Revisiting Dimorier’s Roots

Recently, I was honored to speak at the National Authors Day celebration hosted by the Chenango County Historical Society and SUNY Morrisville (Norwich campus). This gave me the opportunity to revisit the homeland of William E. Dimorier, whose life and service I spent many years researching and writing about.

The early morning of November 1st started off with a rainy drive on the Southern Tier Expressway to Afton, NY, where I dropped off a copy of William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader at the Afton Free Library and received a tour of the facility from the librarian, Ramona Bogart. 

Onward to Norwich, where I checked into the Splendor Inn (courtesy of my hosts). Then, at the Norwich branch of SUNY Morrisville, I shared William’s story, focusing on his roots in Chenango County, his servant leadership, and also my experience with self-publishing. I met many interesting people at the event, including the organizers, other speakers, and some of the folks who contributed to the Chenango County Historical Society journal this year. 

SUNY Morrisville professor Andres G. Lopez spoke after me and bought a copy of my book, so of course, I bought a copy of his, Cooperstown Picasso. I’m reading it now and enjoying it very much. It’s about a divorced literature professor who gets involved in an online relationship with a Russian woman who becomes his muse. He says it is somewhat autobiographical. It’s certainly a very contemporary subject that many can relate to.

The next morning, I enjoyed a lovely breakfast at Splendor Inn and got my dog-petting fix in with Caz, the resident pup. I’m really missing Nutmeg and Nora, our crazy rescue dogs, but I’m not quite ready for another pet just yet.

After breakfast, it was back to Afton to clean William’s grave, but first I stopped at the location of the Afton Hospital where William died. It is now a fire station. Closing my eyes, I felt somewhat lightheaded parked in that location imaging that this was the place where William’s spirit left his body. 

At Glenwood Cemetery, I was surprised at how much William’s grave had deteriorated since I’d been there in 2013. The verses on his headstone were barely legible. 

“Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill.” (from “Requiem” by Robert Louis Stevenson) 

and 

“I know that my redeemer liveth.” (from the third movement of Handel’s Messiah)

These two passages are fitting because much of William’s poetry refers to both the sea and religious themes. 

Before the trip, my friend Mary Jane, who has nearly made a career out of cleaning historic gravestones, fixed me up with the right kind of cleaning products for grave cleaning, and I got to work scrubbing and using a wooden stick to clean out the characters and design work on the stone.

Unfortunately, the cemetery doesn’t have running water and I only brought a gallon with me. Luckily, the caretaker came along and filled my bucket from his truck. I cleaned William’s grave, those of his parents, and the big Dimorier monument, giving them all a nice spray of D2 before I left, so the rain can continue cleaning. 

I wanted to leave a stone at William’s grave, but couldn’t find one, and then I had the brainstorm to leave a copy of the biography I wrote about him. I wrapped it in a freezer bag and placed it in front of his grave. Will it get stolen? That would be great! Then someone might read it. Otherwise, it will give William some company.

After grave cleaning, I drove to Colgate University where William earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was amazed at how hilly the campus was. I imagined him trudging through snow and ice to get to class. On to Montour Falls, where I saw the building that used to be Cook Academy where he taught for two years. It now the New York State Academy of Fire Science.

Next, I drove to Keuka College where William taught for a year. It’s right on a Finger Lake. What a beautiful place for learning. 

The drive back to the Southern Tier Expressway for home, using back roads, was lovely in the late day.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to share William’s story of service, to revisit his birthplace, and to see some of the places I didn’t get to visit in 2013. I’m looking forward to my next visit to do some more grave cleaning and visit the Afton Museum again.

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