— 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.

On January 11,1984 we noted: ``In closing we would like to leave you with the thought that there are, contrary to popular belief, some things you can take with you.

At a get-together recently we decided that Guy Lombardo took decent television programming on New Year’s Eve with him.’’ We believed it then and we tend to still believe it today. Of course, we fully realize there are those who would not agree with us.

And on April 18, 1984 we included in the column this disclaimer: ``In closing, we would like to dispel a rumor which seems to have reared its ugly head concerning our marriage. It is not true that one of us ever has, or ever will, take any responsibility for what the other one wears. Nor will we try to influence each other in mode of dress. We have checked the service, and no where in the wedding ceremony does it say for better, for worse, for what you wear ...’’

On June 20, 1984 we reported that ``We were not sorry to learn that the gum ball machines, which had been located outdoors on the sidewalk in front of a local business since the arrival of an ice machine, have moved indoors. We wish them well there, which we might note, is not what we wished them when they were on the sidewalk.’’

In 1984 we note that we spent the summer at Beaver Cross, the Episcopal Church camp that was then located at the northern end of Otsego Lake.

The he-we was the director there then and the she-we was greatly enjoying three meals a day for which she did nothing. And it was from that camp perspective that we made the following observation in the column of July 25, 1984: ``In closing, we must admit that one of the nice things about being at Beaver Cross is the opportunity it affords us to keep in touch with the current fads of the young generation into which category we, unfortunately, no longer fall.

This year the craze is break-dancing, so named we suspect because of the possibility of fracturing any and all parts of the anatomy. We must confess that we don’t think break dancing is for us. We have never even mastered the waltz. And contrary to what many of the participants think, we predict that break-dancing actually has a lot in common with swallowing goldfish, hula hoops, and cramming forty-nine people in a Volkswagen Beetle. It too shall pass.’’

Until we started this trip down memory lane we had quite forgotten that it was in 1984 that the sandwich board was approved for use in Cooperstown. And while we cannot remember all the gory details, we seem to remember it was controversial, a notion which seems to be supported by what we wrote in the column.

It started, we presume on August 15, 1984 with: ``In closing, when Thomas Paine wrote in 1775 ``... these are the times that try men’s souls ...’’ we’re not certain whether he was referring to ballgame day weekend or the village sign ordinance. In light of the events of the past week, perhaps both.

The current stir over the sign ordinance does lend itself to the presentation of the ``It’s too late to agree with us because we have already changed our mind’’ award to the village board for their recent, and numerous, decisions regarding the sign ordinance. And we suspect that there are some people in town who would like to further honor the board with the ``Timing is Everything’’ award.

Unfortunately, such awards do very little -- in truth, absolutely nothing--toward solving what we perceive as a potentially dangerous split in the community. At this point we do not have an obvious solution to the issue.

Nonetheless, we would urge that all lines of communication be kept open so that both sides may work for the continued betterment of Cooperstown. It is unfortunate, we feel, that the situation ballooned when it did. However, we would not like to see the rift of 1984 become the gulf of 1985.’’

This was followed on August 22, 1984 with: ``In closing, we have had many calls from both residents and nonresidents concerning enforcement of the village laws. And hard as this is to believe, everyone has a different priority. We have heard the sandwich boards are awful.

We have also heard the sandwich boards are not a problem, but bicycles are a real danger. There’s no place to park them, except, it seems, in the middle of the sidewalk on Main Street. Furthermore, most of the bicycles don’t have lights at night. Other people have problems with loud music at loud parties and we have even heard that either the town of Otsego landfill or the incinerator at the hospital spreads its distinctive aroma across the village on hot, humid nights. All in all, it makes us very glad that we spent the summer at camp and not on the village board.’’

And finally, thank goodness, we will end our trip down memory lane with the 1984 Cooperstown Carol, the first in what is almost an annual presentation in the column. And we hasten to note that in each and every Cooperstown Carol, we have mentioned parking, or the lack thereof. So it is true that some times never change.

On December 19, 1984 our first Cooperstown Carol appeared as follows:

``On the twelfth day of Christmas, we’d like to send you..

Twelve bus loads of tourists,

Eleven parking places,

Ten more opinions,

Nine dogs running loose,

Eight pigeons roosting,

Seven bed and breakfasts,

Six full-time policemen,

Five more potholes,

Four new fire-women,

Three school budgets,

Two gymnasium sites,

And a sandwich board for your sidewalk.’’

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