We are not quite certain exactly how we have gotten to September. Somehow we feel it can't really be. And yet it is what our calendar is telling us, even though we do not particularly want to hear it. Gone is the summer, with its attendant crowds, replaced with what we must admit is one of our favorite seasons of the year. We love being surrounded by the autumnal splendor with its cool, crisp days and even cooler and crisper nights. We enjoy the rhythms of fall clean up with its goal of battening down for the coming winter. Ah, there's the rub. Fall is followed by the dreaded winter, the absolute bane of our existence. Obviously we need to get cracking on our fall activities, particularly if the fall speeds by as quickly as the summer did.

In last week's column we failed to mention that during our recent trip to Michigan and Ohio, we also stopped in for a brief visit in Warren, Ohio with former Cooperstonian, Marion Terpening. While there, we managed to take in dinner at a local Japanese restaurant, which we quite enjoyed since it is quite different than the restaurants we tend to frequent here. Marion, who is a member of the Naval Reserve and has spent time serving the United States all over the world, presented us with an American flag which came with a Certificate of Authenticity with states: "This flag was flown on September 5, 2004 by HM2 Marion I. Terpening at Camp Spearhead, Kuwait during Operating Iraqi Freedom II as a symbol of freedom for all Americans. This flag is proudly presented to Cathie Ellsworth." The certificate is signed by R.P. English, Cap. SC, USNR.

Marion told us that she flew flags for all those people she thought about during her tour of duty in Kuwait. We were deeply touched not only by the flag but by her thinking of us at a time when we were doing nothing but thinking of her. Marion is currently preparing for another tour of duty overseas, this time in Germany. We will once again wish her well and remind her of how proud we are of her continuing service to the country.

Not long before we departed on our trip, we received a post card from the United State Postal Service which explained that one can now "Discover the total convenience of doing your Postal chores from home." We must admit that we were somewhat dubious, but since one of the services offered from our very home was holding our mail, we decided to give it a whirl. We signed up to have our mail held until our return when it would be dutifully delivered to our mail box. And we are very happy to report that it worked like a charm. We plan to try the "Buy stamps" opportunity next. Not only will it save the gas needed to get to the post office, but will also save the headache of finding a place to park. It sounds like a win-win situation to us.

A while ago, before we traipsed out to the Midwest, Nancy Dunn was kind enough to call us to tell us that her son Chip Dunn is another one of those descendants of the 1907 Cooperstown Centennial Celebration who is still in the area. Chip's great-grandfather, Frank Mulkins, served on the Finance Committee back in 1907. At the time, if we have this correct, Frank ran the A & P which was located where the Doubleday Cafe now is. We thank Nancy for her call and have dutifully added Chip to the ever growing list.

We note that the Women's Club of Cooperstown will begin its 2006-2007 year with its annual salad luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. at the Christ Church Parish House on Fair Street in Cooperstown. Those attending need to bring a dish to pass and their own table service. Dessert, rolls and beverage will be provided. Club members are encouraged to bring prospective members as their guests. Following the salad luncheon, the group will be treated to selected readings from The Catskill Poetry Theatre's "Women and Water," directed by Susan Melchior.

And, while thinking about Women's Club, we would like to pass on the information that the next meeting of the Literary Discussion Group, which is, of course, sponsored by Women's Club, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 2:30 p.m. at the Village of Cooperstown Library. The book for discussion will be "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. The meeting is open to the public and anyone interested in attending is encouraged to do so.

Also coming up towards the end of the month will be the annual fall

Christ Church rummage sale on Friday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. until noon. There will be a bag sale on Saturday. The rummage sale will be held in the Christ Church Parish House located at 69 Fair St. in Cooperstown. And we suspect that there will be a lot of items available as the church was unable to hold its annual spring rummage sale this past May due to renovations to the first floor of the Parish House.

In closing, we recently received an e-mail from a friend which greatly appealed to us as it said "An English professor wrote the words: 'A woman without her man is nothing' on the chalkboard and asked his students to punctuate it correctly. All the males in the class wrote: 'A woman, without her man, is nothing.' All the females in the class wrote: 'A woman: without her, man is nothing.' Punctuation is powerful !!" No kidding!

We remain,

In these Otsego hills,

The Ellsworths

The Ellsworths may be reached by mail at 105 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, by telephone at 547-8124 or by e-mail at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com. They look forward to hearing from you.