RIP: William Emmett Otto Jr. July 28, 1935 — November 18, 2018

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We have just learned of the passing of Schroon Laker Bill Otto. A Celebration of Life will be held in Schroon Lake in the spring or summer of 2019, at a date to be determined.

From Bill’s official obit:

William (Bill) Emmett Otto Jr., age 83 passed away peacefully Sunday, November 18th, 2018 surrounded by his loving family. He was born July 28, 1935 in Yonkers, to William Otto Sr. and Eleanor (Jackson) Otto.

Bill graduated from Saunders Trade and Tech school in 1955. After graduating, he served in the United States Army from 1956 through 1958. He worked many jobs, including as a yard supervisor at Schildwachter Oil and later at Mount Severance Country Store and Jellystone Campground in Schroon Lake, where he lived most recently.

Bill had eclectic tastes and enjoyed music, playing basketball, fishing and all aspects of the outdoors, playing with his grandkids and hockey, especially his beloved New York Rangers. He was pulled kicking and screaming into the world of ballet by his wife but eventually embraced it.

William is survived by his wife of 61 years, Leslie Ann Otto, and his children William Otto, David Otto (Christine), Phillip Otto (Rachel), Susan Poulin, Deborah Otto-Jones (Richard), Eric Otto (Laura) and Alison Otto-Walsh (Colin) and his grandchildren, Lily Otto, Nathaniel Otto, Kes Otto, Alexander Otto-Jones, Julia Otto, Ethan Jones, Emma Otto, Matthew Jones, Henry Otto and Quinn Otto as well as his brother, Richard Lawrence Otto.

Saranac Lake's Winter Carnival and Garry Trudeau

One of the most popular winter adventures for North Country folks and beyond is the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.

Every year, since 1981, "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, raised in Saranac Lake, has designed the official poster and button to promote the carnival.

The CBS News program Sunday Morning profiled Trudeau on their most recent broadcast, with Saranac Lake getting a special mention.

Each year has a theme and for 2019 it’s Prehistoric Park. This year’s 10-day festival event is set for February 1-10, 2019. You can find all of the information you’ll need, by clicking here.

In a first for "Sunday Morning," host Jane Pauley gets to interview her husband.

Trudeau is the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist whose comic strip career began at Yale University in the 1960s, "Bull Tales," evolved into one of the most influential and enduring chronicles of the counterculture. Now 70, Trudeau talks about the effect his memorable characters' journey has had on him and what he calls his "accidental career."