And while on the topic of the weather, we must admit that the weather we encountered on our annual spring trek to Ohio and Michigan this year was less than stellar. Granted, when we rounded Toledo, Ohio on our way to Michigan, the temperature was a pleasant 79 degrees. But when we stopped at the first rest area in Michigan, it had fallen to 64 degrees. And from there it plummeted and never made it above freezing for the rest of our Michigan visit which would have been less of a problem, had our winter coat not been in Cooperstown at the time.

But, in spite of the weather, we quite enjoyed our trip which we made somewhat earlier than usual so we could attend a surprise birthday party and marriage proposal for our now daughter-in-law-to-be, Annie. Our son Christopher, also known as the wee-we who is not so wee anymore, asked us to be there by April 2 for the festivities and so we were. And, we must admit that given how many people knew about the party, we were dumbfounded that Annie didn’t. She didn’t even tumble that her parents, Hal and Judy Higby of Wilton, Conn., who had been in Gambier for a meeting of alumni parents, stayed over for more than just a birthday celebration. Needless to say it was a special time for all of us.

Yet, while the surprise worked, the proposal, as planned, didn’t. Since the upcoming Kenyon production of 1984 required a number of videos, the wee-we had made a video for the party on which he asked Annie to marry him. As luck would have it, the video didn’t work right and each time it was played it froze just before the proposal. Finally, he announced he would do it the old fashioned way, produced the ring, got down on one knee, saying "So, you wanna get married?" Annie replied, "Sure." Everyone applauded. It was very dramatic which was most fitting as we were in the Bolton, the main stage theater at Kenyon.

Of course, the actual proposal was not the first hitch in the works. In early February, the wee-we called us to ask if we could mail him the two diamond rings we had as he wanted to get them redone into an engagement ring. He didn’t, however, want us to send them to the house as he didn’t want Annie to know. We could, instead, just send them to him at the college.

We were reasonably certain we could mail the rings as our father in Grand Rapids had just sent an engagement ring earlier this year to our nephew in Orono, Maine. And it arrived without incident. However, we were less than happy about mailing them to the college as we knew the package would have to go through the college mail system once it left the post office which would mean it would be traveling around campus without insurance. While discussing all of this with our sister in Houston, she suggested we send the package to the wee-we, care of General Delivery. That way he would have to go to the post office and sign for it in person. We were stunned. We didn’t realize that general delivery still existed.

We dutifully went to the post office here in Cooperstown and sent the package off to Gambier, Ohio. We were armed with all the information necessary to track it on-line so we could let the wee-we know when he needed to pick up in Gambier. We mailed it on a Monday and by Wednesday evening it had not arrived at its destination. But we had not thought it would arrive until Thursday anyway so we saw no reason to worry.

Thursday morning, he informed us that when he got to work, the package was sitting in his mailbox at the theater. Sure enough, even though the package was addressed to Christopher C. Ellsworth, General Delivery, Gambier, OH 43022, it was delivered to Kenyon College. On-line we found a copy of the receipt on which someone from the college signed for the package which then made its way around campus until it was placed in the wee-we’s box. We can only assume that whoever was sorting the mail at the post office, recognized the name as one connected with the college and thus directed the package that way. It all was, we think, a case of "small town" at work. But perhaps the most annoying aspect of sending the rings, is that we could not use the experience in the column until now as Annie had already taken on the job, along with the wee-we, of proof reading the column before it is sent to the paper.

In closing, we must admit that we are quite happy that the surprise birthday party has come and gone and the engagement has been properly undertaken. Not only are we delighted that Annie will be joining the Ellsworth family, but we also are greatly relieved that we no longer have to worry about spilling the beans. After all, it has been noted by more than one person that we do tend to have a big mouth which we have been known to not, from time to time, keep shut.

We remain,

In these Otsego hills,

The Ellsworths

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