By Jeanne Sager
KIAMESHA LAKE — September 24, 2002 – Al Feller felt like he was seeing the end of an era.
The general manager at Leisure Time Ice will be one of the many county residents saying goodbye this morning to Harold Reynolds, the retired owner of A.T. Reynolds and Sons and past director of Leisure Time, who died Friday at 95.
Reynolds was part of an older generation in Sullivan County, the generation that got many of the county’s mainstays off the ground.
Reynolds himself was a founding member of the Monticello Raceway, an integral part of the Holiday Mountain Ski Commission and member of both the National Union Bank and Key Bank boards.
Feller, who has worked under Reynolds for 25 years, recalled his boss as an active community member.
He was a life member of the Monticello Fire Department, a 44-year member of the Elk’s Lodge, a former trustee of the Village of Monticello, a past member of the Rotary Club, and more importantly, a well-liked member of the community.
“Everybody that knew Harold liked him,” Feller recalled. “He was a great boss.
“Even though he was basically retired, he was untiring,” Feller added. “He was here seven days a week up until a few months ago.
“He really had no hobbies – work was his hobby.”
Reynolds’ accountant for close to 50 years, Norm Bachrach, will be one of the many with kind words to say at the funeral today.
“If I had to sum it up in one sentence, Harold was a good guy, usually with a smile on his face,” Bachrach noted.
“He never had a bad word for anyone, and no one had a bad word for him.”
Reynolds outlasted much of his generation, Bachrach noted, making it hard to track down close friends.
“That’s why it’s up to us Johnny-come-latelies to speak on his behalf,” he noted. “But he’s an easy man to say nice things about because he was a nice man.”
Reynolds is survived by a host of friends and an extended family, including son Bruce, current owner of Leisure Time, and two daughters, Lois and Carol.
He considered Sullivan County his true home despite a condo in Florida where he spent some of his winters.
“He used to go down there grudgingly,” Bachrach noted with a laugh. “He always had the best interest of this county at heart.”
For more information, see the obituary in the Obituaries section.