| Welcome to the Cooperstown Crier |
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
4-12-2007 Jim Atwell Gary shook her hand and explained that, though his building was home to Jonesie's for a great many years, he himself was a woodworker and was opening a combination workshop and showroom. The woman stared fixedly at him as he spoke, then continued. "I bought a coffee pot here 20 years ago, and I broke the glass top. I want to buy a replacement." Gary repeated that his was a woodworking business and so had no coffee pot tops in stock. The woman frowned, turned toward the door but then turned again, looking hopeful. "Will you be ordering some more?" A great start for a Grand Opening, I'd say. And of course a lot of other people followed that redoubtable lady in through the door, ones who already knew the quality of Gary's work and wanted to celebrate his new location in Fly Creek. For Gary is indeed a woodworker, and more than that. He is an artisan in the classic sense, combining exact craft with an artist's sensibilities. Most of his furniture echoes 19th-century country designs" clean, spare, and graceful. No Victorian ornamentation on these chairs and tables; Gary's work is far closer to the Shaker end of the spectrum. I asked him what holds him to his challenging craft. "Well, I know you can buy furniture made, for instance, in Mexico, for a quarter of the price I have to charge. But it saddens me to think that family heirlooms of the next generation will mostly have come from Wal-Mart." Please, step across Jones Hardware's old front porch and inside the door of Gary's new venue. Pause to look down the length of the long room, as high as it is wide. With imagination, you don't have to be the age of Gary's first Grand Opening visitor to refurnish and stock the place as Jonesie's. You can imagine the overflowing shelves of hardware climbing the side walls, the floor cluttered with household goods, the worn counter running along your left. And if you squint toward the store's far end, maybe you can visualize the big woodstove and, beyond it, the table and clamps for cutting window glass. But beyond imagining the past, the treat of entering the building today is Gary's furniture displayed throughout, and his own woodworking shop toward the back. Take a look at the quality of what this man makes, then go home and see where you have or could make a blank space for a next generation's heirloom. The new growth of business in downtown Fly Creek, a notably sleepy place not many years back, is very impressive. Harmony House Cafe, for instance, is about to celebrate its first anniversary. That's hard to realize, since it so quickly became a local institution. After being closed through the worst of the winter, the cafe is back in business and offered an Easter buffet to boggle the eyes. It's a pleasure to think back on the green eggs and ham set before me: a hot, flaky croissant, razor-thin slices of prosciutto, herbed Hollandaise sauce. Plus melon, bacon-and-cheddar grits. And juice and endless coffee. And a chocolate-dipped strawberry. The great luncheon soups and sandwiches are back, too. And Harmony House is also serving evening meals several days a week. Here's a suggestion to residents of Fly Creek's largest suburb: If you find the village eateries already full, find your way to Fly Creek. Two miles west of our hamlet's blinker light, you'll soon find another Fly Creek business' inventive expansion. If you've driven up Route 28 lately, you've probably seen the construction, already sheathed and shingled. What's rising there is Portabello's Banquet and Conference Center, a valuable addition to the area's public spaces. The Center will easily accommodate 250 people. And while the home-base Portabello's will continue its sevenday, year-round offering of excellent dinners, the new hall will focus on housing and catering special events: conferences, weddings, retirement dinners, farewell parties, company celebrations, dinner theater, the works. As their website says, "The Kantors have enjoyed having you over for dinner, and now they'd like to cater to you." Watch for an opening sometime in late June. I've already told you about the enhancements at our Fly Creek General Store; and of course the Fly Creek Cider Mill is gearing up for its 151st year. As always, it will have added features for adults and kids. And don't forget our antiques business; and Heartworks, a quilting store with a country-wide reputation. Thanks to Judge Jim Wolff and to Assemblyman Bill Magee, the hamlet will soon have welcoming signs at each approach, announcing our national historic district status. With all the new bustle, I've retired my idea for those signs, based on the 10-to-1 ratio of our cemetery residents to those still walking around. I had thought the signs might say, "Welcome to Fly Creek, More Dead Than Alive." But, no! The excitement here these days is enough to make you hyperventilate. So bring a paper sack along (in case you do), and come see what's going on. Fly Creek's no longer a just place on the way to somewhere else. Read Jim Atwell's new book, "From Fly Creek " Celebrating Life in Leatherstocking Country along with Anne Geddes-Atwell's charming illustrations. Books are for sale at your local bookseller. Anne's prints from the book can be purchased by contacting her by phone at or e-mail at www.JimAtwell.com. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved