Local ‘cultural icon’ Arthur Gonick honored by Natalie Sillery, others
Daily Dispatch: Beach closed. Bookstore on sidewalk. Court for "camping law" speech.
Today’s headlines: Scroll down to find these stories and more.
Call us prescient, but we spoke to Cristina Connolly who keeps a watchful eye on harmful algal blooms and other stressors of Saratoga Lake’s ecosystem and recreational opportunities, and what she said came true. PLUS: Angela “Dio” Kaufman had her first day in court; her lawyer explains the defense of her 30-minute speech against the “no camping” law.
But first, the afternoon’s top story, which hit especially close to home…
Local ‘cultural icon’ Arthur Gonick, tireless journalist, honored by dear friend Natalie Sillery and other Saratogians who knew him well.
By Abby Tegnelia
The sad news spread like a devastating wildfire this morning — an obit in the Saratogian, which was picked up by Saratoga-Report and texted around — via a local media chain that I think the news junkie at its center would have appreciated immensely. Our dear friend Arthur Gonick, 69, tireless chronicler of Saratoga’s society and people, has passed away of complications from Parkinson’s disease.
“We truly lost a cultural icon,” says Gonick’s friend of more than 30 years, Saratoga Trunk owner Natalie Sillery. “He was such a joy and so brilliant; I could converse with Arthur for hours. He was a good, dear man who was selfless, totally selfless. I loved Arthur.”
Over his several decades of service, Gonick became a treasured representative of the Saratoga social scene, beloved by the men and women he interviewed and photographed with his distinct silver camera. Most recently, he published to his blog, The 12866, but in mid-2023 he stepped back from his writing duties, at first upbeat but shy about his diagnosis.
“I’m going to be on restricted duty for awhile,” he texted me that fall. “But I’m doing what they say, and keeping a good attitude.” Always a gentleman, and always so humble, he signed off with, “Thanks for reaching out. It means a lot.”
Sillery and Gonick talked every Sunday evening at around 5 p.m., until around May of this year — and she was able to find him one last time in June. “He got weaker and weaker, and he would tell me how just getting to the phone was really becoming a chore,” says a clearly heartbroken Sillery, while fighting back tears. “He tried so hard to live life. I'll miss him dearly.”
Gonick, a Cornell University graduate, struggled with his Parkinson’s diagnosis and did not allow me or anyone I talked to — including Sillery — to visit him.
“So many times I said, ‘Come on, honey, let me come over and sit with you, help you out,” says Sillery. “He wouldn't let me see him — ‘I don't want you to see me like this,’ he said.”
Gonick covered many of the Saratoga Trunk owner’s charity events over the years, including for his former Daily Planet column at Saratoga.com. “We would co-write things together,” Sillery says. “He was Perry White and I was Lois Lane. He was at every event I ever did, every fashion show.
“I did the big Ronald McDonald fashion show for 23 years, starting in 1996. It was always at the Rail, the Big 10, and then our last one was in the new 1863 club. Arthur would always be there; he would get down on the floor as the models walked by to take their picture, and then write about the whole thing.”
For pre-coverage of the events to help boost ticket sales, Gonick loved the most creative ideas.
“I would do a lot of little impromptu fashion things up and down the steps of my store,” Sillery says. “And he would come by and take pictures. He loved the girls. They were beautiful. I call them my glamazons, and he'd love to stand in between them and have his picture taken.
He was a lady's man without the lady.”
Sillery’s fashion show, now a fundraiser called A Tribute to Transforming Lives that raises money for Living Resources and Building on Love, will be held this year at the 1863 Club on Aug. 17.
“Before our second year, in 2023, he wrote to me and he said, ‘I'm having a little problem.’”
A year later, he had an operation, and his upbeat attitude was noticeably starting to fray. “I have some resources, fueled by well wishes such as yours,” he wrote me in July of 2024. “It’s tough frankly, but I’m doing my best.” He always signed off, “Great to hear from you!” or “Thanks for the offer [of a visit] and your friendship.”
Sillery referenced Gonick’s love of all things Superman and its fictional Daily Planet newspaper in her Facebook tribute: “Rest in Peace, ‘Chief’…your dear friend ‘Lois Lane’ looks forward to seeing you in Heaven! What Glorious stories we’ll write! I miss you dear friend.”
Desiree Farley, who wrote for Gonick’s 12866 blog when he first stepped down, shared her story of his championship for a free press — and the accomplishments of women. “When Arthur Gonick invited me to write for The 12866, I gave him a list of demands,” she shared. “I wanted to spotlight the women getting sh*t done, I wouldn’t tolerate bullies, and I wanted the photos to focus on the fashion.
He said yes without blinking. He let me be fully, unapologetically me and somehow helped me sidestep every social landmine along the way.
Thank you for documenting our town with love, wit, and that unmistakable twinkle in your eye. Rest easy, friend. #12866Legend.”
Earlier stories from the Dispatch writers and editors…
Click the picture or the “Read full story” link to see what we have been working on today.
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