Circling Back: March 7, 2024

New Dreams, Dreams Within Reach and Dreams Coming True

From time to time, we like to touch base to see how various projects and stories are progressing. This week, we “circle back” to catch up with a Ghanaian student’s dream of attending the Cooperstown Graduate Program this fall, Crumhorn Mountain and the Swart-Wilcox House barn.

Enoch’s Journey

Throughout its history, “The Freeman’s Journal” has encouraged, promoted and championed myriad community philanthropic initiatives, from the development of the “Great Western Turnpike”—now U.S. Route 20—in the early 19th century to the support of families in need throughout Otsego County.

At present, we strive to assist Enoch Bright Ampong, a 28-year-old museum docent born and raised in the Central Region of Ghana, who dreams of being able to come to Otsego County to study at SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program.

A graduate degree from the program that is one of the most prestigious museum studies programs in the United States would allow Enoch to return to Ghana and his ongoing work at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Elmina Castle, the oldest European building south of the Sahara and one of the primary depots where West and Central African captives were imprisoned and tortured before transshipment to the New World.

Parishioners at St. Mary’s Episcopal in Springfield and at Cooperstown Baptist Church have generously pledged initial funds to support Enoch’s CGP education, but further financial resources are still needed. In addition to direct contributions to St. Mary’s or Cooperstown Baptist, a GoFundMe page has been developed to enable further tax-deductible donations from the community at large at this link https://www.gofundme.com/f/enoch-ampong-study-in-cooperstown.

We urge you to join “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta” and many other individual contributors to support Enoch’s educational fund to whatever extent possible. Enoch’s enrollment at CGP will not only support his own professional goals, but will enrich the entire student body as Enoch shares his expertise and experience with peers in a collaborative learning environment.

An accomplished yet humble museum interpreter, Enoch has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to CGP and to anyone able to help him achieve his goal. We express our gratitude to any of you who are able to support this unique initiative.

To date, just over $8,200.00 has been raised via the GoFundMe page from 71 donors.

Crumhorn Conservation

Imagine an outdoor education center with miles of forested trails, lakefront access for canoes and kayaks, and programs for families and children throughout the year. That’s the vision that Otsego Land Trust has for reuse of the former Boy Scouts of America Camp Henderson property on Crumhorn Mountain in Milford.

Otsego Land Trust has been the lead advocate for protecting the undeveloped property and promoting its conservation as a community resource. Last year, a group of Crumhorn neighbors alerted Senator Peter Oberacker and Senator Peter Harckham that the camp was for sale. A postcard campaign launched by Otsego Land Trust called on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to utilize a portion of the state’s Environmental Bond Act to protect the property in perpetuity.

The Crumhorn property is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Otsego County, bordered by the Susquehanna State Forest on one side and Crumhorn Lake on the other. The two state agencies have expressed strong interest in acquiring the former camp as a state forest and a state park, if an agreement can be reached with the Leatherstocking Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Area residents have fond memories of summers spent at Camp Henderson when it was managed by the old Otschodela Council of the Boy Scouts of America. A general decline in camp enrollment has led the Boy Scouts to close and sell many of the former camps. Since the Leatherstocking Council of Boy Scouts of America placed the 666-acre property up for sale with an asking price of $6.9 million, people throughout the Otsego region have been concerned about the property’s future.

“The Crumhorn property would be a superb outdoor education center,” according to Gregory Farmer, executive director at Otsego Land Trust. “It would create recreational opportunities in an underserved region and provide direct economic benefits.”

“Public interest is the key to conserving the site,” said Farmer. “The state will require a full title abstract, a detailed property survey, and an environmental assessment before they can move forward with acquisition. We are calling on local residents and former scouts to visit our website (www.otsegolandtrust.org) to voice their support and contribute to the project.”

Otsego Land Trust is a community-based nonprofit organization that works with landowners and partners to conserve farmland, forests, and wetlands in the Upper Susquehanna region. The Land Trust manages 300 acres of land for public access, including the Brookwood Point Conservation Area on Otsego Lake and Deowongo Island on Canadarago Lake. Otsego Land Trust protects more than 12,000 acres of private land through conservation easements in perpetuity.

Submitted by the Otsego Land Trust.

Barnstorming

The Swart-Wilcox House Museum has been busily preparing for the exciting addition of the historic early-1800s Wightman Barn to the Swart-Wilcox Property. This building will provide a large area for displays and meetings, as well as a climate-controlled storage area for the SW collection. The barn will enhance the story that the Swart-Wilcox House Museum was designed to tell of the early settlers and their farmsteads, such as Lawrence Swart and Henry Wilcox.

Currently, floor plans are being refined, bids are being prepared for dismantling, moving and reassembling the barn, and the SW grounds are being readied for the foundation.

Students from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Mehna Reach’s Collection Class will be developing plans for the climate-controlled storage area. Fundraising projects are being created, and grants are being formulated while awaiting approval of 501c3 nonprofit status. Fundraising efforts have included matching gift offers, donation of authors’ books, and items created specifically for SW.

A very special fundraiser has been created by Debby Clough, one of the four original founders of SW in 1988. She has crafted a beautiful barn quilt, a 30”x40” wall hanging, which will be on display during the July and August Summer Sunday programs, and will be raffled off and find its final home on August 25.

This has been a busy winter for the Friends of SW, and we are looking forward to watching the progress with the barn as the year progresses.

Submitted by Helen Rees, president of Friends of Swart-Wilcox.