QUEER SOLIDARITY STROLL—10 a.m. to noon. Start Pride Month a little early. Light hike gives time to connect to nature and other queer people. Make new friends, swap tips on gender-affirming gear, share fun trails or just enjoy a good walk. No gear required other than sneakers, water and a snack. Free. Meet at Robert V. Riddell State Park, Davenport. (607) 375-7280 or visit occainfo.org/calendar/queer-solidarity-stroll/
LEGENDS GAME – 1:05 p.m. The Classic Game returns for its 13th season, featuring Hall of Famers and recently-retired players in a seven-inning game. Cost, $15 for baseline seats. Doubleday Field, Cooperstown. (407) 564-8059.or visit baseballhall.org
COOPERSTOWN—Baseball’s biggest stars will return to the Hall of Fame Classic game in Cooperstown on May 27. Hall of Fame members Bert Blyleven, Rollie Fingers, Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Jack Morris and Lee Smith will serve as coaches and managers. They will be joined by recently retired players representing all 30 Major League teams for a seven-inning legends game at Cooperstown’s historic Doubleday Field. The Classic will headline an entire weekend of family-friendly events designed for baseball fans of all ages. Gates open at 11 a.m., the Home Run contest starts at noon and the 13th Hall of Fame Classic will begin at 1 p.m. The popular “Night at the Ballpark” event also returns on May 27, with tickets at $75.00. Visit https://baseballhall.org/discover/hall-of-fame-classic for more information and to purchase tickets. Any remaining tickets will be available at the Doubleday Field Will Call tent at 9 a.m. Due to a construction project, there will be no seats available on the third-base line for 2023. Players scheduled to appear at the 2023 Hall of Fame Classic include:
ONEONTA—Ronald G. Peters, 78, passed away unexpectedly at home on February 1, 2023.
Ron was born on May 28, 1944 to William J. and Evelyn M. Peters in NYC. He attended Great Neck High School, where he acquired a band of lifelong friends and graduated in the Class of 1962.
He spent the summer after graduation on the Hospital Ship SS Hope on its mission to Peru. He was so interested in this that he continued on these missions in summers during college. The mission to Ecuador brought many stories that he regularly shared—most notable was surviving a jungle plane crash that took the lives of many of his fellow passengers. From these early experiences he got the bug for off-the-beaten-path travels, immersing in local cultures from New Zealand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, among others.
Erica Collier of Cooperstown and John Collier of Richmondville race in the Mixed CC Endurance class of the 2018 General Clinton Canoe Regatta. (Photo by Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)
BAINBRIDGE—The General Clinton Canoe Regatta will feature a full weekend, May 26-28, of programming and activities. Parking is free on Friday and costs $10.00 on Saturday and Sunday. The flea market and craft area are open all weekend. Carnival rides are open 5-10 p.m. on Friday and 1-5 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Events begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with the National Anthem and youth races starting in Sidney. The Generation Gap races begin at 6 p.m., as does the Taste of the Regatta sampling event and live music. Saturday will feature a wrestling tournament at 9 a.m., a garden tractor pull at 11 a.m., sprint races, grand prix relay and scout races, a chair auction, a hot air balloon walk and rides, standup comedy, and a talent show.
The main 70-mile race begins in Cooperstown at 6 a.m. on Sunday. Other events begin farther downstream later in the morning. The General Clinton Park finish line area opens at 11 a.m. Sunday also features a music festival and cornhole tournament at 1 p.m. and trophy presentation at 4 p.m.
FREDERICKSBURG, VA—Gerold D. Hill, 78, of Homosassa, Florida and formerly of Portlandville, New York, passed away on April 15, 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Gerold served for 30 years in the United States Navy. He was a retired chief petty officer and served in Vietnam. He was the owner/operator of Jerry’s Bait-n-Tackle from 1988 to 2008. Gerold enjoyed spending his time with family, hunting and fishing.
SPRING INTO SUMMER—Enjoy a three-day festival, May 26-29, celebrating the start of summer. Visit garage sales, find fun items at the street vendors, enjoy food from food trucks and local restaurants, get deals from local businesses, enjoy live music and dancing, celebrate the return of the Revolutionary War Clock to the Cherry Valley Museum, and enjoy the Memorial Day Parade. Cherry Valley. Visit CherryValley.com
Whether you are honoring those who served our nation in the armed forces this coming holiday weekend, enjoying a picnic with family and friends, sightseeing or just relaxing at home with the kids, please send us your Memorial Day Weekend photos.
Iron String Press staff will choose their favorite photo, to be printed in “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta” and shared on the AllOtsego Facebook page.
All photos will be posted in a photo gallery on our website, AllOtsego.com.
E-mail your photos to darlay@allotsego.com no later than Tuesday, May 30 at noon. And have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!
Special thanks to the folks at the Blue Mingo Grill for sponsoring this effort.
COOPERSTOWN—The Susquehanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is seeking sponsors and selling tickets for its first Helping Paws Fashion Show and Benefit, to be held on Thursday, June 8 at The Otesaga Resort Hotel.
Following cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 5 p.m. and remarks by SQSPCA Executive Director Stacie Haynes at 5:30, models will strut the catwalk in The Otesaga’s ballroom bedecked in fashions from a number of local apparel and accessory stores, including Kate’s Upstate, Lake Classic Outfitters and the SQSPCA’s own New Leash on Life Thrift Shop, among others.
Oneonta Site of Block Party, Parade on Saturday, June 3
By WRILEY NELSON ONEONTA
Otsego Pride Alliance and local businesses will present Cooperstown’s first-ever Pride Weekend at the beginning of Pride Month. The festivities will start at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 1 with a Pride flag raising at Village Hall. Former Cooperstown Trustee MacGuire Benton will attend to kick off the weekend with a special performance by Cooperstown Central School’s Identity Alliance. Stagecoach Coffee will offer complimentary hot chocolate and coffee.
On May 16, Otsego County joined the growing list of municipalities that have instituted limitations and conditions on the housing of migrants and asylum seekers entering the United States at its southern border. By adopting the declaration of an emergency set out in New York State’s Executive Order #28, and by issuing its own State of Emergency Declaration, Otsego County officials were empowered to issue Emergency Order #1, regulating the terms under which municipalities within the county could agree to house migrants.
Since Texas, Arizona and Florida began alleviating their own overcrowding by busing migrants to other states, metropolitan areas including New York City have been faced with the realization that housing the influx of migrants is overtaxing their capabilities to render social services. Governor Kathy Hochul, in her Executive Order, noted that New York City was housing more than 36,000 migrants as of May 9, and that this number was increasing with no end in sight. Similarly, Mayor Eric Adams noted New York City is having trouble finding sufficient shelter within the city limits, resulting in having to look for housing in surrounding counties.
TALKING OPERA—7 p.m. Join Glimmerglass Festival Music Director Joseph Colaneri for a discussion on “Candide,” which he is conducting. Held at Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. E-mail guild.of.glimmerglass.festival@gmail.com or visit glimmerglassguild.org
AWARDS DINNER—5:30 p.m. The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce invites the community to celebrate this year’s award winners: Geoffrey Doyle, Eugene Bettiol Jr. Distinguished Citizen of the Year; Casella Waste Systems, Business of the Year Award; Creekside Industries, Breakthrough Award; Connie Herzig, Volunteer of the Year; and Dan Buttermann, Leadership Otsego Distinguished Alumnus. Held at the Alumni Field House, SUNY Oneonta. (607) 432-4500 or visit members.otsegocc.com/events/details/2023-annual-spring-awards-dinner-blooming-with-brilliance-1079
BLOOD DRIVE—9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Save up to three lives with the American Red Cross. St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 31 Elm Street, Cooperstown. Register at redcrossblood.org
HARTWICK—Stephen Lee Sheldon, a lifelong area resident, passed away Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. He was 67.
Born July 1, 1955 in Cooperstown, Steve was one of four sons of William Lee and Grace Patricia (Davidson) Sheldon. He attended Cooperstown Central School and graduated with the Class of 1973.
On November 10, 1979, he was joined in marriage to Jane Marie Morris in a ceremony at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown. They moved to Hemlock Hill Farm in 1986 and raised four loving and strong-willed children in an idyllic country setting. Steve was a dedicated family man, always wanting to know how his children and the extended family were doing.
COOPERSTOWN—Fenimore Art Museum brings the imaginative design, consummate draftsmanship and dreamy visions of the renowned M.C. Escher to the region with the exhibition, “M.C. Escher: Infinite Variations,” on view May 27 through September 4. This monumental show from the private collection of Paul and Belinda Firos of Athens, Greece spans Escher’s entire career, from his training in Haarlem, his Italian period, to his final years in the Netherlands. Visitors will see nearly every iconic image he produced.
“This exhibition has attracted record crowds in cities across the country and Fenimore is pleased to share it with everyone in Upstate New York throughout the summer,” said Dr. Paul S. D’Ambrosio, Fenimore Art Museum president and chief executive officer. “Escher’s work is complex yet easy to enjoy. Even if you are familiar with him, you will certainly find plenty of new and inspiring work in this impressive collection.”
