The club will unveil its 2008 fundraising calendar at its annual salad luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Christ Church Parish House on Fair Street.

According to past president of the club and member of the calendar committee Mary Margaret Kuhn, the idea of the calendar was spurred by the story of the women in England who had done a pin up style calendar with pictures of them in the nude to help raise money to fight cancer.

The calendar will feature portraits of club members that were taken by the well-known photo portrait artist Lady Ostapeck of Fly Creek. Photos used on the front and inside cover were taken by club member Lois Holz during a visit to Ostapeck’s Whimsy Hill Studio.

Kuhn said the club had Ostapeck take the photos because her portraits capture grace and beauty and are ``truly works of art and inspiration.’’

``Lady’s work sets the subject in a time and place,’’ Kuhn said. ``Most have a Victorian Age feel, although one is very much a 1940 starlet and another quite exotic.’’

Ostapeck said she was delighted to be a part of the making of the calendar. She said she has seen the proofs of the calendar and said it was beautiful.

``I was surprised to see the proofs and see how the printer was tuned into my Victorian style,’’ she said.

According to Kuhn, the notion of creating a calendar has been in the making for quite some time.

Kuhn said the idea sprouted when Lois Warrell, a past president of the club and a long time board member, suggested many of the members should have their photos taken by Ostapeck. Many members had their portraits done over the years as private sittings and had them hanged in their homes, said Kuhn.

However, the idea went dormant for a few years, until Joyce Degelmann, then club vice president, arranged for the movie "Calendar Girls" to be screened for the club at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Calendar Girls" is based on the story of the women in England.

Kuhn said discussion of the calendar resumed after the movie screening, and then President Mary-Jo Merk made it a project.

Joey Dier, a member of the calendar committee, contacted club members and gathered their photos this past winter, said Kohn.

``I scanned them, and a calendar committee was formed with Patty Murphy and Lois Holz joining Joey and me,’’ Kuhn said.

Kuhn said the calendar committee visited Ostapeck and showed her the photos and recorded quotations from Ostapeck, which will be published for each month of the calendar.

``Many are about her art and how she goes about a composition,’’ Kuhn said. ``And some refer to the particular sitting.’’

Merk said a lot of hard work was put into the calendar. Merk said she is thrilled and certainly very proud of the project because it is something unique that can be used as a fundraiser and to celebrate the work of Ostapeck.

According to Ostapeck’s website ladyostapeck.com, Ostapeck was born in Brooklyn of Finnish descent. She began her photography career retouching negatives. Tired of city life, she moved to Otsego County in 1960 and began to seriously consider photography as a means of expression. She has exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, Cobleskill; Spiratone and Mondernage, New York; Rochester Institute of Technology and the Light Source Gallery, Baltimore; as well as in Finland and Great Britain. She has also been featured in professional photography magazines such as ``Rangefinder,’’ ``Modern Photography’’ and ``Popular Photography.’’

Merk said other communities have done fundraisers like this, but she does not believe anyone has done it in the Cooperstown area.

According to a press release, proceeds from the sale of the calendar will benefit the philanthropic work of the club, including the Helen N. Hale Scholarship, which is given each year by the Women’s Club in memory of long time Cooperstown Central School mathematics teacher and former president of the Women’s Club, Helen Hale.

Kuhn believes the calendars will be a good fundraising opportunity. She said people will want to buy the calendar for the fun of having a calendar with women they know ``looking so very beautiful.’’ Kuhn also said she believes the calendar will have appeal because she believes it is a wonderful way to have a keepsake of Ostapeck’s work and she believes the calendar will make a nice gift.

Dier, who is the only calendar committee member with a portrait in the calendar, said she also believes the calendar will be a good fundraising opportunity. She said she feels honored to be a part of the experience.

Dier said she first became mesmerized by Ostapeck’s portraits in 1976 when she saw many of them on the wall while having dinner at the Lake House in Cooperstown.

``My husband must have picked up on the fact that I would have secretly wanted to have my portrait done,’’ Dier said. ``Because one year that is what he got me for my anniversary.’’

Dier said getting her portrait done was a unique and wonderful experience. She said it was not just a sit and go type of atmosphere.

``She would look at you, talk to you and then dress you,’’ she said.

Dier said Ostapeck tries to get to know the people she takes photos of. She tells you to bring something with you that has meaning to you, said Dier who brought a pendant her husband gave her.

``She just had a way of making you feel beautiful,’’ Dier said.

Dier said she had such a wonderful experience that she has encouraged others to go get their portraits done by Ostapeck.

``I think it is something people would treasure,’’ she said. ’’I certainly know I treasure mine.’’

The local women featured are Jane Patrick, Joey Dier, Catherine Lake Ellsworth, Susan Melchior, Mary-Jo Merk, Karin Svahn, Grace Lettis, Lois Warrell, Martha Grossi, Esther Brooks and Paula Pugliese.

Kuhn said the club has been around for over 80 years and the members meet once a month September _ May. There are currently approximately 100 members in the Women’s Club, although not all active, according to Kohn. This year the Women’s Club of Cooperstown will be under the leadership of President Joyce Degelman, Vice Presidents Jean Lyon and Pat Duncan, Corresponding Secretary Lois Holz, Recording Secretary Anita High, and Treasurer Catherine Ellsworth. Directors for the club this year will be Ruth Livermore, Patty Murphy, Martha Grossi and Mary-Jo Merk.

In addition to the regular monthly meetings, the club will hold a card party in April. The proceeds will benefit the various philanthropic projects of the club including the Helen N. Hale Scholarship and the Mabel W. Atwell Drama Award.

The club also sponsors the Garden Discussion Group, the Literary Discussion Group and the Meadowlarks, a group with makes holiday tray favors for residents of Otsego Manor.

Membership in the Women’s Club of Cooperstown is open to all. More information on membership is available by calling either Joyce Degelmann, president, at 293-7388 or Catherine Ellsworth, publicity chair, at 547-8124.