The Master Gardner’s are busy setting up for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schoharie and Otsego County Master Gardener Plant Sale Saturday, May 21.
The sale will feature 100’s of flowers, perennials, herbs, vegetables and annuals. Stop by 123 Lake Street in Cooperstown from 9 am to 3 pm.
OPENING RECEPTION – 5 – 7 p.m. Celebrate the opening of 3 popular shows ‘ESSENTIAL ART’ the 31st Annual Regional Juried Art Show, ‘Into The Light’ featuring acrylic paintings by Mimi George, and the 55th year of the annual Leatherstocking Brush and Palette Club Fine Arts Exhibition showcasing works by Otsego County artists. Cooperstown Art Association. 607-547-9777 or visit www.cooperstownart.com
The training of the oxen at The Farmers’ Museum has begun and it’s fascinating.
“We have twins, they are Brown Swiss from Milford, it’s great!” said Bob Thompson, Associate Direcor of Agricultural and Facilities Support Services.
Twin brothers Barley and Rye were about a week old when they got to the Museum. Born in September, they already weigh 525 pounds apiece. When they are grown, they will each weigh one ton.
“We just started training the oxen, we are training them to be working animals,” Sandra Vanalstine, a farmer at the Museum, said. Ms. Vanalstine has been with the Museum for two years as a farmer and now in charge of training the oxen. (By the way, ox is singular — one animal; the plural oxen means more than one.)
“I try to make it fun for them,” she said. “You start off by simply leading them, petting them, talking to them all of the time. Then come the verbal commands and yokes.”
The twins work on commands before the farmer puts on the yokes.
“’Haw’ means turn left, ‘gee’ means take a right turn, and ‘whoa’ means stop,” Ms. Vanalstine said. “They understand those words.”
Our route home to Cooperstown from Tucson took us through Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend, and there was no way I’d pass through town without stopping at the new Bob Dylan Center. It did not disappoint.
I love every twist and turn of Dylan’s work, have read at least a few dozen books about the guy, own all his records, the whole deal. The Center isn’t just a shrine to random artifacts (“Here’s the chair Bob sat in when he wrote ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’”). Instead, it’s a place that can interest the casual observer (my long-suffering wife) and captivate the devotee (me) with thoughtful exhibits and expositions that delve deeply into the artist’s multitudes. Not unlike our own Baseball Hall of Fame. An experience to treasure.
We spent the night in downtown Tulsa; our hotel that evening hosted a gathering of Black motorcyclists who had traveled to town to commemorate the city’s Black Wall Street Massacre of 1921. I had nearly enough college credits to earn a major in American History but first learned about the event through a New York Times article on its 100th anniversary. Homes, businesses burned, hundreds dead in riots, thousands imprisoned for more than a week for no cause other than their race; a shameful weekend that should be a part of every curriculum.
SPRING CONCERT – 7 p.m. Join the CCS Music Department for spring concert and recital with grades 3 – 12 and performances by the High School Jazz Band and Jazz Vocal groups. Free admission, donations to support the CCS Music Association appreciated. Stirling Auditorium, Cooperstown High School. 607-547-8181 or visit www.cooperstowncs.org/article/744669?org=cooperstown-csd
The votes are in and here are how the school budget elections went around the county. We will add results as they com in.
Proposition 1: 192 for – 66 against
Proposition 2: 178 for – 78 against
Proposition 3: 187 for – 70 against
Proposition 4: 162 for – 95 against
Board Seat
Erin VanDerwerker Seely: 216 votes
Budget: 393 for – 106 against
Bus Lease Proposition: 427 for – 67 against
Village Library Proposition: 408 for – 88 against
Board Members
Peter Iorizzo: 303 votes
Cody Moore: 300 votes
WILDFLOWER WALK – 10 a.m. – Noon. Jean Miller Memorial Wildflower Walk returns this year, led by local plant expert and DOAS member Connie Tedesco. Participants should dress for the weather, bring water, binoculars, & insect repellent. Gilbert Lake State Park, 18 CCC Rd. Laurens. 607-397-3815 or visit doas.us/calendar/
BLOOD DRIVE – 2 – 7 p.m. Donate through May 19 for chance to win a travel trailer camper that sleeps eight. Laurens Fire Department, 34 Main St., Laurens. 1-800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
COOPERSTOWN – Sammy Dallas Bayes, a Tony Award nominee whose career as a director, choreographer and writer in musical theater, television and movies passed away unexpectedly early Thursday morning, May 12, 2022, at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. He was 82.
Born July 9, 1939, in Wasco, California, Sammy was the son of Sam Tony Bayes and Zana Marie Frost Bayes. Raised in Pueblo, Colorado, he attended Centennial High School where he was part of his first ever musical, playing Tommy Albright in “Brigadoon.” After graduating in 1957 he attended college locally, and then from 1958 to 1964, Sammy proudly served his country in the United States Army both as active duty and the reserves.
The community is invited to an interfaith Prayer Vigil to be hosted at 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, by the Elm Park United Methodist Church in Oneonta. The focus of the gathering is to comfort the broken hearted and to pray for the people of Buffalo as they struggle with this tragedy, Rev. Dr. Cynthia Walton-Leavitt said in a press release to announce the vigil.
‘So many of us were saddened as our hearts were broken once again at hearing the news of another mass shooting – this time so close to home with the shooter traveling from Conklin to a Tops Supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo.’
BASEBALL AUTHOR – 2 p.m. Major League umpire Dale Scott will be on hand to discuss his new book ‘The Umpire Is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self’ about his career in professional baseball as the only umpire to come out as Gay. Bullpen Theater, Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown. 607-547-7200 or visit baseballhall.org/events/author-series-dale-scott?date=0
BAKING CLASS – 6 p.m. Learn how to make light and fluffy Cinnamon Rolls at home with amateur baker Alex Benjamin. Zoom link & ingredients will be sent 5/13. Cook-a-long or just enjoy the show. Presented online by the Huntington Memorial Library, Oneonta.
BLOOD DRIVE – 2:30 – 6:30 p.m. Donate through May 19 for chance to win a travel trailer camper that sleeps eight. Richfield Springs Community Center, Walnut St., Richfield Springs. 1-800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
SYMPHONY – 7 p.m. The Catskill Symphony Orchestra presents their final concert of the season ‘American Heritage,’ celebrating American composers of the 20th century including Florence Price (Violin Concerto No. 1), Amy Beach (Gaelic Symphony), and George Whitefield Chadwick (Rip Van Winkle Overture) and will feature solo violinist Er-Gene Kahng. Health guidelines will be followed. Cost is $35/adult at the door. Alumni Field House, Dewar Arena, SUNY Oneonta. Visit catskillsymphonyorchestra.org
COOPERSTOWN – Arnold “Arnie” L McLean Jr, 61, died unexpectedly, at his home Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
He was born March 13, 1961 in New Berlin, NY to Arnold “Cork” and Dorothy “Dot” McLean.
He was a friend to all and will be missed for his exceptional sense of humor, as well as his willingness to help anyone in need. He lived life with a strong determination, overcoming many health obstacles to the amazement of his physicians.
A lifelong resident of Otsego County, he first worked with his Dad at Phillips Lumber Company in Hartwick, helped with the family logging business and worked with many area contractors before starting his own excavating business known as ARNIE’S MINI EXCAVATOR in 1999.
HISTORY CENTER OPENING – 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Celebrate the grand re-opening of the renovated history center featuring new exhibit ‘Small Community, Big Ideas.’ Evening will include opening remarks, exhibit tours, and live entertainment. Free, open to the public. Beer & wine will be served. Oneonta History Center, 183 Main St., Oneonta. 607-432-0960 or visit oneontahistory.org
BLOOD DRIVE – Noon – 5 p.m. Donate through May 19 for chance to win a travel trailer camper that sleeps eight. Quality Inn, 5206 St. Hwy. 23, Oneonta. 1-800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
