‘Redskins’ should be kept 

Have we forgotten our school’s fathers?

The name Redskins has been used with pride and respect since the 1920s. It has been twisted to make many feel that they are racist and not respectful. A part of my family and many Cooperstown families have been insulted by being considered this way. Our families are the people who pay taxes and are the reason we have Cooperstown Central School. You may wish to continue on with this idea of what I consider a dishonor to them. It has caused many bad feelings in the community that is destructive. We have a burden of too many cost-of-living expenses. This is an unnecessary one that makes us feel we are no longer needed.

Velma Armstrong 

Pierstown

Name change is

right decision 

As an Akwesasne Mohawk whose ancestors called the Cooperstown area our home I extend my congratulations to the students, faculty, administrators and school board members for their decision to retire the Redskins mascot. In no way were our people ever “honored” by the moniker ,which to us was a humiliating symbol of an era when we were deemed savages whose physical and cultural extermination was believed to be an essential part of American expansionism. We came close to fading into history but we battled the odds and are a growing people who demand respect. Our contributions to America have been significant and essential from the natural resources of our ancestral lands to the very democracy which enables your citizens to freely debate this issue. Our offer to the residents of the region, in the light of this courageous decision, is to have a Mohawk delegation come to Cooperstown, meet your civic leaders, lecture to your students and thereby remove the remnant distortions of the past while forging a new appreciation for our common heritage.

Doug George-Kanentiio

Bear Clan, Akwesasne Mohawk

FOMA gives thanks 

Bravo! We would like to give a huge round of applause to all the wonderful volunteers, sponsors, dessert makers and auction donors who made FoMA’s Cabaret Night possible. Our 20th anniversary Cabaret was a tremendous success, raising a record $3,400 for music and arts education.

Thank you so much for your dedication and generosity. Your efforts are helping keep music and art vibrant in the lives of children throughout the Cooperstown school district.

Please take a bow...

Volunteers and Bakers: Eileen Anania, Babs Bayes, Leslie Boyle, Ann Brown, Elizabeth Burch, Matt Burch, Mary Harmon, Josie Hinrichs, Sue Hinrichs, Roberta Hohensee, Tom Hohensee, Georgia Hren-Saphier, Aaron Idelson, Erika Idelson, Jeff Idelson, Eric Knight, Susie Knight, Leo Club, Mary Marmorato, Joe Marmorato, Rich McCaffery, Lynne Mebust, Kurt Ofer, Peg Odell, David Pearlman, Nancy Potter, Jessie Ravage, Rebecca Roberts, Gail Sacchi, Brian Wrubleski and Amy Zoltick.

Donors: Mandy Robinson, Katie Boardman, Davidson’s Jewelry, Hanford Mills Museum, Cooperstown Family Chiropractic, Riverwood, NY Pizzeria, Nancy Clark Angerer, Vitullo, Sal’s Pizzeria, Ellsworth & Sill, Rich McCaffery, Safe Kids of Otsego County, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Erika Idelson, Little Bo’tique,Sam & Hilda Wilcox, Jive Cafe, Doubleday Cafe, Artists Off Main, karen katz studio, Cantina de Salsa, Bocca Osteria, Funnybone Toys, Amy Zoltick, Cooperstown Art Association, Gayle Smith, Cooperstown Wine & Spirits, Cooperstown Concert Series, Mohican Flowers, Mary Nolan, Cooperstown Music Festival, Glimmerglass Festival, Smithy Center for the Arts, Cooperstown Pottery Mom, Bijal Patel, May-Britt Joyce, Toscana Cucina Italiana, Alex & Ika Restaurant, Crowne Plaza Hotel, J & J Wine & Liquors, Lemon Tree Shop, Liane Hirabayash, Clark Sports Center, Council Rock Brewery, Russell Honicker, Big Apple Music, Oneonta Stallions, The Chocolate Studio, Lori Miller, A & D Courier Services and Alison Phillips.

And of course, the incomparable: Dave Burch

Nancy Tarr-Wager

On behalf of the FoMA Board