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 another piece written for that Literary Discussion Group meeting.

Cooperstown - We Loved It! ... by Jane McMahon

While ferrying three children to college in upstate New York and visiting our oldest son's family in Albany we drove through many small towns with factory buildings standing vacant amid scraggly weeds.

But in even the most economically deprived we managed to find something of interest. In sort we were hooked on this area.

When the time came for retirement we chose the best of both worlds opting for the sleepy hamlet of Westville close to the flourishing tourist destination of Cooperstown known largely for its Baseball Hall of Fame. The fact that the growing family of our oldest son (seen children) was an hour away played a art in our choice.

The first question visiting downstate friends asked was, "How did you find this place?" (They were obviously thinking, "Why?") Than came, "What do you do up here?" Our only daughter persisted in calling our haven "Mayberry" but she came around and brought her family up each year for Winter Carnival in Cooperstown.

For 13 years we found many more things to do than we had time for. We enjoyed the company of delightful friends; the spiritual enrichment and social activities of our church; concerts and opera, reading and writing and aquasize at the Clark Gym. Last but not least there was always bridge, bridge and more bridge.

And speaking of the Clark Gym one must mention the Clark Family's impact on Cooperstown which might have been numbered among those sleepy, distressed villages mentioned earlier were it not for the Hall of Fame, the Farmers' Museum, The Fenimore Art Museum, The Otesaga and many other attributes.

Each spring the Clark family greenhouses provide the village with ivy germanium planters, pots of exotic tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinth. Every season brings a new and different outpouring of horticultural splendor.

For history buffs like us, Cooperstown was manna from heaven. Longtime residents shared memories of old times. They recalled as children visiting a wonderful zoo the Annheiser Busch Family opened to the public. We were also fascinated by the story of the four generation George Clarke family who began building their Hyde Hall estate overlooking the lake in 1806. The property formerly included Glimmerglass Park.

And to cap it off this little village was founded by the father of James Fenimore Cooper, another rich history. Our introduction to Hugh MacDougall opened the door to membership in the James Fenimore Cooper Society which he established. Hugh was a resource used by Alan Taylor when he wrote "William Cooper's Town," a book which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Hugh is a continuing source for visitors and students in his courses about James Fenimore Cooper's books and the places the Cooper family roamed in Cooperstown.

The beautiful Glimmerglass Opera House nine miles north of Cooperstown had just opened a few years before we arrived and we became members of the opera guild.

Each summer we attended the operas at the Alice Busch Theater. We enjoyed watching the company grow in reputation and attendance to become an internationally known opera site.

We also enjoyed the performances of two live theater companies, The Leatherstocking Theatre Company in Cooperstown and The Orpheus Theater Company from Oneonta which will soon build its own theater complex.

As retirees good medical care was very important. The presence of Bassett Healthcare Center in Cooperstown, a beautiful clinic and hospital teaching center, was a great incentive to move here. Bassett has embarked on a major expansion project to include a cardiac care center and adding a fifth floor on the hospital building which will also be upgraded to reduce the number of beds and converted to largely private rooms.

It was a wonderful 13 years. We planned to stay here for the rest of our lives. However, the time came for us to move to a house or apartment on one floor preferably in the village. This was not an option. There's only one apartment complex with first floor apartments subject to a long waiting list. While some larger homes are divided into apartments many of these are set aside for families visiting their sons playing ball during the summer at the Dreams Park.

Our solution was to buy a home in the Village of Cobleskill which is ten minutes from our oldest son's family and around the corner from the Bassett Clinic. The good news is we love our new home and we're only 45 minutes from Cooperstown making it possible to visit friends and enjoy the village attractions.

However, it is our hope that others in the same situation will not be forced to relocate because the future will bring attractive, affordable apartments and/or senior living communities allowing them to stay in a place they have grown to love.

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.