search and Rescue Team.
Farfaglia is currently writing a book about the history of the team, which formed in 1971 to provide search and rescue support when a person goes missing.
“I first learned of the group while working with The Fulton Library on a project to help people preserve their memories in writing,” Farfaglia said. “It was there I met Steve Ives, one of the founding members of the search and rescue team.”
In his memoir, Ives wrote about the 1971 Central New York case of 8-year-old Douglas Legg, who went missing from his family’s camp in the Adirondacks.
Legg was never found, but out of that tragedy, the Pioneer Search and Rescue Team was born.
“No other such teams existed 45 years ago,” Farfaglia said. “The Oswego County group started its from scratch. They quickly became one of the most respected groups of their kind in the entire northeast and still are today.”
To write his book, Farfaglia was awarded a grant from CNY Arts, which distributes its financial support with funds from the Decentralization Program – a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
He has interviewed several of the original Pioneers for his book and is looking to hear from anyone who has a connection to the group, such as past volunteers, family members of volunteers, anyone who has worked with the team or has enlisted the group to conduct a search.
As part of his research, Farfaglia has been hosting a series of talks on the subject.
The next two programs will take place at the Hannibal Library on June 7 at 6:30 p.m. and the Oswego Library on June 8 at 6:30 p.m.
The programs will include a PowerPoint presentation and stories he’s learned about the search and rescue team.
“I’m hoping anyone who has a connection to the group or can share an interesting story about them will attend the program,” Farfaglia said.
For more information about the event, contact the Hannibal Library at 564-5471 or the Oswego Library at 341-5867.
To contact Farfaglia, visit www.jimfarfaglia.com
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