I took this photo of my roommate, Senator Ron Stafford, and James (Bunny) Sheffield leaving our hotel, The Lausanne Palace, one morning in January 1973 — also the location of the Rotary International Convention. (Provided photo — Howard Riley)

We all know well the events and results of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid.

It is fun for me recalling the little things that happened along the way and behind the scenes.

Traveling with the Olympic Bid team as a reporter, we were all on the train in Zurich, Switzerland leaving for Lausanne when someone kidding Rev. Fell said, “why do you need to come on this trip when Ron MacKenzie heads the delegation?” Bernie answers, “Just to take care of Ron’s luggage.” The train is pulling out of the station at the same time this conversation is going on and as we are all looking out the train window watching our departure we see there on the platform are Ron’s two big, red, plaid suitcases. You can’t make this up. Rev. Fell took quite a ribbing but the efficiency of the trains and service had the luggage waiting when we arrived at the next station.

The main train stations in Germany have three restaurants. The first floor is like a working man’s bar; the second floor is a nice restaurant with a fine menu and the third floor is a gourmet restaurant. Along with Rev. Fell and Dr. Robert Madden we were dining one night in the gourmet restaurant (I had no idea what I ordered and didn’t recognize it after it arrived at the table). Doc was known as somewhat of a wine connoisseur and after he took a sip of the special wine he ordered, he turned away for some reason and Bernie pours a dash of water into his wine. Doc turns back to his wine, takes a couple of sips and Bernie asks, “does that wine meet your standards?” Doc answers “It’s the best!”

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James (Bunny) Sheffield was the greatest PR man for Lake Placid. His good looks and personality said it all.

The train ride from Zurich to Lausanne is a little over two hours. The car next to ours was filled with young men and women going off to military service for six months. That service in Switzerland is compulsory for all men, volunteer for women.

Bunny talked to every one of those young people. He handed out “Follow Me to Lake Placid” bumper stickers, Lake Placid pins and spent the entire trip bringing each of us back to meet and talk to those “kids.”

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Luke Patnode and I were scheduled to go to Switzerland and Austria but he had to delay the trip for a couple of days. He told me to go ahead and meet one Angel Riveria in Montreal who was with the Office of Economic Development in Washington, formerly on the staff of the governor of Puerto Rico and a former captain in the NYPD. Then, as a parting shot, Luke adds, “and he really dislikes (I’m using more polite language here) all Irishman.” Wow, thanks, Luke, I can’t wait to meet Angel.

Angel became one of my best friends. We kept in touch after the Games, including having dinner in the city.

So, we meet Luke when he arrives and the three of have dinner one night before a meeting, all dressed in our Olympic ties and blazers.

We were all about the same age, with salt & pepper hair, so that apparent look-alike, dressed-alike prompted a woman dining with others nearby to come over and ask,

“Are you a singing trio that was popular back in the 50’s?”

Later, Luke had to leave us for other business and asked me to return our rental car to Munich. I left our hotel in Austria early in the morning, returned by bus and was back at the hotel by noon. Angel was all upset saying he had lost his passport. I had taken his passport off the dresser in the dark at 5 a.m. and crossed the border twice with the wrong passport. Someone must have thought we looked alike.

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The last year before the Games, the official reports were all done and I was assigned to Ray Pratt, who was head of all the sports events. I was his trouble-shooter … that sounds much better than gopher. One of the few departments, probably the most complex, but suffered no major snafus. Ray was local, a former Army officer, teacher, coach and all around a perfect man for the job. We ended up attending the Miracle on Ice hockey game together.

My pal, Ree Rickard, told me this story. Ray says to her, “I think I’ll go out on the town some night with Howard.” Ree replies, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea Ray, that would be like a crow trying to fly with the eagles.”

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A couple of us were having coffee in the diner at the corner of Main and McKinley (Ruth’s?) one morning when an Olympic 15-passenger van came out of the sports building parking lot onto McKinley dragging a car behind the van. We ran out and stopped the kid driving the van. He had backed into the car, the bumper’s somehow locked, and unknown to him, he was pulling it behind him. Was the car sitting out of gear? How could the bumpers lock? How could the driver not feel the power train in the van react to that heavy weight it was pulling? I saw this happen although it seems impossible. We called Jerry Strack to come down and straighten out the mess.

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So many memories. A Command Center was set up and operated 24/7 as soon as the games began. It was manned by those of us who had been with the games staff the longest. My only decision that I can remember making involved tickets. For instance people coming, say, from Albany to a hockey game. They get held up at the parking lot in Keene, miss the game, and the ticket staff at the trailer, set up on Main Street are trying to figure refunds or what to do? There were so many hockey games they had to start that schedule two days before the opening ceremony. I suggested that they be given tickets to another game.

The hockey games were not even close to being sold out. The visitors simply wanted to see an Olympic sports event … they didn’t care what teams were playing. You know Japan’s hockey team lost their first game 14-0.