SENECA FALLS — The heroic action of Italian immigrant Antonio Varacalli — saving a drowning woman while sacrificing his own life — will be commemorated once again Saturday morning.
This year’s Antonio Varacalli Day is set for an 11 a.m. start on the Bridge Street Bridge, the same bridge that 19-year-old Ruth Dunham jumped off April 12, 1917, in a suicide attempt. Instead, she was saved by Varacalli, a 20-year-old immigrant from Italy who was working on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal when he noticed Dunham. Not a swimmer himself, he jumped in, pulled Dunham to shore safely, but couldn’t save himself from drowning.
His heroic deed is recognized by a plaque on the bridge, Antonio Varacalli Day, and by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which named him an official Carnegie Hero Medal recipient.
Saturday’s commemoration of Varacalli’s heroism will begin with a procession of local police, fire and sheriff’s departments, and the Bedford Falls Mediocre Marching Band Drummers to the bridge. There will be the reading of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission investigation of Varacalli’s action to understand why the medal was awarded. Eric Zahren, president and chair of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission board, will participate in the ceremonies.
Shelley Farrell and Madalyn Justian, Varacalli’s great-great-nieces, will attend, and Town Supervisor Frank Schmitter will read the Varacalli Day proclamation.
Students at Elizabeth Cady Stanton School were asked to write essays on the theme of “How have you, or how might you, be a good citizen by making a difference in someone’s life.” The winners will be awarded at each grade level Saturday.
They are:
Grade 5 — Molly Voorhies, first prize; Lucas Carnicelli, second prize; Jenna King, third prize.
Grade 4 — Fiona Shore, first prize; Nicholas Miller, second prize; Tegan Griffith, third prize.
In addition, Seneca Falls residents were asked to nominate a person perceived by their friends and neighbors to be a good citizen and hero to receive the annual Antonio Varacalli Day Award. This year’s winner is Paula Wenderlich Coffey.
Coffey said she was “shocked and humbled” to get the news.
“The crazy thing is my father (the late Paul Wenderlich) won this very same award in 2018,” she said. “My parents were very involved in the Seneca Falls community. I do not feel I am anywhere near their level, but I try to do what I can, when I can.”
She said her volunteer work includes the Seneca Falls Backpack Food Program, which she has been involved with since its inception in 2010, serving as program coordinator for much of that time. Coffey also volunteers with Pathway Home of the Finger Lakes, a hospice facility. She and her sister, Kirstin Goodman, began a Memorial Butterfly Release in 2018, which has become an annual event and a “meaningful way to honor the lives of Pathway residents and other loved ones people want to remember.”
Coffey also participates in Wreaths Across America, is a member of the Bedford Falls Mediocre Marching Band, worked with a local Boy Scout to install free library books at both elementary schools, and hopes to resume a program where second-graders go to a dog rescue site and read and socialize with the dogs as thy await adoption.
“I basically just try to help people who I come across in my life in any way that can make life a little better or easier,” she said.
Additional recognition will go to “Community Angels,” given to members of local organizations and charities nominated by their respective organizations. This year’s Community Angels award winners are the Rev. Roy Kiggins and the Rev. James Fennessy, nominated by the Catholic Daughters of America; Lucy Liberatore, nominated by the SMS Italian Club Auxiliary; Mary Perdicho, nominated by Convention Days Committee; and Jan Caraccilo, nominated by the Seneca Falls Women’s Coalition.
There will be musical performances by the Mynderse Academy Chamber Singers under the direction of music teacher Anna Luisi Ellis, and a trumpet solo by Janelle Bradshaw. The event will end with a flower ceremony on the canal waters.
“We look forward to gathering as a community to honor these local heroes and celebrate their remarkable contributions,” said Haidee Oropallo, president of the It’s A Wonderful Life Festival Committee. “It is important that we pay tribute to their courage, compassion and unwavering dedication.”