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5-31-2007 WRITER POSITION Beginning at 4 p.m., neighbors were asked to bring their own burgers and hot dogs plus buns/rolls, a dish to share, chairs in which to relax and sunny weather. Lemonade, coffee and table settings were provided. Six or seven grills, both gas and charcoal, joined a long table of food to make a most festive feast. In fact, no one waited until the 6 p.m. dinner hour but started partaking of the amazing variety of picnic foods by 4:30, not long after the entire neighborhood began to fill the street. One of our reporters wrote: “When I was carrying my chairs down to join the picnic at four, the entire street was glittering and flickering. Someone had found and given out metallic streamers. It made everyone smile. The kids were twirling them all over the place.” Another reporter wrote: “There was a sea of little people,” a reference, we have to think, to the number of children who reside on the block. As is usually the case, we understand there were a number of activities taking place during the block party. It was duly noted that it was Creighton Adsit’s 21st birthday. Happy Birthday, Creighton! And, we understand that there was so much face painting going on that the little ones were unrecognizable by the time they left the party. And the face painting was not limited to the children. Long time Pioneer Street resident Ann Capozza had a peace sign painted on her check which seemed most appropriate to those in attendance. As usual, there was a lot of bike riding in the street which was decorated to the nines with chalk drawings. One parent told our reporters that her children thought being able to ride their bikes in the street was the best part of the block party. Another parent said her kids really look forward to the picnic and ask about it as soon as the weather warms up. Other activities included badminton, ping pong and, new this year, wagon rides in a cute red wagon with sides. Henry Bauer reported that he played with Chloe Ford, Hannah Pierson, Connor Adsit and Katie Anania one of the longest UNO games in history. In fact, it ended at 10:30 p.m. long after the block party was over. We understand that Howard Talbot, who along with his wife Alice made a late appearance at the festivities, as they were deep in a telephone conversation with their son, Jim, in Florida, made quite a stir when Eileen Anania recognized his Converse high top sneakers as being originals. A discussion about Howard’s sneakers being 40 to 50 years old and still sporting their original laces ensued. Evidently, it was established that those original sneakers probably sold for about $8.50 and that the Converse star on them is different than the star on current Converse sneakers. In fact, that is the main identifying characteristic which differentiates the original sneakers from the current ones. We understand that many families had relatives joining them for the festivities. And, of course, the whole Hage clan was in attendance as were representatives of the residences of Adsit, Anania, Bauer, Capozza, Grigoli, Idleson, Jensen/McCabe, Jones, Lipson, Marx, Mebust, Reis, Schuermann, Talbot and Taylor. And it was Ann Capozza who noted that long time Pioneer Street resident, Ann Rath, who attended last year’s party shortly before her death, was greatly missed at this year’s event. Interestingly enough, even though the block party was in full swing, those attending were still able to stay in touch with other events, such as the Cooperstown baseball game which was in full swing at Doubleday Field. Courtesy of Dan Hage’s Blackberry, block party attendees learned that Cooperstown, which had been behind 0-2, tied the game when Phil Pohl hit a two run homer in the bottom of the sixth. And then, in the bottom of the 7th, it was learned that Tyler Coombs, with two outs, scored from 2nd base as Jim Fort hit a high chopper to the second baseman, who bobbled the ball, which allowed Coombs to beat the throw home. Ah, the wonders of technology! Although it is still not possible to be in two places at once, it is possible to multitask almost anywhere anymore. And we hasten to note that Tyler, who put in an appearance at the block party as a member of the Hage clan, was soundly cheered for having scored the winning run in the Cooperstown/ Bishop Grimes baseball game. In closing, we note that another annual event, the Native Sons Dinner, will be held on Saturday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Vets Club on Main Street. The dinner is open to any man who was born in the Cooperstown area and is 50 years of age, or who has lived in the Cooperstown area for 50 years. Anyone who meets the criteria but has not received an invitation should contact Dick Hanson at 315-858-3731. As Dick pointed out to us, it is not always easy to keep track of exactly who should be invited to the dinner and thus any help in that department is greatly appreciated. Reservations for the dinner should be made with Dick no later than June 3. We trust the Native Sons will enjoy their annual event as much as the neighbors on Upper Pioneer Street enjoyed their annual festivities. 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. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved