We are happy to report that we have survived yet another Hall of Fame Induction weekend. And in fact, we actually entertained company who attended at least part of the induction ceremonies.

Andy and Randi Bullard, of Virginia, were up for the weekend visiting Andy's parents, Sandy and Al Bullard of Milford. Andy called us Sunday morning to say that he and Randi would be in Cooperstown and were planning to park across our driveway.

Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, someone else had parked partially blocking the driveway and so the Bullards were forced to park in the driveway as was Al Bullard who came up in his own vehicle.

As we sat on the porch chatting, the first offending car left, only to be replaced by a bigger vehicle which blocked even more of the driveway. Al shot off the porch and told the people they could not block the driveway as he would not be able to get out. Luckily, the vehicle ahead of the parking car was able to move forward and thereby give the second car room to park.

We must admit that we do not quite understand the mentality which would allow someone to block, even in part, a driveway. We find it to be rude behavior which really tends to sour one on the various Hall of Fame weekends.

We also found a piece in the New York Times, which was pointed out to us by Reed Browning of Gambier, Ohio, to be equally distasteful. Written with a byline by Reuters, and entitled "History, Commercialism Clash on Cooperstown Main St," the article, which appeared on Sunday, July 27, noted: "Baseball history and tradition collided with American commercialism during the Hall of Fame induction weekend, transforming romantic images of the Field of Dreams into a yard sale." We must admit that we did not take in Main Street that weekend, but we did receive athe report, from someone who ventured downtown, that it was less than pleasant and not at all like the Cooperstown we all know.

The article continues with "Over the decades, though, baseball has evolved from a simple game into a multibillion-dollar industry and the Hall of Fame weekend now offers the chance to case in on the game's rich history while celebrating its unique place in American culture ... Almost every resident of Cooperstown enjoys a cash windfall from the Hall of Fame weekend, as children sell lemonade on the tree-lined back streets in front of stately Heritage homes that have turned their manicured lawns into parking lots." The writer obviously must feel that we are all greedy, cash hungry people who are taking advantage of the weekend to line our pockets. We cry "foul" to such a charge as we feel that many, many residents look upon the weekend as something to endure, not something with with to enrich our lives. And although we do not hesitate to share our village with the world, we likewise do not appreciate being cast in such a poor light. If one is going to write about the village on Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, we would respectfully request that a companion piece be done about the other Cooperstown ... the one without the baseball.

Recent guests at the the Ellsworth Pioneer Street home, were Rob and Dawn Lambrecht and sons, Joey, Zachary and Matthew. Rob was a former students of the he-we at the University-Liggitt School in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and has visited us a number of times in the past. This was his first visit, however, with his newly acquired wife and family. We greatly enjoyed meeting Dawn and the boys and wish them all well in their life together at their home in Bristol, R.I. Although we were unable to attend the Lambrechts' wedding, we do hope to be able to visit them later this fall and take in Newport, R.I., a place we have always wanted to visit.

We have received an e-mail or two from Christi Hascup Smith, a member of the CCS Class of 1994 and the keeper of the current class list. She is working on a class reunion for next year and writes: "I have about 15 people or so who have signed up on our list serve at CCS1994@yahoogroups.com and at this point they all seem interested in having a reunion of some sort ... we are looking for classmates and if they would like to e-mail me directly at hascupsmith@hotmail.com or go to the list serve that would be much appreciated." We wish Christi well in her search for classmates.

We have also heard from Lyn Dunham (aka Caroline Lindroth) of the CCS Class of 1949. She writes: "Put me down as the 'keeper of the list' for the Class of '49. I'll be delighted to hear from anyone, either by surface mail or e-mail address. I have a fairly current list and will share upon request. Our 55th will be coming next year - no dates have been set, but stay tuned." She also wondered if it might not be possible to include people who were members of the class but who many not have graduated for one reason or another. To this end she is looking for June Burke Schaul (spelling?) and any help or hints in locating her would be greatly appreciated. Lyn can be reached by e-mail at Lyndunham@aol.com.

In closing, we note that, due to a trip to NYC, the wee-we was unable to proof read this column for us. Therefore, any errors found within are someone else's fault. We apologize for any possible inconvenience on the part of our readers.

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 cellsworth1@stny.rr.com. They look forward to hearing from you.