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Over the years we have tended to try and keep track of what has been written about our fair community in an attempt to understand what exactly strikes others about Cooperstown. Sometimes we feel the nail has been hit squarely on the head. Others times we think the writer has missed by a mile.
But we have never been as disappointed by a characterization of Cooperstown as we were by what was evidently said about Cooperstown as reported by Denise Richardson in an article entitled ``Baseball camp season `nice switch’ for area,’’ which appeared in the June 15 edition of ``The Daily Star.’’
In that article the executive director of the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce is quoted as saying ``We’re a baseball community...’’ We were stunned. There is no denying that baseball is indeed a part of our community. But to claim that we are a ``baseball community’’ does not seem to present an accurate picture of that which is Cooperstown, at least not as we know it. We believe the argument was being made that the tourist industry is a major player in the economy of Cooperstown.
And while we admit it is a player, it would seem that there are other forces that are bigger drivers of the economy of Cooperstown, starting with the Bassett Medical Center. We cannot help but be struck by the fact that all of the residential real estate transactions at our end of Pioneer Street have been driven by the presence of Bassett. Hospital dollars also have a huge impact on employment in the area. Beyond Bassett’s input, consideration must also be given to the impact of both the county seat and the school district being located in Cooperstown as well as all the local businesses which provide the goods and services necessary for those of us who actually live here. For the most part, the visitors to Cooperstown are welcomed by the residents. But for many of us, tourism is not a driving force in our lives. And it is certainly not the way we choose to define ourselves. Instead, we would suggest that our true identity can be found in what we do as represented by those events which we have been asked to include in this week’s column.
The first of these is the annual Ice Cream Social at the Presbyterian Church located on Pioneer Street. This year it will be held on Friday, July 2 from 5 until 8 p.m. on the church lawn in good weather and on the porches and in the chapel in inclement weather.
At the social there will be not only hot dogs but also hamburgers as well as a choice of macaroni salad, coleslaw, three bean salad or baked beans, lemonade, coffee and, of course, ice cream and homemade cake. Additionally, handicrafts, baked goods and second-hand treasure items as well as plants will be offered for sale. There will also be games and other activities for the children.
Following the Ice Cream Social, it will be possible to take in the Cooperstown Community Band Concert starting at 8 p.m., at Lakefront Park. The concert will be followed by the annual Fourth of July fireworks display sponsored by the Cooperstown Fire Department. All in all, these events offer a great way to start the Fourth of July weekend.
We have also been asked by Grace Kull to mention that she has learned that her charity:water well, for which she solicited funds from the community to add to her donation of her salary as a Village Trustee. Her e-mail to us regarding the well reads: ``I forwarded an email that I received from charity:water showing how a well is built and some of the people it affects.áI thought it would be interesting for the people who donated to the well to see it. I received the word that our well is being dug in Cote d’Ivoire, ...the Ivory Coast of Africa. Would you put this information in your column?
We willáreceive pictures of our actual well and the Village in which it is being dug, after it is completed.’’
Not only are we happy to report that our well is being dug, but we also note that should anyone wish to see the results of digging such a well, the website is www.charitywater. org/mailings/jean_bosco.
html. We look forward to seeing Grace’s well completed and learning more about the village it will be benefiting.
And while thinking about charitable undertakings, we would like to point out that the Fenimore Quilt Club, the group that sponsors the annual Cooperstown Quilt Show each February at the Cooperstown Art Association Galleries, has taken on two philanthropic projects this year. Club members are making heart pillows for cardiac patients at the Bassett Medical Center.
They have graciously taken on this project as the local group that has been making these pillows for a number of years now is no longer able to continue. We greatly appreciate the club’s willingness to help the heart pillow project continue.
We are also impressed that the Fenimore Quilt Club has undertaken a project to make colorful pillowcases for residents at the Manor. This is, we think, no small undertaking and we salute them for taking on such a project. We also note that both of these projects speak volumes about what we feel defines our community, namely the people who live in it.
In closing, while we understand that baseball is very much a part of our community, we feel it is vitally important that the Cooperstown community be defined by the actions and deeds of its residents. We believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said, ``Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.’’
To this we feel we must add a quote from Virginia Satire, American Psychologist and Educator. 1916-1988, who said, ``We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.’’ We could not agree more. Cooperstown is so much more than a ``baseball community.’’ Its residents prove that each and every day.
PLEASE NOTE: Comments regarding this column may be made by mail at 105 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, by telephone at 607-547-8124 or by email at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com.
Columns
In These Otsego Hills: Defining ourselves beyond baseball ...
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From Fly Creek: For help with the smug
I’ve been having much fun lately, friends, writing a short book called “Saints for Special Needs,” completely fictional characters whomight get us thinking about humanity—and ourselves, in particular. Here’s a sample. Let me know your reaction. (Oh, and I have a fine cartoonist to illustrate the book!) [Almost every culture has a place for “the wise fool,” the vacant sort of person who, in fact, has a witty and trenchant view of humanity, and may even see into its future.]
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In These Otsego Hills: Still more from 1986
Early August found us asking the question, “Does anyone know when Edgewater was builtand by whom?” The answer, much of which came from Ralph Birdsall’s history of the village, appeared in the Aug. 13 column as follows:
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In These Otsego Hills: Continuing on from 1986 ...
We continue this week by answering the question we asked if anyone remembers the old Cooperstown National Bank? On May 13, we wrote: “Martha Dickison, Delaware Street, called to tell us about the Cooperstown National Bank where she worked at her first ‘real job’ after her graduation from school.
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Up On Hawthorn Hill: Spring inventions
The second line of Lawrence Durrell’s novel “Justine” reads as follows: “In the midst of winter you can feel the inventions of Spring.” I first read all four novels of his magnificent Alexandria Quartet during the year I traveled from Saigon to Paris after working in Vietnam for a refugee organization for several years.
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From Fly Creek: Revving up for spring
Time to bring you up to date on Fly Creek’s happy clambering into Spring. First, the eatery scene. “Is Jerry’s open yet?” The answer is, “Oh, yes!” The porches are freshly stained; the lawns a uniform green, and the hop vines are already climbing the posts on the covered side deck. Blue and I went up there to lunch earlier this week, and I celebrated spring with my traditional bacon, onion and Swiss cheese hamburger. We two sat on the deck, enjoying the broad view and some spectacular clouds marching across, up toward Schuyler Lake.
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In These Otsego Hills: More from 1986 ...
This week we continue with the discussion of telephone service from the pre-dial days. On March 12 we noted that: “No one has yet produced a telephone directory from pre-dial days, but Doug Preston of New Hartford recalls that some business (which one?) in the village had the phone number 7.”
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Home Notes: Celebrations abound at the Thanksgiving Home
April was a month of celebrations and much to appreciate. We had a 90th birthday celebration for Wanda Noyes on April 4 including her family and friends. Personal care staff Dee Bouck worked with residents to hand paint Easter eggs for the tree in the activity room.
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In These Otsego Hills: 1986 continues ...
This week we continue our journey through the columns of 1986 with the answer to the question “for whom, according to tradition, was Hannah’s Hill named?”
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Book Notes: Baseball book features local contributors
Baseball is part of the nation’s fabric. Most kids have a memory of the game either from playing Little League, attending a major league contest or meeting a favorite player. In Cooperstown that feeling is magnified since we are the official home of baseball. We get to see firsthand what has made the sport the national pastime.
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From Fly Creek: Ya really wanna know?
SETTING: Fly Creek General Store. CAST: Assorted seated geezers, drinking coffee. [Door opens, enter heavy-set geezer; walking slowly with wide stance, maybe prostatitis.]
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In These Otsego Hills: Returning to 1986 ...
For the past several years now we have undertaken sharing some of the area’s oral history we have collected over the years that we have written this column. Therefore, this year, we would like to go back to 1986 to share that rather unusual year. Those who were here then no doubt remember that it was that year that the village celebrated the bicentennial of its founding.
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From Fly Creek: For reasons unknowable
[Jim’s reached back to 2002 to share one of his favorite columns.] My father was born as the last century began into a river village in tidewater Maryland. He told me once of a man there in his boyhood who, like so many, made a thin living tonging for oysters in the cold months and, in the hot and humid ones, crabbing and raising vegetables.
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In These Otsego Hills: CCS balancing act ... side two
Last week we shared a number of activities in which students at CCS can participate. We thought it was an impressive, if not overwhelming, list. And we are indeed pleased that the young people of our area have these opportunities. However, we think it is also important to keep in mind that these undertakings do have a cost associated with them. They are not free. In fact there are, no doubt, those who would say they do not come cheap.
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From Fly Creek: A graceful crowd
Make of this what you will, friends. I feel I’m really meant to share it with you. Despite good medication for my Parkinsonism, every four or five weeks I can sensethe symptoms building up on me, giving me more than ordinary trouble. Lately it’s been falls, and last week brought a typical one. I’d gone out to get the paper, moving along with penguin steps on the snowcoved ice patches, and usingmy spike-tipped cane the waya climber uses an ice axe. But circumstances overcame me. Parkinson’s wipes out the possibility of multi-tasking.
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In These Otsego Hills: This and that and the other side ...
We note that the CCS Class of 2012 is presenting its senior class play, “Snow White” by Tim Kelly, this week with performances 7:30 p.m Thursday and Friday, March 29 and 30, and at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31. All performances will be at the Nicolas J. Sterling Auditorium at the Middle/High School.
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In These Otsego Hills: That green thing ...
Of late we have noticed that our email inbox has been much busier than usual. In fact, we find ourselves hard pressed to keep up with all the various messages we receive. As a result we suspect we have not answered some in as timely a fashion as might be thought appropriate.
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From Fly Creek: What you need to know
In their last Sunday’s bulletins, all 84 churches of Otsego County were to have carried announcements of an important meeting; most of them did. But because the announcement is so important, and not just to the churched, here it is again.
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Book Notes: Living the magic of ‘Hoosier’
A lot of people consider “Hoosiers” the best sports film of all time. The 1986 classic follows the exploits of a fictional small town Indiana high school basketball team in 1952 as it attempts to achieve the impossible dream of a state championship. The story is inspired by the true life achievement of the 1954 Milan team, who with an enrollment of only 161 students shocked big city power Muncie Central on a last second shot to win the state title. It’s the kind of sports story that represents something that is hard to grasp unless you live in a small town.
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In These Otsego Hills: The most perfect village... home to heavy industry?
We suspect we would get a whole lot more accomplished if we spent less time thinking, pondering and musing about things. In fact, there is a good possibility we might actually have completed our goal of cleaning the basement if we only focused on the task at hand, instead of trying to figure out the world around us. It almost makes us wonder if it is possible to think too much about things. We certainly hope not because should that be the case, we are in deep trouble.
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Up On Hawthorn Hill: The past in the present
Clichés abound about the value of photographs. Most are probably true at least to a certain extent. What I do know about an image is that it represents something of the past that is not the pastitself. But that is the power of any image. It represents something that once was. The beauty of an image, revisited, is that it functions as a catalystfor reliving in the present a past experience. My own view, one that I thank the Spanish writer Jorge Luis Borges for, is that all we ever can experience is the present.
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From Fly Creek: For help with the smug
