Columns
This Wonderful Life: The perfect weekend to visit — or live here
Cooperstown knows how
to do holidays. Other towns
may attempt quaint and
heart-warming holidays,
but Cooperstown just happens
to have both the small
size and the community resources
to outshine even a
Hollywood rendition.
Take Halloween. Every
Oct. 31, children from all
over Cooperstown and the
surrounding villages and
hamlets gather on Main
Street, in costume, to parade
up Main Street, toward
Chestnut and onward
to the Fire Station, where
they are treated to some
good-natured tricks and no
small amount of candy. For
the youngest children, the
march to the Fire Station
may signal the end of trickor-
treating done mostly in
daylight. Meanwhile, older
kids and their families fan
out through the maze of village
streets, knocking on
one decorated door after
another, teaming up with
classmates and walking
until they just can’t ring
one more bell.
It is my assertion that
Cooperstown should have a
Welcome Committee that
gives newcomers with children
a literal welcome wagon
that they can take out
on Halloween (and to the
Farmers’ Market and the
Christmas Parade), so little
ones will have a smooth
ride home or to the car.
Christmastime is even
more outrageously quaint,
with Santa himself (not
some polyester-bearded
``helper’’) heralding the beginning
of the season in the
annual Christmas parade.
Surrounded by village
youngsters, Santa and Mrs.
Claus take the opposite
route into Cooperstown’s
Main Street, riding a sleigh,
drawn by jingling horses
from Railroad Avenue down
to the corner of Main and
Pioneer streets, where the
park holds a small outpost
of Santa’s North Pole HQ.
Throughout the season,
children can visit him there,
and post wish lists in his
mail box.
It’s enough to make
Frank Capra himself call
us corny. And then there is
July Fourth — Independence
Day.
Cooperstown wasn’t actually
born on the Fourth of
July, but it might as well
have been for the way it
embodies (and delivers) a
picture-perfect country celebration.
I remember my first
Fourth of July in Cooperstown.
Visiting from Florida,
where early July turns
everything into sweltering
sandpaper, we were enchanted
by the lush, green
hillsides and the fact that
we had to wear sweaters
for an early evening excursion
on the lake.
As we gathered under
afghans and quilts, watching
the sky overhead deepen
from cornflower to violet
to an inky shade of purple black
just a few shades
lighter than the silhouettes
of treetops on surrounding
hills, it felt like settling into
the warm lap of the landscape.
At dark, fireworks
soared overhead with whistles
and shrieks, then exploded
like rogue stars, filling
the sky and echoing
around the basin of the
lake.
While the lake rocked
us, the hills hugged us
tight, and we knew we had
found a new home.
Elizabeth Trever Buchinger
could tell Frank Capra
a thing or two about a
wonderful life. You can connect
with her at www.moremindfulfamily.
wordpress.com.
- Columns
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From Fly Creek: Passing fronts and settled weather
(I owe the first part of this column to an informal writers’ workshop sponsored by the Smithy Pioneer Gallery. The small group, led by Gallery Director Danielle Newell, meets Sunday afternoons and is open to anyone interested in the writing craft. As a warmup exercise on that very rainy afternoon, we each wrote a few paragraphs on the weather and emotions. Here’s what that keen group prompted me to scribble down) The dour old Scotsman, the one featured in jokes without number about buying lottery tickets, pinching pennies, scorning worldly ways, etc., once silenced a friend who was praising the beautiful weather.
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In These Otsego Hills: We're back from Michigan ...
Unfortunately, we once again find ourselves stuck in a time warp. When we look at the calendar, we realize that Labor Day is fast approaching. Yet, we seem to be operating under the misconception that it is still early July due in large part to the fact that we spent the almost five weeks from July 15 to August 17 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We feel the summer has sailed by and we, unfortunately, have not kept pace.
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Otsego Herald: Censorship?
All those indebted to John Lawrence, Post-rider, and do not settle the same IMMEDIATELY may rely upon having to pay cost!! Otego, Aug. 24.
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In These Otsego Hills: 1984 comes to a close ... finally
As we continue traipsing through 1984, we realize that even though we were supposed to be covering the comings and goings of Cooperstown, we actually were able, even then, to touch on a number of pressing community, as well as personal, issues. Of course, much to the relief of the powers that were at CCS, the school was not among them. The he-we ran for the school board in 1984 and was elected. Thus the school was deemed off limits by the powers that were at the paper. But we discovered there was still a wide range of issues upon which we could write.
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Otsego Herald: New school book
From the Otsego Herald for Saturday, Aug. 18, 1810
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Book Notes: Books offer tennis insights
Professional tennis sometimes seems to be the ultimate life. Where else could you travel the world, earn gobs of money, get in great shape, and have groupies from the opposite sex chasing you all the time? And you get all your equipment free to boot (which may explain why players smash racquets without remorse). Quite a glamorous life, isn’t it?
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In These Otsego Hills: Continuing our 1984 musings
Now that we have undertaken the beginnings of this column, we fear we find ourselves unable to stop our review of the early writings. In fact, we seem to be completely addicted to the project. And thus, we will continue to explore the very foundations on which this column has been built.
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Book Notes: Burnett's book recalls 'Golden Age'
It’s a shame that today’s young generation missed the golden age of television from the 1960s and 70s. The fact that Hollywood studios with their ``original’’ ideas of constantly remaking hit TV shows from that era into new movies and reunion specials is quite telling. Even Fox with its ``That 70’s Show’’ is a reminder of that whimsical time.
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Home Notes: A place to cherish
As we enter into the middle of summer, let us pause and relish in the fact that we have been blessed with such lovely weather.
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From Fly Creek: Hurray for Mother Bassett!
Just back from my annual week at Lake George’s Silver Bay, in company with about 600 other Quakers. As always, it was a great time: Friends shared silence in the early morning by the lake and during the day in the big brown-shingled tabernacle. (Silver Bay is an old YMCA camp.)
Continued ...
Plenty of fine stringed music and singing in the evenings; lots of daytime rocking-chair stints on the deep veranda, facing across rolling lawns and lake to green mountains and skies of startling blue. -
In These Otsego Hills: In the beginning
Our remembering Jerry in last week’s column has now lead us to muse about our early days of writing a weekly newspaper column.
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Book Notes: Prohibition should not be ignored
I was an American history major in college and one topic that my professors never discussed was prohibition.
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Otsego Herald: Elopement
From the Otsego Herald for Saturday, July 21, 1810 Compiled, with comments BY HUGH C. MACDOUGALL
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Home Notes: Personal Care is a rewarding occupation
When I was a young girl in the early 50’s my family would often take rides through Cooperstown and the Cherry Valley area.
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In These Otsego Hills: Remembering Jerry ...
Difficult as it is to believe, we have been a widow for eleven years this week. And yet it seems as if our late husband Jerry just died yesterday. The memory of it remains most vivid in our mind. We suppose there is much that we don’t remember about July 20, 1999. But we do remember just how much that day changed our life forever. We lost not only our spouse of 28 years, but also our best friend.
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Otsego Herald: Celebrating the 4th
From the Otsego Herald for Saturday, July 14, 1810 Compiled, with comments by
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Our Opinion: What’s good for the goose...
The board of trustees has decided to hire an engineer to review the work of CLA Site, the firm hired to do the site assessment and design work for the Village Gateway Project _ now known as the Cooperstown Intermodal Transit Project. That review will cost up to $12,000.
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From Fly Creek: ‘Thump-thump, dum-lum’
Since I last wrote to you I’ve been several times embraced to Mother Bassett’s bosom.
Continued ...
(Oh dear, I hope that’s not a disrespectful metaphor. But if you’ve seen photos, you know she was a handsome, dignified woman with an ample superstructure.) This time, for variety, the hospital visits at first seemed to have little to do with Parkinsonism. But a new problem had turned up that had me tested in every part of the hospital except obstetrics. -
In These Otsego Hills: Travels with The Widge...
We have decided that the role of grandmother is quite to our liking. As we have been told any number of times, as a grandparent it is perfectly acceptable to hold, play with and fawn over the grandchild until such time as said grandchild becomes fussy. And then, and this is the best part, it is completely within the purview of the grandparent to return the fussy grandchild to the parents. We love it.
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Otsego Herald: Shocking accident, American arrested
On Wednesday last, as Joseph Faulkner, esq. of Middlefield, was returning home from Cherry-Valley, a gust of wind arose up suddenly, a large Elm was blown across the road, directly on Mr. Faulkner, who, together with his horse was instantly killed.
Continued ...
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From Fly Creek: Passing fronts and settled weather
