We have found the weather so far this year to be on the unusual side. And while we have no problem with the fact that we have received very little snow, we are of the opinion that what we have had instead is not particularly to our liking either. In fact, we are very hesitant to venture out much as we live in fear that the rain will turn to mixed precipitation which will freeze into a sheet of ice. And we are definitely opposed to encountering a sheet of ice underfoot. In fact, we are so hesitant that we now have taken to canceling our participation in events based on what just might be a dubious forecast.
In fact, we canceled the January meeting of the Literary Discussion Group because we thought the forecast was dicey. And while everyone who is on the membership list for the group, received a telephone call, unfortunately a number of answering machines were reached and so we imagine there may have been those who showed up only to discover the meeting had been canceled. And for that inconvenience we do wish to offer our apology. However, just as we have become a fair weather friend, we fear we have also become a fair weather facilitator.
Nonetheless, the next meeting of the Literary Discussion Group, sponsored by the Women’s Club of Cooperstown will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Village of Cooperstown Library, weather permitting.
The meeting will first discuss January’s book, “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli, before moving on to February’s book, “The Greater Journey” by David McCullough. The discussion of “Milkweed” will be lead by Grace Kull while Ellen Bonhote, Cathe Ellsworth and Mary Leary will lead the discussion of “The Greater Journey.” The meeting is open to the public.
We note that the Fenimore Quilt Club’s annual quilt show will be held at the Cooperstown Art Association from Saturday, Feb. 11, to Sunday, Feb. 26. The show will be open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday.
We believe, although we are not 100 percent certain, that this will be the Fenimore Quilt Club’s 22nd annual show. And having worked on it ourselves for a number of years, we can attest to the fact that the show is no small undertaking. Thus we salute the members of the club for their continued effort to present the show each year. It is always a welcome addition to the winter season.
It has come to our attention that there will be a silent auction of a Lester G. “Red” Bursey painting of Christ Episcopal Church.
The painting, which is owned by Robin Lettis of our fair village, will be auctioned to help raise money for the Stained Glass Window Fund at the Presbyterian Church here in Cooperstown. Silent bids for the painting may be made between Feb. 5 and 5 p.m.
March 5 by contacting Robin Lettis by email at roblet22@ yahoo.com, by telephone at 547-8343 or by snail mail at 22 Eagle St, Cooperstown. The minimum bid for the painting is $275.
Although we well remember Red Bursey, we suspect that there are many residents of the area whose only knowledge of him might possibly be that the gymnasium at CCS is named for him. According to The History of Cooperstown by Coopers, Shaw, Littell and Hollis, on June 30, 1925, “Lester G. Bursey of Chelsea, Mass., who had been appointed director of physical education at the Cooperstown High School and coach of its athlete teams, arrived in Cooperstown to have charge of the Cooperstown Playgrounds which were conducted here for the first summer through the cooperation of several local bodies.”
Red continued to work with the children of the area for the next 43 years. In the summer of 1965 he announced his retirement after 41 years as director of the Cooperstown Summer Playground program.
And he retired from CCS in June of 1968. During his tenure he touched the lives of many, many students many of which we are certain remember him most fondly to this day. Thus it could not have been a surprise that in 1975, the gymnasium at CCS was named in his honor. In addition to his work with the children here, Red was also a well known local artist.
Over the years he painted many pictures of scenes of the Cooperstown area, a number of which we acquired. And we greatly treasure them as a part of our collection of Cooperstown memorabilia. Thus we suspect that the painting which is up for auction will be of interest to a number of people in the area. We also think acquiring a Red Bursey painting today is not easy as those of us who have them are loath to part with them.
We frequently receive all sorts of information from our many readers. And we think one of the most interesting one arrived recently from former Cooperstonian Alice Whitaker Whippen who now lives in East Berlin, Pa. Alice sent us a clipping about the Sheep to Shawl Festival held on Jan. 13 this year as part of the 96th annual Pennsylvania State Farm Show. We must admit we had never heard of the Sheep to Shawl Festival but we do think the concept sounds most intriguing.
According to a report we found on line at the Waynesboro Record Herald website “The competition starts off with the fresh shearing of a sheep on the floor of the small arena. As soon as the sheep is sheared, the rest of the team sweeps the fleece up and begins carding and spinning it out to be woven into a shawl. Seven six-member teams participated. Teams are given 2 ½ hours from the first shear on the sheep to completion of a shawl.”
The team that won the competition, Time Warp, finished this process in one hour, 43 minutes. The team that came in second, Friends Through Fiber’s, finished its shawl in one hour, 53 minutes. But evidently that extra 10 minutes proved valuable as the Friends Through Fiber’s shawl sold for $1,850, while the Time Warp shawl only sold for $1,300.
We thank Alice for letting us know about Sheep to Shawl although we must admit we cannot imagine taking part in the competition. However, we do think it might be interesting to watch.
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 e-mail at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com
Columns
In These Otsego Hills: This and that ...
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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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Home Notes: Workshops held for Thanksgiving Home residents
We welcomed Linda Keller, Ph.D. of the Bassett Research Institute and Ida Baker of NYCAMH who presented a six-week workshop for residents and staff.
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From Fly Creek: Late-winter hamlet news
Well, at least I’m “guessing” it’s late winter now — in the winter that wasn’t. But, if not snow, I can provide a flurry of Fly Creek news to share with you, scooping Associated Press, Reuter’s, and United Press International, not to mention all local news services except our General Store.
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In These Otsego Hills: Waiting for spring to have sprung ...
Difficult as it to believe, both January and February seem to have flown by and we find ourselves turning the calendar over to the month of March, which we have long thought is one of the more dreary months of the year. Of course, as in the pastthere are signs of spring as reflected by the tapping of the maple trees. For many years, the trees sprouted buckets to capture their all important sap. However, we now know to look for the sap collection lines that are strung from tree to tree.
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Book Notes: Kennedy: a unique individual
It’s been almost 50 years since the Kennedy assassination shocked the nation. Since then much has been written about President John F. Kennedy and whether he would have achieved his destiny (whatever that may have been) if he had lived. It is said he inspired young people in a way that has never been equaled. And there is the notion of Camelot, espoused by his widow Jackie, that there will never be a time of hope and promise like that again.
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From Fly Creek: Revving up for spring
