Good Tidings They Bring

IT WAS AT A HALLOWEEN party, of all places, that a beloved Christmas tradition, not to mention a love story, began in 1974.

Carol and George Dakes, married 46 years, met at the bash through mutual friend Christine Finley and her husband at the time, Phil. The music-loving group quickly realized that they had a coveted “SATB” among them: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. They had to sing something!

And since the only thing they all knew by heart were Christmas carols, that’s what they sang.

“George and Phil said, ‘Hey, we sound pretty good, we should take this out on the road!’” Carol says. And so, they did.

The following year, the group hit the streets of Teaneck, New Jersey, where Christine lived (and still does). Soon after, they brought their talents to the Cheelcroft neighborhood of Ho-Ho-Kus, which the Dakes have called home for more than 40 years.

Neighbors await the tradition that occurs on the Sunday before Christmas each year, welcoming the carolers with warm foyers and cookies.

“Our neighbor’s daughter once said, ‘Mommy, it sounds like the radio is turned on,’” George says. “That’s one of the best compliments we ever got.”

SINGING THROUGH GENERATIONS

The carolers each say they grew up with an affinity for singing and music in general, performing in various church and school choirs and musicals as children then young adults before finding each other.

The foursome knew they had something good, so when Christine announced she was

divorcing Phil, George and Carol secretly thought: “She has to find another tenor.”

When Christine called the couple to say she met someone, George blurted out: “Is he a tenor?” Carol followed up with: “Is it a good tenor?”

In fact, he was. Patrick Finley, now Christine’s husband, has a PhD in composition and conducted various high school choirs throughout his career, including the small (Park Ridge High School) and very large and esteemed (Bergen County Academies). It’s dumb luck that his voice falls in the tenor range.

When he met Christine, he was her kids’ piano teacher. Needless to say, he wasn’t too broken up to hear about her divorce. Patrick fit right in when he joined the caroling group in 1986.

“When I started with the group, I remember coming through the door of one home and these twins came down in their onesies to listen,” Patrick says. “Years later, those two children were there with their husbands and children, and we sang to their children.”

Patrick says at another home, one of his former Park Ridge students answered the door.

They sang to her, her husband, and her children.

“Neat things like that happen,” Patrick says.

Carol says the merriment they bring is why they do it, year after year, whether the temperature is 4 degrees or 70 (both of which they’ve sang in).

Grandparents will often comment that it brings back memories from their childhood, Carol says. One year, a neighbor even hosted a party so that a larger crowd could enjoy the music.

“The fact that it’s such an old-world tradition is part of what attracts us to caroling and why people enjoy it,” Patrick says. “They did this in 1860. People join us and sing with enthusiasm.”

The quartet says from time to time, their kids have come caroling with them. Carol recalls her son Mark tagging along, but he only made it as far as a neighbor’s home that would always supply cookies to the carolers. He’d head home with the tin after, and the cookies would be gone by the time the group made it home.

Now, they occasionally get the chance to share the joyous evening with their grandkids.

The group generally sticks to their quaint neighborhood but will sometimes sing for people associated with Sycamore Community Church (formerly the Community Church, where they were members and choir participants/conductors for many years before joining Old Paramus Reformed Church in Ridgewood).

George says despite being auctioned off by the church and invited to sing for pay at parties, the quartet “retains its amateur status” and purely performs for the love of it.

One year, they were auctioned off by the Community Church and sang in front of Carlo Russo’s Wine & Spirit World in downtown Ho-Ho-Kus, providing patrons with a festive shopping experience. Another time, they performed at a resident’s Christmas party and gave their earnings to the church.

The group says hymns and Christmas carols are standardly written in four parts, and they generally sing all the classics a cappella (“First Noel,” “We Wish You a Merry

Christmas,” etc.), performing for around an hour and half (many times stopping to visit with friends and neighbors).

What’s one song they don’t like? “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

“I love it, but everyone else hates it,” George says.

“It’s actually a beautiful song, but we all go flat; it’s very hard to sing,” Carol retorts.

Among a talented group that’s performed in some renowned places, like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the PNC Arts Center, there’s just something about the streets of Ho-Ho-Kus at Christmastime and performing with dear friends and loved ones that’s special.

“It’s nostalgic; we truly enjoy it and think of it as a gift that we can give to our neighbors,” George says.

BY SARAH NOLAN