Standing on the shore of the Susquehanna River in Owego, three F-M hornet alumni were once again united. They were friends in the class of 1967 at Fayetteville-Manlius High School and then went their separate ways in life. Recently, Pete Gianforte of Cazenovia, Bob Bassett of Anchorage, Alaska, and Cliff Beidleman of Londonderry, N.H., joined together to raise more than $800 to help end the Alzheimer’s disease.
Early onset Alzheimer’s had claimed Beidleman’s wife Marilyn last year after many years of illness. Bassett’s cousin Armond, a lifelong marathon canoeist who had paddled the Susquehanna solo in 1992, also died of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2002. With a shared friendship and concern for those fighting this disease, the three men decided they would combine forces in a community service paddling adventure to benefit the Central New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Bassett, an outdoor enthusiast and president of the Charles H. Bassett Youth Foundation based in Owego when he is not doing youth leadership development in Alaska, approached local Alzheimer’s Association events director, Danielle Mensing, also a 2010 F-M graduate, about kayaking the 444-mile Susquehanna River in October to raise funds for the local chapter. She endorsed the “Paddling to Remember” project; Gianforte and Beidleman provided the resources, support, logistics and encouragement for Bassett to start his kayak journey in Cooperstown on October 10.
Bassett is a direct descendant of Benjamin and Elizabeth Bassett, grandparents of Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett, who first settled in Otsego County in 1815. The Bassett Health Care Network and Bassett Hospital based in Cooperstown honor the early Bassett physicians in that area.
Over the course of nine days, while camping out along the river and at record low water levels, Bassett paddled the approximately 125 miles of the Susquehanna River down to Owego arriving on October 18. Completing the first leg of the long paddling journey, Bassett intends to complete the second leg of “Paddling to Remember” all the way from Owego to Havre de Grace, Md., in June 2017.
More than 75 individuals and organizations supported this community service project initiated by the Charles H. Bassett Youth Foundation. Inc., which since 1994 has promoted positive youth development and community service in memory of former Fayetteville resident Charles H. Bassett, a prominent Syracuse attorney for more than 50 years with the Hancock & Estabrook firm.
