Plans are getting underway for a bicentennial celebration next summer to mark the anniversary of the incorporation of the village in 1807.

Village trustee Grace Kull was appointed earlier by mayor Carol Waller to serve as chairwoman of the bicentennial committee and she plans to hold her first meeting next week to begin the planning.

"I am hoping that we can plan a week of activities of all kinds for 2007 highlighting all aspects of Cooperstown life," she said.

The first meeting will be an opportunity for the 22 committee members to meet each other and throw out ideas as to how to proceed, Kull said.

A week-long centennial celebration was held in August 1907 and Kull said she thought that would be a good time of year for the upcoming celebration. She said it was too early to know what events would be included, but she would like to have a parade and something on the lake.

Even though it is still a year-and-a-half away, village historian Hugh MacDougall said this week he had been "pushing for sometime to get going on it. I pointed out to people about a year ago that is was coming up."

MacDougall, who has agreed to serve on the committee, said the centennial was celebrated with great fanfare in 1907.

"Everybody who was anybody in the village was on a committee," he said, adding that the village was organized into a huge number of committees.

There were parades, musical performances, sporting events and ball games, band concerts, religious services, poetry readings, a regatta and boat races among others.

There was a book published by "The Otsego Republican" about the centennial celebration and MacDougall recently obtained another copy and gave it to Kull. According to the book, the village spent $6,000 on the 1907 celebration.

MacDougall said he didn't know if people would be as enthusiastic about the bicentennial.

"I don't suppose we'll do a whole week-long celebration. I'm waiting to see what kind of things people want to come up with," he said.

One hundred years ago, he said, people often lived their entire life in one community and knew almost everyone, which he believes led to a greater interest in local history.

"It made it easier to organize something on the scale of the centennial celebration. Today, I think the general interest is less. People don't stay in one place so long," he said.

In addition to MacDougall, other committee members include: local historians Tom Heitz and Shirlee Rathbone, Gretchen Sorin of the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Chamber of Commerce director Polly Renckens, Paul DFAmbrosio and Garret Livermore from NYSHA, CCS superintendent Mary Jo McPhail, Dr. John Davis, who is well-versed in Bassett Hospital history, Rev. Sundar Samuel of the Ecumenicial Council, Rich McCaffrey from Cooperative Extension, Amanda Tinney from the Baseball Hall of Fame, police chief Diana Nicols, Fire chief Jim Tallman, village justice James Kelly, consultant Cathe Ellsworth, media representative Karen Katz and Ed Stack representing Leatherstocking Corporation.