In Memoriam: Al Cook

Yesterday, Al Cook died. I knew him, of course, as did most folks who have lived in Hudson for a while, but not as well as others and not well enough to feel confident about writing a tribute to him. So, I asked Peter Meyer, who was his neighbor for three decades, if he would do so. To accompany Peter's remembrance, I offer this image, a screen capture from the 2006 documentary Two Square Miles, which shows Al at City Hall, grilling the Common Council.

Hudson lost one of its iron men yesterday. Albert R. "Cookie" Cook passed away at the home of his daughter Cathy and her husband, Tim McGlauflin, in Coeymans Hollow, five days before his 89th birthday. 

A former union leader at one of Hudson's cement plants, Cookie was later known as the unofficial mayor of Partition Street for his welcoming conversations with friends both on his Union Street front porch, often shared with his wife, Joan, and in his garage on Partition Street, where motorists stopped at all hours, night and day, to shoot the breeze about the day's events. Cookie had an eclectic collection of everything from old movie posters and records to old snowblowers and tools. From both venues, he dispatched opinions on politics and current events, local and national. He made frequent appearances in City Hall to fight such matters as having to pay water and sewer bills for a vacant apartment and poor drainage along his garage. To the surprise of many, Cookie was a vocal opponent of the proposed St. Lawrence Cement Plant.

Friends will remember him as a hard worker with a heart of gold. He will be missed.

                                                     --Peter Meyer

The door of Cookie's garage on Partition Street

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