Pictured are Allie Burdick, Cattaraugus County commander; Jim Lemanski, Chautauqua County commander; Howie Van Rennselaer; Stan Kawski, 8th District chaplain; and Steve McCord, 8th district service officer and Cattaraugus County director of Veteran Services. Submitted photos

Editor’s Note: The Post-Journal is looking back at the top stories of 2020 and the way they will shape the coming year. Today, 20 for 2020 looks at the municipal stories that were among the most-read in the newspaper this year.

Chautauqua County is home to 134,000 or so people, depending on the time of year — and just about every one of them has an interesting story to tell.

Here are five of our favorites from the past 12 months.

A TRAGEDY TURNED TRIUMPH

When Walter Bunn passed away at the Gowanda Rehab and Nursing Center last week, there was a chance that his remarkable story would go with him.

That did not happen, thanks to the efforts of Howie VanRensselaer of VanRensselaer and Sons Funeral Home in Randolph, and all those who gave their time and effort to honor Bunn’s memory.

“I read the article in the paper and it very much moved me,” Lori Cobb said Wednesday.

Like many others, Cobb was interested in contributing to Bunn’s memorial service in any way possible. The Jamestown Public Schools teacher chose to write a poem that honored the fallen veteran of the Vietnam War Era.

“It’s embedded in my family to respect the armed forces and veterans,” Cobb said. “Both of my grandfathers served in World War 2, my father is a naval veteran, my brother is a naval veteran. I have a niece in the Cost Guard.”

Acting as Cattaraugus County coroner, VanRensselaer was informed on Friday of the death of Vietnam Veteran Walter Luther Bunn, 74. Bunn had resided at the Gowanda Rehab and Nursing Center for 11-years, and passed away without any living relatives.

The more that VanRensselaer learned about Bunn, the more he felt compelled to make sure that his life would not end unceremoniously.

“Numerous funeral homes had declined picking him up,” VanRensselaer said.

“There was a social worked I spoke to at the Buffalo (Veterans Affairs) Details Office. She had a file on this guy, because otherwise I would not have been able to fill out a death certificate. He was in a severe accident several years ago and had both legs crushed and removed and was a double amputee.”

VanRensselaer eventually came to find that Bunn was born April 11, 1945, in Jesup, Georgia, and served his country during the Vietnam War Era from Feb. 21, 1963, to Nov. 28, 1968, where he received commendations for bravery.

A service was held on Sunday March 1.

There was not enough room in the funeral home. People had to stand outside for the service. VanRensselaer had coordinated with the Patriot Guard to create a receiving line where all veterans went through and rendered a final salute to Walter. VanRensselaer was not done, though. On March 2, he and the Patriot Guard escorted Walter to Bath for burial at Bath National Cemetery.

SHARED BEGINNINGS

Jamestown is known for many things — Lucille Ball, Robert H. Jackson, Roger Tory Peterson and its aviation training program?

Aviation may not have put Jamestown on the map yet, but two Delta Airlines pilots got their start in aviation at Jamestown Community College.

Remi Bamisile’s odyssey to become a commercial airline pilot came to culmination in April 2017. After years of hard work and dedication, it was time to celebrate inside of the Delta Flight Museum in Hapeville, Ga., next to a retired Boeing 767 known as “The Spirit of Delta.”

Inside the historic building, new Delta Airline pilots are welcomed into the company with an elegant meal and meet-and-greet, attended by fellow pilots and executives. New hires join the company from across the globe.

Amidst all of the pomp and circumstance and excitement, Bamisile found himself seated at a table with a new peer named Jared Adams.

Although their respective journeys up into the air have been decidedly different, Adams and Bamisile can both follow their roots back to Jamestown Community College’s Professional Piloting Associate of Applied Science Program-big things have small beginnings.

“In the aviation industry you hear all different types of stories and pathways to becoming an airline pilot,” Bamisile said. “But not often do you hear the small town community college program success story, especially when it comes to a major legacy carrier like Delta. That moment gave me the opportunity to reflect on my personal journey.”

And what a journey that has been.

Born in a small town in Nigeria, Bamisile emigrated to New York City with his family as a teenager.

Graduating from Port Richmond High School in 2006, it was difficult to see a clear path forward to that expansive Delta museum in which he would receive his wings 11 years later.

“My aviation journey began with no mentoring and very little knowledge on how to achieve my dream,” Bamisile said. “Anyone that has been on this journey knows well how difficult this career path can be without the proper guidance or mentorship.”

Bamisile made the decision to attend Vaughn College in Queens after high school, but quickly ran into issues funding the actual flight training needed by every pilot.

Considering other options, Bamisile discovered the program offered at JCC, which turned out to be a perfect fit.

“By early 2007 I applied and gained admission into the program,” Bamisile said. “I resumed my admission into the program in August of 2007 and took my first ever flight training on September 4 of that same year.”

After returning to complete his coursework at Vaughn, Bamisile began his career with Delta as a customer service ramp agent, while planning for his future as a pilot.

Before earning the opportunity to fly for Delta, Bamisile was a pilot for Republic Airways Holdings, the same regional carrier that Adams flew from 2004-2014.

“The cool part about having worked at Republic Airways Holdings, is Remi worked there too,” Adams said. “I kept in touch with (JCC instructor Rick Rupprecht) over the years and he mentioned Remi’s success. But Remi and I never crossed paths at Republic.”

While Bamisile serves as an example of how community college programs can open up doors that often seem invisible, Adams is a hometown success story.

A 2000 graduate of Falconer Central School, Adams enrolled in the first class of JCC’s Professional Piloting Program.

“The Professional Pilot Program itself was amazing, as I was able to complete flight training in conjunction with the first two years of core classes,” Adams said. “I was able to go from no ratings to Certified Flight Instructor in approximately 18 months. I was amazed how smoothly the program went in its infant stages.”

Adams left Jamestown for Atlanta, where he would continue his education at Georgia State University before moving on to Republic and eventually Delta.

“Long story short, I had no idea I would sit at the same table as a fellow Republic pilot, let alone a fellow JCC alum, and that was Remi,” Adams said.

A PERFECT BACKDROP

Everyone is scared of something.

It’s no different for Emily Sweet.

That’s why the producer and actress is shooting, “Highway,” a sub-genre Christmas horror movie in Jamestown. She thinks the city is the perfect winter backdrop.

She wants to showcase the city, so the film industry will know about it more.

“I had the pleasure and good fortune of growing up in Jamestown and have many fond memories living there,” Sweet said. “Jamestown, especially now, with the opening of Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, the National Comedy Center, Roger Tory Peterson (Institute) and a number of classics like Northwest Arena and the Good Time Saloon, just to name a few. I felt it is the perfect backdrop to use for the movie. I want the film industry to know about Jamestown and all it has to offer. It’s such a beautiful city filled with good people and it deserves to be seen. Our film is also a horror movie, sub-genre Christmas horror, so we needed a place which guaranteed snow. Growing up in Jamestown, I know the city does not lack the white stuff during the winter months,” she added.

The actress said she had to follow a tighter writing schedule because the weather allows only so much time before snow-thaw cycles become more frequent as spring approaches.

“We got the green light to make the film in December and the latest we felt comfortable filming was in February. I’d say all in all this script, revisions included, took us about a month to write but we’re still making some tweaks,” Sweet said.

For Sweet, she couldn’t watch horror films until about eight years ago. She watched a season of “American Horror Story” and surprised herself by not being frightened, but rather intrigued.

She knew she needed to more.

And from there, much to her parents dismay, she went down the proverbial horror rabbit hole which has shaped her life and career. “Really, they’re quite supportive. As an actress, I love the challenge of trying to pull off being realistically scared when I know in actuality I am in zero percent of being in any actual danger. I’m among trusted colleagues and friends and as absurd as this may sound, I genuinely enjoy being covered in blood, putting on prosthetics, and running as fast as I can away from ‘danger.’ I feel more fulfilled as an actress when I act in horror,” the actress noted.

The film’s Facebook page says the movie could hit screens this year.

LEAVING PARADISE

Susan Jones and her husband Greg have vacationed in Puerto Vallarta for the last two decades. Leaving paradise last March, however, was unlike any trip the Joneses had ever made.

For the last eight years, the Bemus Point residents have called the resort town on Mexico’s west coast their home during the winter months.

Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to close the country’s borders, the resort, which according to Jones is heavily populated by Canadian tourists, became a “ghost town.”

“That’s when everybody sat up and took notice,” she said.

Her nerves soon turned to how the six family members who had joined them would return home.

Family members who lived in Connecticut went to Salt Lake City in order to catch a connecting flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, while other members, due to return home to Jamestown, could only get as close as Hamilton, Ontario, by way of a connecting flight in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The remaining two family members, due for Cleveland, luckily had little problem finding flights back.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Vallarta, the mass exodus and impending cancellations by the resort soon resulted in staff layoffs.

“They began moving people and consolidating them into one building because they were letting staff go,” Jones said. “We were moved twice. Within a week, everything shut down. … Restaurants, busses, cabs. If you stayed behind, and there are a few people I know who have, but they are communicating with one and another about how to get certain things and how to get access to medical help, should they need it.”

The Joneses were lucky: after enough conversations with representatives of the airline, they were able to make sure they were on a plane, finally securing reservations for a flight into Pittsburgh last Sunday by way of San Francisco International Airport.

Social distance was maintained on the plane, she said, with a flight that usually holds between 160 and 170 people holding not even 40.

“Then, we got to Pittsburgh at 6 a.m. and it was a ghost town again,” Jones said. “There was one car outside and it was a police car. That’s all we saw. It’s eerie. I wasn’t flying at the time of September 11th, so I can’t imagine how that was, but this was certainly strange. There was no one around.”

STILL LIGHTING UP THE HOLIDAYS

Growing up in Holly, Mich., Christmas was always a special time of year for John Fuchs.

He fondly recalls spending time hanging garland and lights around the windows of their family home.

“When I was about 7 or 8, my dad and I built my first lighted Christmas display,” he said. “It consisted of a Santa, sleigh and Rudolph, complete with a blinking red light for the nose.”

Since 2014, Fuchs, a retired engineer, has transformed his home at 629 Winsor St. in Jamestown into “Lights on Winsor,” an intricate light show that synchronizes with music played on 104.9 FM.

“When we first moved into the house in 1974, my wife and I did luminaria the first few years,” Fuchs said. “Then little by little, more lights started to appear. First on the bushes, then on the front of the house in tree shapes. Eventually, the whole front of the house was covered.”

Today, Fuchs estimates his display has about 10,000 individual lights that he has transformed into snowflakes, bells, trees and, most recently, a manger scene.

And while in his seventies, Fuchs generally does all of the programing and installation himself, he has had help over the years. His wife, Margie, continues to offer her full support, local artist Gary Peters Jr. created the manger scene and Brandon Caruso, Guest Experience Researcher and Developer at the National Comedy Center, has programmed several songs and displays.

This year, when it looked like the annual show might not happen, his son, Christopher, drove up from Maryland to help and together, they got it done just in time.

“It truly has been a labor of love,” he said.

Recently, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation announced Fuchs as its 2020 Axel W. Carlson Unsung Hero Award recipient.

“What makes this award so special is that it is designed to recognize those that make an impact in their community, while flying under the radar,” said Bob Young Jr., Axel W. Carlson Award Selection Committee chair. “What John does for the community, year after year, brings an incredible amount of joy to everyone who passes by. And now, more than ever, that is something to celebrate.”