LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor
Foundation upon the occasion of receiving the Spirit of the Catskill
Award from The Coalition to Save Belleayre on January 30, 2010

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across New York State
are reflective of the concerned and dedicated efforts of those organiza-
tions and individuals who devote themselves to the welfare of the commu-
nity and its citizenry; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation upon the occasion of
receiving the Spirit of the Catskill Award from The Coalition to Save
Belleayre at its 24th Annual Snowball to be held on Saturday, January
30, 2010, at The Lodge at Belleayre Mountain; and
WHEREAS, A. Lindsay O'Connor was the son of Edward and Annie Taylor
O'Connor; he was born in Davenport, Delaware County, New York in 1881;
he grew up there, attending public school and later Mount Hermon School
at Mount Hermon, Massachusetts; well-known as an athlete and scholar, in
1903, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa Cum Laude from New York University,
where he starred as pitcher on the varsity baseball team; he attended
Albany Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1905; then, in 1906,
he joined his father and brother, the Honorable Charles R. O'Connor in
the law firm of O'Connor and O'Connor in Hobart, New York; and
WHEREAS, In 1919, A. Lindsay O'Connor was elected District Attorney
for the County of Delaware; he was re-elected in 1922 by the largest
majority ever given any candidate for that office; the firm of O'Connor
and O'Connor continued until 1930, when A. Lindsay O'Connor was elected
County Judge and Surrogate for Delaware County; he held this post until
1943, when he was appointed by Governor Thomas E. Dewey to fill out the
term of the late Supreme Court Justice Andrew J. McNaught; when his term
ended, he was nominated to run for the office of Supreme Court Justice;
he was elected to the Supreme Court from the Sixth Judicial District, a
position he held until his retirement in 1951; and
WHEREAS, Olive B. O'Connor was the daughter of Gamaliel and Martha
Haner Huggans; she was born in 1879, in Lexington, Greene County, New
York; shortly thereafter her family moved to Prattsville, New York; she
was educated in private and public schools at Prattsville and was a
graduate of Stamford Seminary, Stamford, New York; she was keenly inter-
ested in young people and their education, having been a teacher in
several schools including the Hobart School and for three years as the
principal of the Prattsville Union Free School; and
WHEREAS, In 1910, Olive B. Huggans was united in marriage with A.
Lindsay O'Connor; they made their residence in Hobart, New York; and
WHEREAS, Church and civic activities received ardent and faithful
support from Olive B. O'Connor throughout her entire life; she was the
first woman member of the Hobart High School Board of Education; from
1911, she was a member of the Women's Civic Club of Hobart and embarked
on a very active career of women's club work culminating in her Presi-
dency of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs in 1942-44; she
was also a a member of the Board of Directors of the Delaware County
Health and Tuberculosis Association and served as its first woman presi-
dent in 1939; and
WHEREAS, For many years both Judge and Mrs. O'Connor gave generous
support to countless deserving young people, community projects and many
institutions; included among these are the O'Connor Residence Hall at
Harpur College (now one of the colleges of the State University of New

York at Binghamton); the O'Connor Health Center at Mount Hermon School,
Mount Hermon, Massachusetts; the O'Connor Campus Center at Colgate
University, Hamilton, New York; the A. Lindsay O'Connor Professorship of
American Institutions and the Olive B. O'Connor Professorship of Litera-
ture both at Colgate University; the Hobart Community Center and Fire
House in Hobart, New York; O'Connor Hospital in Delhi, New York;
O'Connor Hall (named in honor of the late Honorable Charles R. O'Connor)
at the Agricultural and Technical College of the State University of New
York at Delhi, New York; and
WHEREAS, Scholarship funds were also established with first preference
given to students of Delaware County at Syracuse University, Syracuse,
New York, the State University of New York at Binghamton, New York and
the Agricultural and Technical College at the State University of New
York at Delhi, New York; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the years, numerous Delaware County men and women
who are now lawyers, doctors, nurses, dental technicians and business
executives were able to receive their college and/or professional educa-
tion through the generosity of either Judge or Mrs. O'Connor; and
WHEREAS, To further expand their efforts, on November 21, 1965, Mrs.
Lindsay (Olive B. Huggans) O'Connor formed an organization, the A.
Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation to be operated exclusively for
religious, charitable, literary or educational purposes, including the
prevention of cruelty to children as well as animals; and
WHEREAS, Over the last 45 years the scope of programs funded by the
O'Connor Foundation has evolved and expanded; scholarships remain in
high priority and the Foundation remains committed to numerous insti-
tutions of higher learning including: Albany Law School, Broome Communi-
ty College, Cazenovia College, Colgate University, Cornell University,
Empire State College, Hartwick College, State University of New York at
Binghamton, State University of New York at Cobleskill, State University
of New York at Delhi, State University College of New York at Oneonta,
Rensselaer Polytechnic University, Sage Colleges, and Syracuse Universi-
ty; and
WHEREAS, Other grants have benefited health care, substance abuse,
violence prevention, day care, primary and secondary schools, reading
and writing programs, early childhood programs, school based scholar-
ships, environmental groups, planning, economic development, community
and Main Street revitalization, towns, counties, local share of state
and local grants, churches, youth ministries, law enforcement, fire
departments, public libraries, forestry, American Chestnut, agricultural
preservation and development, performing and visual arts, local historic
sites, preservation and museums, hiking trails, sports camps, music
festivals and native American culture and history; and
WHEREAS, Today, the list continues to grow as the fourth generation of
O'Connor philanthropy perpetuates Olive B. O'Connor's vision; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
recognize the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, for its
unwavering commitment to the citizens of New York State, as it provides
an uncompromising standard of excellence in the delivery of superlative
community service; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals and organizations of such noble aims and accomplishments are
brought to our attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by
all the citizens of the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation upon the occa-
sion of receiving the Spirit of the Catskill Award from The Coalition to
Save Belleayre on January 30, 2010; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation.