Owasco principal spreads Christmas joy as conductor from 'Polar Express'
Christopher SciriaAECSD Public Information Specialist
Much is made about spreading joy during the holiday season, and Owasco Elementary School Principal Ron Gorney has a special way of doing it.
Gorney dresses up as the train conductor from the film “The Polar Express.” Tom Hanks plays the conductor in the film about a boy who rides a train to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
As the conductor, Gorney visits elementary schools in the Auburn School District where he brings the character to life.
“Let me just tell you this,” he said, “I'm in a position to spread joy. In my position there may be some authority but I have an opportunity to spread joy to hundreds of children, so I do it.”
Gorney said his portrayal of the conductor was “just a spontaneous thing that happened.”
It started when he was Genesee Elementary’s principal around 2008. The kindergarteners would get in their pajamas to watch the movie, and Gorney thought he could portray a close version of the conductor.
“It was interesting because I think my first mustache was made out of construction paper, black construction paper,” he said. “So I did that and I put a black coat on. The librarian happened to have an old Amtrak hat and I put (that) on and put on a black coat and black tie with a gold tie clip. I put the fake mustache on and I was a conductor and they still bought it. I can do the voice real good. I do the character well because I’m kind of Tom Hanks-ish looking.”
Gorney then became the principal at Casey Park Elementary where he continued portraying the conductor but also went back to Genesee. After five years at Casey Park and a stint at Cayuga Centers, he went to Herman Avenue Elementary, which meant he was appearing as the conductor at three elementary schools.
“And by that time, a couple of other teachers had spread out among the district, and there were a couple of (them) at Seward,” Gorney said. “Now they wanted me to go over there.”
Now at Owasco, Gorney has appeared as the conductor at all five of the district’s elementary schools and after 15 years, is very serious in how he becomes the conductor. He also rewatches the movie to make sure he has the voice right.
“The mustache was always the tough thing to pull off,” he said. “Because I do have the fake costume mustache, but this year I decided, you know what, let's do this, let me go with the beard and I'll shave the beard and I'll just have my mustache and now it's actually come in quite nicely. At any rate, I've got my same costume, and I'm upgrading now. I got the vest and we actually purchased a lot, so I'm going through costume upgrades.”
The conductor will read to the students as well as take their tickets as they walk into the auditorium to watch the movie.
“In Genesee, I make the kids march down that long corridor,” Gorney said. “I'll come up and I actually got a train whistle that I blow, I play a little harmonica too and I'll march them as a military kind of thing. They love marching.”
As for the younger students’ reactions, Gorney said they can be mixed. \
“It's interesting because they're a little awestruck,” he said,,”but they buy it, they buy it all the way. It's not until they get in the upper grades they figure it out but it's interesting, some of the first-graders now ask when he's coming so they anticipate it.”
The conductor isn’t the only character Gorney portrays during the school year. He has “twin brothers” such as Flinko the hair band rocker and Reginald the nerd.
“Flinko actually did the morning announcements,” he said, “ but he has not shown up here (at Owasco) in person. The last time Flinko showed up, he was at Casey Park. So I haven't had a chance to really roll him out, but I think we're going to have a talent show, so he'll be back.”
Then there’s Reginald.
“Reginald is my twin brother who has a pocket protector, a gob of white tape on his glasses and he's got toilet paper hanging off his shoe.” Gorney said. “He shows up on Halloween with a kick me sign on his back.”
Fittingly on Halloween, Gorney also appears as Batman where he’s up on the roof. It was a complete surprise to the Casey Park staff and students the first time Gorney did it.
“I didn't tell a soul,” he said, “I was the only one that knew it was going to happen. And when they went out on their parade, they looked up. And they saw Batman, they just about died. It's fun, who wouldn't dress up as Batman and go on the roof, who wouldn't? If you can do it, it's just a blast.”
Gorney has another way to bring holiday joy to Owasco’s students, he does daily Grinch reports where the mischievous figure is caught performing pranks.
Even with all of these fun characters and activities, Gorney never forgets what the school’s mission is.
“Don't get me wrong, sometimes it can be distracting,” he said. “I don't want to distract from the meat and potatoes, (educating students) why we're here.”
Why can’t a child learn and have fun in elementary school?
“Anything that's just going to brighten the kids' day, who wouldn't do it,” Gorney asked as he remembered his own elementary school experience. “I never knew my principal when I was in elementary (school). So when you ask me, why not, why wouldn't you? It's just a blast to see that joy.”
