THEATER – 7 p.m. Classic metatheatrical play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder portrays everyday live of residents of the fictional Grover’s Corner. Lucy B. Hamilton Amphitheater, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
CELEBRATION – 3–4:30 p.m. Celebrate the first day of summer w/popsicles, Corn Hole and Giant Jenga. Free. Front lawn of Clark Sports Center. 124 County Hwy 52, Cooperstown. Info, 607-547-2800, ext. 103 or visit www.clarksportscenter.com
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION – 9 a.m. Learn about the historic events in 1939 while celebrating the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 80th birthday. Baseball Hall of Fame, 25 Main St., Cooperstown. Info, www.baseballhall.org/, 607-547-7200.
CELEBRATION – 6 p.m. – Midnight. Fireworks at 10. Ring out 2018 with pizza party before parade down Main St. Ring in 2019 with performances by Alex Torres and his Latin orchestra. Free admission. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. Visit firstnightoneonta.com
CELEBRATION – 11 a.m. – Noon. Celebrate a New Year with games, themed crafts, a ‘toast’ at Noon. Richfield Springs Public Library, 102 Main St., Richfield Springs. 315-858-0230 or visit www.facebook.com/Richfield-Springs-Public-Library-1068210423236404/
HOLIDAY TREES – 6 – 8 p.m. View festive trees arranged by local businesses, organizations displayed throughout museum. The Edmeston Museum, 1 North St., Edmeston. E-mail edmestonmuseum@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/Edmeston-Museum-219562458817938/
ANGEL TREE PROGRAM – Give the Gift of Christmas this holiday season. Adopt a family in need. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ to learn how.
CANDLELIGHT EVENING – 3 – 7 p.m. Experience magic of Christmas season with a candlelit museum covered in Christmas greenery, horse-drawn sleighs, carolers, bonfires, wassail, theater performances, more. Tickets available at door. The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org/Candlelight-Evening
CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. Catskill Choral Society presents “NOEL! A Celebration of Carols Past and Present” featuring Messe de minuit pour Noel, more with artistic director/conductor Dr. G. Roberts Kolb. Tickets $22/adult at-door. Auditorium, Cooperstown High School. 607-431-6060 or visit catskillchoralsociety.com
GARDEN CLUB – 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Holiday Greens Sale & Luncheon features wreaths, fresh arrangements, holiday bake sale and soups and sandwiches at the luncheon. Proceeds used to beautify downtown Oneonta. St. James Episcopal Church, 300 Main St., Oneonta. E-mail millerwillis3@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/Oneonta-Federated-Garden-Club-133855897358767/
HALLOWEEN
PARADE – 5 p.m. Showcase your Halloween best with Cooperstown Central School band leading the way. Followed by cider and treats at Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, then trick-or-treating at around Cooperstown. Start at Cooper Park, Cooperstown. 607-547-9983 or visit cooperstownchamber.org/halloween-2/
PARADE – 7 p.m. Celebrate Halloween. Costumes encouraged, includes Oneonta High School Bands. Line-up at 6:15. Main St., Oneonta.
CELEBRATION – 7 p.m. 200 year celebration of the Erie canal featuring Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle, Singer/Songwriters performing 8 historic songs from construction of Erie Canal. Refreshments available, donations appreciated. Fly Creek Area Historical Society, Grange Hall, 210 Cemetery Rd., Fly Creek.
EXHIBIT RECEPTION – 4 – 6 p.m. Student exhibit featuring works by recipients of Jean Parish Memorial Scholarship. Project Space Gallery, Fine Arts Center, SUNY Oneonta. 607-436-3456 or visit suny.oneonta.edu/art-department/art-galleries/exhibitions
TOUR – 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Travel the country roads and discover the landscape and how people have enhanced it with their garden schemes. This years tour will be through the Cooperstown area. Pre-registration required for directions to first garden. All must being tour before 1 p.m. Cost, $18. 607-278-5454 or visit westkc.org/event/2018-landscape-garden-tour/
MEET & GREET – 4 – 6 p.m. Meet Joyce St. George who is running for the State Senate. 6th Ward Athletic Club, 22 W. Broadway, Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/1837352163146400/events/?source=4&action_history=null&filter=events
Independence Day!
PARADE – 11 a.m. Celebrate Independence day. Begins in Springfield Center. Followed by Patriotic celebration featuring live music, games, great food, the 4th of July Quilt Show, activities, more. Springfield Community Center, 6 Ann St., Richfield Springs. Call 315-217-1485 or visit www.richfieldspringschamber.org/?tribe_events=springfield-4th-of-july-parade-and-celebration
FESTIVAL – 1 p.m. Celebrate Hometown 4th of July, features battle of the bands, live music, free Baseball game with the Oneonta Outlaws, arts & crafts, fireworks at 9:30 p.m. followed by after party on the main stage. Neahwa Park, Oneonta. Call 607-432 0090 Ext. 106 or visit www.facebook.com/Hometown4th/
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION – 3 – 9 p.m. Great Retirement Rumpus celebrating the career of Martha Van Burek, Executive Director of West Kortright Center. Includes pet parade, Shakespeare retrospective performances, Brooks BBQ dinner, dancing. Admission by donation, RSVP appreciated. West Kortright Center, 49 West Kortright Church Rd., East Meredith. Call 607-278-5454 or visit westkc.org/event/community-celebration-marthas-retirement/
PRIDEFEST – Noon – 8 p.m. Celebrate human diversity, raise awareness in the community. Gather at Noon, rally at 1, parade thru downtown Oneonta at 2, family friendly festival 3-8 p.m. Neahwa Park, Oneonta. Call 607-386-1508 or visit www.facebook.com/otsegopride/
FILM SCREENING – 6:30 – 8 p.m. Showing “Dare To Be,” an inspirational documentary following a series of athletes, from young girls to women training for the Olympic, as they overcome obstacles and seek greatness. Auditorium, Cooperstown High School. Call 607-547-8181 or visit www.cooperstowncs.org
WORKSHOP – 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Learn to use tools like JobNow, Optimal Resume to aid in the job search. Includes skills assessment tests, interview prep videos. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Call 607-432-1980 or visit hmloneonta.org/calendar/
A touching and inspiring event happened at Gilbertsville’s Major Inn last weekend: 150 wellwishers, from almost every town in Otsego County and as far away as London, England, packed the landmark mansion to express appreciation to a special lady, Erna Morgan McReynolds.
For the past 30 years, Erna has been an investment counselor in Oneonta for Morgan Stanley (and its half-dozen predecessors), and thousands of clients have been drawn to her by her savvy, certainly, but also her humanity. Everyone who knows her can attest, she cares. The result: Their security.
But that hardly scratches the surface of her accomplishment. Raised a poor girl in Gilbertsville, she graduated first in her class, broke into journalism locally with anyone who would accept her offerings, and by her late 20s was a popular writer at The Dominion, New Zealand’s largest newspaper.
In her 30s, she moved to London and TV broadcasting, then to New York, where she was a producer of some of NBC’s top news shows. Recognizing TV is a young person’s business, she followed her husband, Tom – an accomplished personality in his own right – into investment counseling in Oneonta, where she flourished as she helped her Otsego County neighbors flourish.
She embraced the Girls Scouts as a cause, and – with Tom – Hartwick College and the Catskill Symphony Orchestra (the couple is credited with saving it and guiding it to its current success), and much more.
Over the years, her abilities were recognized well beyond her natal place. Year after year, Barron’s listed her among the Top 100 Women Financial Advisers in the nation, and in December 2016 she was at the United Nations, presenting “The Business Case for Women’s Leadership in Public Institutions.”
If you know Erna, you can be sure the transition of Oneonta’s Morgan Stanley office to the Table Rock Group, headed by veteran Morgan Stanley executives Daniel and Kathleen Grasmeder, from Glens Falls, will be as seamless as possible, with her client/friends front of mind.
Erna says she hasn’t decided quite what her retirement will be bring – happily, she plans to be even more active on the Glimmerglass Festival board.
Regardless, in a time of out migration when Otsego County faces particular challenges, we can look at Erna Morgan McReynolds and say, with assurance, Horatio Alger lives – and lives here.
