Custodian’s name engraved at OHS

The Oneida Zonta Club helped secure a memorial paver for long-time custodian and OHS staple, Ron Fargo.

Ron Fargo was such a staple at Oneida High School, his memory has been literally engraved in stone by the students.

Fargo, a custodian at the high school for more than 20 years, passed away last year, and in honor of his memory, the Z Club purchased a brick paver for the school’s brick garden on the front lawn.

“We want to commemorate Ron’s memory here at the high school. He was part of the family here,” said principal Brian Gallagher as he addressed Fargo’s family, friends, coworkers and the dozens of Z Club members who gathered on the muddy, soggy lawn to remember a man dedicated to his work.

“We really lost someone when Mr. Fargo passed. He was truly the most inspirational person I ever met,” said senior Vincent Jutton, who spent a many days working with and speaking to Fargo. “He had so much to offer to us all.”

“Ron loved working here and he loved everybody. He just loved his job,” said Lor- raine Fargo, Ron’s widow. “So I really appreciate this, and it’s a loving gesture.”

Fargo, who was affectionately known as ‘Captain’ on campus, often called Gallagher ‘General,’ and the principal said Fargo’s loss wasn’t unlike that of Stonewall Jackson to General Robert E. Lee following the battle of Chancellorsville, when Lee said he’d lost his right hand man. “I think I can speak on behalf of the high school that when we lost Ron, we lost the right arm of the school,” Gallagher said.

The memorial brick not only pays homage to Fargo’s career, but to one of his passions, too. Fargo always “advocated strongly” for anyone and everyone to visit Disney, Gallagher said, and the Z Club took that into account with a simple inscription: “Swept away to a Magical Kingdom.”

“It was very nice and I think he would have wanted it,” said Fargo’s daughter Anna Smith, who attended the ceremony with her 22-month son Camryn. “He really enjoyed working here at the school. I think it would have meant a lot to him, and it means a tremendous amount to the family.”

PHOTOS BY LEAH MCDONALD — ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH Family and friends of former custodian Ron Fargo, who died in 2016, release balloons with members of the Oneida High School Z Club during a ceremony honoring Fargo’s memory on Tuesday, May 30, 2017.

Camryn Smith, 22months, examines a brick paver in honor of his grandfather Ron Fargo, while his mother Anna Smith holds him following a ceremony on Tuesday, May 30, 2017.

Oneida High School Z Club advisor Patty Vaccaro holds a brick paver made in honor of custodian Ron Fargo on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. Ron Fargo died in 2016.