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2-14-2007 However, even though we no longer make it to as many events as we once did, we still find ourselves kept busy by just pondering all of the many issues which seem to surface on a fairly regular basis in this area. At the moment, we are trying, without much success, to come up with a brand name identity for the area. According to the Feb. 1 edition of The Daily Star, in an article entitled "Brand name identity sought for the area," written by Jake Palmateer, "... it's time to look at ways to strengthen the collective identity of a region that boasts several museums, two halls of fame, rich arts and cultural programming and popular baseball summer camps." We gather it is felt that other regions, such as the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks, have instant identification of just what area is being talked about. However, "Central Leatherstocking," the current "I Love New York" designation, does not have the same recognition factor. Unless we are mistaken, the other regions seem to be named for geographical features. "Central Leatherstocking," however, is at best a literary illusion and at worst an article of clothing. At least we think it is an article of clothing. Our online dictionary of choice doesn't even recognize the word, suggesting we might try letterspacing, literalizing, lithographing, Latter-day Saints and Latin American instead. Therefore, we think the key to a successful brand name for a region lies in its geographical features. And, just as soon as we figure out what they are for the area involved, we will let you know. We have also spent some time pondering the ramifications of the announcement that this year's Hall of Fame game will be the last such Hall of Fame game. And while many people are struck by the potential economic problems created by the disappearance of the game, not to mention the end of a lengthy village tradition, we immediately wondered what effect the lack of the game might have on the maintenance of Doubleday Field. Although we must admit that we do not know if this is still the case, at one time the village imported from somewhere the dirt which was used on the infield of Doubleday Field. Unknown to us at the time, dirt used on baseball infields wants to be a specific baseball shade of red. And Otsego County dirt simply did not qualify. And hence the importing of dirt so that, if we understood it correctly, Doubleday Field would rise to the specifications of other ball diamond dirt. However, now that the field will presumably not be used by MLB teams, will it have to rise to that level of maintenance? Dare we think not? Or will Doubleday Field still have an image to protect? Time will no doubt tell. And finally on our list of things to ponder, we are still trying to make sense of the fact that when we recently made a trip to Stewart's we discovered the Cooperstown Village Police car parked in the blue diagonally lined van accessible area which is set aside next to the handicapped parking space. It is our understanding that one is not to park in such a designated area. And, although we were able to park in the handicapped parking space, for which we have the necessary handicapped parking sticker, we would have been in trouble had we needed to exit on the passenger side with or without a wheelchair. And while we have no idea as to whether or not a police car needs to follow the parking regulations in place for regular vehicles, the fact that a police car was parked in such an area seemed to us to be most inappropriate. Of course, we also find inappropriate the handicapped parking available around the village library building. Ablebodied vehicles have a choice of 15 minute parking, two hour parking and all day parking. Handicapped vehicles, on the other hand, are offered one parking space with a half hour time limit. Again, we do not know what the regulations are regarding handicapped parking places. But we do know that the village library building is not handicapped parking friendly. And unfortunately, thanks to the police car, neither was Stewart's the last time we were there. We note that the wee-we is engrossed in Lauren Groff's novel, "The Monsters of Templeton." In fact he reports it to be, in his opinion, a great read. He also pointed out to us that the book has gotten good marks in an email which he received from Barnes and Noble. The email, which he forwarded on to us, reads, in part, "As the inaugural selection for our First Look Book Club, this magical literary debut about family secrets received high praise from club members who were sent advance copies. Here's what readers are saying: ‘a captivating read' ... ‘elegant, enchanting, exciting, and intricate' ... ‘quirky and humorous' ... ‘a beautifully written, deeply touching novel.'" Interesting enough, after proofing the column, the wee-we wrote us in another e-mail: :Not only has Barnes and Noble reviewed ‘The Monsters of Templeton,' so have the magazines People and Entertainment Weekly. People's review was in this week, while Entertainment Weekly's was in last week ... Entertainment liked it better than People as they picked it for the ‘Must List.' But People gave it something like 3 out of 4 stars." The wee-we concluded with "It would seem she's written a pretty popular first book." We are delighted to know that it will no doubt be in the group of books which we will inherit the next time we see the wee-we and the wee-she. We can't wait to read it as, in addition to it being highly recommended, we have been led to believe that a number of locals served as inspiration for characters in the book. In closing, several people have submitted birth dates for our birthday book. We note the first person to respond, who we willingly admit as one of this column's co-proofreaders had advance notice regarding our request for birthdays, was the weewe. No doubt he thought we had forgotten the integral part we played in his birthday. Or perhaps he was just being his usual amusing self. Nonetheless, we appreciate any and all input and have dutifully added the new entries to our book. 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. |
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