Five questions with Tom Reynolds
Reynolds is the manager of The Enjoy Troy Co., a small business that promotes Troy through its ubiquitous “enjoy troy.” symbol and products. The cheerful icon appears on stickers, t-shirts, hats, glassware, tables, murals, and in countless other ways. This Sunday, Jan. 6, The Enjoy Troy Co. is hosting “Enjoy Troy Day,” from 2p.m. to 4p.m., at McAddy’s Pub at 452Broadway to commemorate the Jan. 5, 1789naming of Troy, N.Y.
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What is Enjoy Troy Day? Enjoy Troy Day is something we started doing in 2015to commemorate the historic naming of Troy and to celebrate all things Troy. Our friend, the late Peter Albrecht, used to encourage people to keep up the beauty, keep up the warmth and the conviviality of this place, and that’s a big part of what Enjoy Troy Day is all about.
Why the Jan. 6date?
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The name “Troy” was decided upon during a gathering at a tavern near the river on the evening of Jan. 5. On the following day, it was up to folks at that meeting to spread the new name and make sure it stuck. So that’s why we celebrate Enjoy Troy Day on Jan. 6, the first full day that Troy had its name.
But you can celebrate Enjoy Troy Eve, too! We’ve started putting out wooden “enjoy troy.” clogs at night on Jan. 5in hopes that some kind spirit will fill them with wonderful Troy tchotchkes to be discovered the next morn on Enjoy Troy Day. That’s our crack at reviving some of the old St. Nicholas Day traditions that fell out of fashion here after the Troy Sentinel newspaper published the first account of that jolly old flying elf we now call Santa. Some of the newer traditions described in that poem ( “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” ) sort of overshadowed and replaced older customs. Instead of hanging stockings by the chimney, our early Dutch settlers would have put their shoes out on the night of Dec. 5for St. Nicholas to fill with coins and carrots and other treats to enjoy on Dec. 6. We’d like to see some version of that custom return, so why not try it out this Saturday night and see what happens? Any shoe will do. Maybe a new holiday figure will be born out of this.
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How should people celebrate Enjoy Troy Day?
All you need to do is enjoy Troy on Enjoy Troy Day. You can join us and a cast of characters downtown at McAddy’s. Or you can visit any number of other fine establishments located anywhere in the city of Troy. You can exchange Troy-centric gifts with friends and loved ones. You can visit one of our parks. Or, if you already live here, you can just stay home and enjoy the day any way you see fit.
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Is The Enjoy Troy Co. a real company?
Yes. I call it a “Social Benefits Corporation” because our goal is to benefit our community through our business practices. We aim to make mirth, not money, so we find ways to spend our proceeds on local creative professionals or to otherwise support the local economy. I have a day job, by the way, as a small business advisor at SUNY Albany SBDC.
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Does The Enjoy Troy Co. own the phrase “Enjoy Troy” ?
Certainly not. But the “enjoy troy.” symbol — with the lowercase typewriter font and the black and white oval — is our proprietary symbol that my business partner Linda Passaretti created in 2003. We also have special variations like “enjoy mctroy.” , “enjoyski troyski.” and “ahoy troy.” Find out more at http://enjoytroy. us or facebook.com/enjoytroy