Setting the table: Forestville grads give back through Bills’ spirit
Two Forestville Central School graduates headed to New Jersey for Monday night’s Buffalo Bills-New York Jets tilt are hoping to score some air time on “Good Morning America” when the sun rises that day.
Chuck Skelly and his brother, Mike, also will be taking an object that has become synonymous with Western New York football fans and Bills Mafia — a table painted by a Forestville art class that will be part of a charity effort.
As a 1988 Forestville grad, Chuck Skelly is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Desert Storm and lives in the hamlet while working as a postal carrier. On game days — and some other occasions — he has portrayed “Bills Squatch,” for the last 3 ½ years.
His brother, a member of the Class of 1990, is “the handler” of Squatch and helps him navigate the tailgate with reduced visibility from the mask and hearing issues from his time in the Army.
Their love of the team has led to both being featured in an upcoming documentary on the Bills Mafia fan base, “Just One Before I Die.” It is being filmed through this Bills’ season, including games at home, in the Meadowlands on Monday and later this season in Los Angeles.
The brothers’ commitment to the community is part of their “Brothers Breaking Tables” effort.
That table, with the Forestville connection, will be raffled off to all who donate to the cause after the Bills game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 17. Proceeds from the money raised will go to Chautauqua County Rural Ministry in Dunkirk and JFT, Just For Today, a recovery and support agency for veterans in Harrisburg — where Mike Skelly resides.
“When I joined the Army, one thing that I identified as is a Bills fan because I missed home,” Chuck Skelly said.
He says the plan is to jump through the table at the Chiefs’ game in Orchard Park. Between now and then the brothers aim to collect donations, get the table signed by some players, raffle off the table and split the proceeds between the two charities.
When the brothers received word they were going to be included in the documentary while on vacation, they workshopped the name and concept of “Brothers Breaking Tables.” In addition, they kept a Forestville connection by reaching out to their alma mater. “We wanted to get Forestville students involved because that’s where Mike and my stories started,” Chuck Skelly said. “This will be a cool story that they can tell later too.”
Senior Rowan Woodard in Kristin Britz’s independent art class has embraced the opportunity in their work on the table.
She created the Bills’ logo in the middle of the table and added “Bills Versus Chiefs,” “Brothers Breaking Tables,” “716/717,” and “Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY.”
While Britz and other students helped complete the table, most of the work was completed by Woodard. “I was most excited to be involved in helping people,” the Forestville senior said. “There’s no way I could have predicted how big this would get.”
A social media site set up for Brothers Breaking Tables is expected to be completed sometime soon. As for Monday, the morning begins with a trip to MetLife Stadium where the Skellys will join the Water Buffalo Club 716, a major group of Bills fans, that will be featured on a “Good Morning America” segment, which is televised on WKBW-TV Channel 7.
Before kickoff that evening of the AFC East showdown, the Skellys will be seated near one of the end zones with a “Brothers Breaking Tables” sign. “We figure this is our 15 minutes of fame and we want to do something good with it,” Chuck Skelly said.
Despite the two-game losing streak, Skelly remains optimistic about the remainder of the season. “Wouldn’t it be perfect if the documentary ends with a Super Bowl win?” he said.
He also cherishes the county and community he and his brother love. “I have been to many places, but I always come home to Forestville,” he said. “I want to bring attention to our small town and I want people to know that many great things can come out of small towns.”