In past years, this would be the column in which we would mention the winners of the "I-Left-My-Christmas-Wreath-Up-Until-Easter" contest. However, since the contest was not held this year, and is not likely to be held in the future, there is no list of winners. We do note, however, that has not stopped any number of Christmas related items from still being very much on view.

For example, we were struck that there are, or at least were as of Good Friday, two evergreen trees with decorative red bows adorning the "Welcome to Cooperstown" sign as one enters the village from the south on Route 28. Unfortunately, what we don't know is whether the trees are a year round fixture or if they should be removed with the bows. Perhaps, if we pay attention, we will find out sometime soon.

We did hear about a possible new Easter tradition from a local family who purchased bunny ears for everyone and then wore them during Easter dinner. We can see a new club, "I-Wore-My-Rabbit-Ears-for-Easter-Dinner," forming as others hop on the bandwagon. Of course, we suspect that it will only be taken up by those who enjoy Easter dinner in the confines of their own homes. We can't quite see it being that good of an idea for those who choose to dine out on this particular holiday. But we could be wrong about that. Time will no doubt tell.

We were very pleased to have had the opportunity to visit the newly finished Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home. As we expected, it is truly a wonderful addition to our community. We certainly hope that we will have the opportunity to visit it again when it is not quite so over run with people. As we were touring about the home, checking out all the amenities, we were struck not only by the number of people who turned out for the open house, but also how many young people were on hand to help greet the guests and make certain that everyone got safely on and off the trolley which was ferrying visitors from the Glen Avenue parking lot to the home. Some of these young people were, based on their uniforms, boy scouts. But we are reasonably certain that the young lady who was on hand both times we took the trolley was representing some other youth group in town. We certainly extend our thanks to all of these young people for their help in making the open house the huge success that it was. Based on general reaction to the home, we can but assume that the potential exists for a somewhat lengthy waiting list of people desirous of moving in.

We were recently asked if we might be able to find out what the CCS Class of 1948 did for their senior play. We immediately suggested checking the yearbook for 1948. But alas, that has been done and although there is a picture of the play, the title thereof is not mentioned. And quite frankly, we have no idea where such information might be found. Can anyone help us with this?

We were somewhat surprised, upon attending a Lenten service at the St. Agnes Chapel at Christ Church, to discover that a bell pull had be attached to the, as far as we knew, previously unrung chapel bell. According to the notes which the he-we had complied on the chapel, the bell was given in memory to Webster Tilton and came from the Busch property on the west side of the lake. The notes also clearly stated that the bell had no rope and thus was never rung. Obviously, we shall have to update the notes on the chapel.

The Women's Club of Cooperstown will hold its annual spring card party on Wednesday, April 21, at 2 p.m. in the Christ Church Parish House, 69 Fair Street, Cooperstown. In addition to playing cards, there will also be an opportunity to participate in games such as scrabble and dominos. Refreshments will be served. Tickets, which are $5 per person, may be purchased at the door. Reservations for tables may be made in advance by calling Mary Kuhn at 547-6181. The card party is open to the public. Proceeds from the card party will support the philanthropic work of the club.

We were interested to read about the possibility of a concert being held on Doubleday Field this summer. It was duly noted that there have been very few non baseball events held on Doubleday Field with the most notable one being an historic Cooperstown pageant in 1940. Interestingly enough, if we could but find it, we believe that we have a script for that pageant. In addition to the 1940 event, we hasten to point out that for the 1986 bicentennial of the village, there was a choral concert held in Doubleday Field as part of Historic Cooperstown Days on July 4, 5 and 6 of that year. Unfortunately, we can not remember what the group was that performed, but they were located on the playing field and the audience sat in the grand stand. We also wonder if there was not a Chamber of Commerce concert, featuring the New Christy Minstrels, held on Doubleday Field. That concert would have been before our time here, but we certainly have heard about it any number of times. Does anyone have more details about the location of that particular concert? Please let us know.

In closing, we note that this is the week when the dreaded income taxes are due. Fortunately, ours were done in ample time to meet the deadline. And, we didn't even grumble too much when we had to pay additional tax to the state for sales tax that had not been collected on internet and catalog sales. We certainly hope that they use the money wisely.

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.