Valentine’s Day in Schenectady and the Legend of Lawrence the Indian

One of the first places I visited upon arriving in the Capital Region was Schenectady's Stockade District. We loved the historic buildings, Riverside Park and of course Lawrence the Indian.

When I first saw him it was October and he looked badass to me. Now I am hearing that every Valentine's Day, Lawrence gets "flocked"! Who does this? How did it start? How long has this been going on? What is a "flocking"?

When my son was in school our front lawn was flocked by a dozen flamingos. It was a stunt intended to raise awareness and funds for a charity and it was fun to see homes around town brightened up with the plastic pink birds. Looks like it's a similar experience for Lawrence the Indian.

As far as the mystery of it goes I am one to let it live. Why do we need to know who does this? Doesn't it make it more special to leave the wonder of it all to our imaginations?

Over the last few years we have had unprecedented access to celebrities, athletes, musicians. There was a time, for example, that KISS wouldn't allow themselves to be photographed without their makeup. Now Paul Stanley will do an Instagram story at the drive-thru at Starbucks.

It's the old Wizard of Oz anecdote, sometimes we don't need to see behind the curtain. Let the legend grown and let it be.

On Valentine's Day, take a stroll by Lawrence and see what happens. Will he be flocked again this year? Who will do it? It's better we don't know. It's already a beautiful part of Schenectady with some of the oldest and most historically significant homes in the city and the Mohawk River forms a boundary of The Stockade.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app