At their December meeting, members and friends of the Literary Discussion Group, which is sponsored by the Women's Club of Cooperstown, presented written pieces which answered the question "Why Cooperstown?" This week we offer two more pieces written for that Literary Discussion Group meeting.

How we came to the Cooperstown area ... by Marie Murray

In 1970 our elder daughter was contemplating college and wanted to see Skidmore and Cornell. At the same time we were interested in looking at real estate in this general area. So we set out from Long Island with the New York Times Real Estate section and the college prospectuses in hand. The then Stone House Realty in Hartwick showed us a variety of properties. We thought the Otsego County area very beautiful. God's Country we called it. And we brought the last twenty acre parcel of land in the Smith farm on Route 205. Our daughter settled on Bryn Mawr College.

Once we were owners of our "bit of Heaven" it wasn't long before the wish to better enjoy the land took hold. Camping equipment was bought. And in the summer of 1972 our younger daughter, a friend, our black lab dog and I camped out in our hay field for six weeks. Husband Jim came up on weekends and, insisting we needed more than a tent, began framing a bathroom, utility room and a deck. Our neighbors, the Butterfields, were most gracious, allowing us to use their phone or take a gallon of water. By the end of the summer we had electricity, a well and the beginnings of a small house. Jim, consulting his Architectural Graphic Standards, spent weekends and vacation time working on our project. Janet Ayres, head of volunteers at Bassett, accepted Bonnie and her friend as candy stripers, and I also because a Bassett volunteer.

That summer was beautiful, raining at night with glorious days. When a refrigerator was delivered, it was a day of great rejoicing!

After that in the summer we spent "working vacations" at our camp and building site. Jim made remarkable progress. And on one occasion we had a tenting party with several friends from Long Island brining their sleeping accommodations and setting up tents on our deck. To complete the building project, though, help was needed and local builders came in to help do the job.

Now Jim has retired, our Cold Spring Harbor house has been sold, and we enjoy winters in Florida and summers in Hartwick. We've not been in Hartwick in the winter and we understand we are missing some great activities. Maybe another year we'll stay during the winter. Summers here are pleasant. This past summer was unusually hot, we thought, with a fair number of 90 degree days. Nights are generally cool and the warm days didn't bother us. Our proximity to Cooperstown and Bassett Healthcare is advantageous. We enjoy very much our tennis games at the local courts. We subscribe to the opera and do some work as volunteers. We've met many interesting people. An occasional bridge game is fun. Jim still enjoys building, working not for Habitat for Humanity once a week. Working on watercolors with Maryann Staw in Oneonta has been very pleasant, and a watercolor workshop at the Cooperstown Art Association with W. Ralph Murray was great in September. (Wish this were available in the summer.)

So we are happy that we bought our twenty acre parcel. We are delighted that the area around us has changed so little. We enjoyed our "working vacations" and now we can think more about landscaping and planting a few flowers. Our friends who visit from outside the area - and especially from Long Island and New York City - marvel at the unspoiled countryside. We do, too!

Why not Cooperstown ... by Helen Weber

Do we every realize when a good idea comes to us? Or if it is a good idea? Suddenly an out of this world thought came to me while on a bus in Italy, traveling with my daughter's Latin class on Easter vacation in 1984.

Although my husband and I had not given retirement any real serious consideration, it was in the back of our minds. The calendar and the accumulation of birthdays wee prompting us. Exactly "when," or better yet, "where," needed to be discussed. It was on that bus looking out on Italian farmland that the thought came to me. Jack and Helen's retirement could not be in Italy. But where then?

Back home, after all he pictures and travel talk, I announced, "I've been thinking." Jack said, "Oh, what?" There is something you need to understand about my husband. He gets a little nervous at the words, "I've been thinking." For example, one evening he came home and said, "What's been going on?" My answer was, "Do you really want to know. I've been thinking. I've been playing with this yard stick and I've figured out how we could knock down this wall to make a big kitchen and get a dishwasher." Well, he has yet to realize that my imagination never rests. Not even in Italy! This retirement place idea was going to take some serious consideration.

We both agreed that we did not want to stay in Bergen County, New Jersey. Also we did not want to go south, anywhere south, not even south Jersey. We had always vacationed to the north, even on our honeymoon. Although at the time New England was still closed for the winter in late April, we decided we would begin looking in the area we loved to visit.

Our friends had recently moved to Cherry Valley, near Cooperstown. Whenever we visited the, we heard more stories about how wonderful life was in the Cooperstown area. Our plan was to get something to see what the winters were like. After all, we had always enjoyed winter and snow activities. Our friends took on our plan as their own mission.

By October of 1985 were the proud owners of two acres and a non-centrally heated broken down house in Roseboom. It was the beginning of our love affair with Otsego County.

With family and friends, we set about preserving our second home, some with more courage than others. Christy's friend Mark, the genius mathematician, got on a ladder with a doubly extended groom to paint the tin roof. Scott, Nancy's friend, held the bottom of the ladder safely on the ground. My mom even had her own room. The countryside reminded her of her hometown in Germany. We had no TV. We played Pictionary. We worked hard. We played hard. We built the best memories. We really got to know and love each other.

The times spent here sweetened as we got to know the community of St. Mary's Church. The winter of 85-86 did not discourage us. Although I admit living here 7/24 is different than a weekend now and again. When circumstances took us to the next step, we found our real retirement home on Middlefield Center Road in Cooperstown.

Jack and I have never regretted one minute, not even the time we were snowed in for some 60 hours. We did find jewel in Cooperstown called the Farmers' Museum and NYSHA. In 1992, we attended the Candlelight Evening at the Farmers' Museum. The admission was free and I was so excited when I realized my town was giving us our first Christmas present. This would never happen in Queens or New Jersey.

We remain,

In these Otsego hills,

Where nature smiles,

The Ellsworths

The Ellsworths may be reached by mail at 105 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, by telephone at 607-547-8124 or by e-mail at gbecle@wpe.com.

They look forward to hearing from you.