Published: April 25, 2008 08:12 am         

In These Otsego Hills

It was with sadness that we learned of the death of Catharine Sanford. Although we did not know her well, her son and daughter-in-law, David and Katie Sanford, both graduated from high school with the he-we. And her husband, John, both designed and oversaw the construction of the 1982 addition to our home here in Cooperstown. In fact, when she was cleaning out John’s studio after his death, Cathie came across his drawings of our addition and gave them to us. We were most pleased and, in fact, had them framed.

They now hang on the landing of our back staircase which is, of course, part of John’s design. And whenever we use the stairs we are reminded of Cathie’s kindness in thinking of us when she came across the plans. To her family and friends we extend our sympathy.

We received a call from Louise Hulse of Lakeland Shores who told us that German most definitely was taught at Cooperstown High School as her mother, Louise Mary Hanlon, a member of the Class of 1903, took it in high school. In checking our Catalogue of the Cooperstown High School, 1903- 1904, which contains information on the Class of 1903, we discovered that Louise Hanlon was the treasurer for the Class of 1903. And we have to assume that she is in the graduating class picture although we would be completely clueless as to which one she was.

We thank Louise for her confirmation that German was indeed taught at Cooperstown. Unfortunately, however, she did not know if it had been discontinued during WWI.

Consequently, we dug around in the he-we’s study and came up with not only the 1903-1904 school catalog but also the 1921-1922 one. In the first it lists, under text books, books for both German grammar and German lessons as well as for French and Latin. However, in the 1921-1922 catalog, there are no German textbooks with the only textbooks listed for foreign language being for Latin, French and Spanish.

Consequently it is probably safe to assume that sometime between 1903-1904 and 1921-1922 German was dropped and Spanish was added to the curriculum at Cooperstown. However, our research is not definitive enough to conclude that the reason for the change was related to WWI. Evidently, that was the case in other school districts and so it might also have been the case here. We simply cannot say for certain.

Several weeks ago now, we wrote about the growing dependence in this country, and probably world wide, on cell phones. We were discussing this with a friend who shared with us a conversation she had with a fellow employee who told her that the cell phone was absolutely necessary so one would know what time it was. We, as was our friend, were stunned.

Foolishly, we thought that was what watches were for. Perhaps this is yet another of our many dinosaur moments. Another such moment, we suspect, is our exacting attention to balancing our checkbook. We always have to have it balance down to the last penny or we can’t sleep at night. Granted we know full well that there are many people who take the bank’s word when it comes to a checking account. But we have never been one of those people, preferring instead to make certain that the bank was right. And until last month, we do believe the bank has been correct. But, when we checked our last statement, we noted, with great glee, that the bank was off by two cents.

As we checked through the statement and our records we discovered that a check we had written for $350 had been deducted from our account as $350.02. And hence the difference. And while there are people who would have said “Oh well ...” and adjusted the balance accordingly, we asked that the error be corrected, fully realizing that in doing so it would undoubtedly cost the bank more than the actual error involved. However, we felt there was a principle involved and hence are most pleased that the bank was more than willing to make the correction. After all, had the error been at our end, we would have willingly corrected it also.

Whenever we travel, as we did recently on our trip to Ohio and Michigan, we must admit that we tend to grab a bit to eat at whatever fast food restaurant is available.

It is quick and, depending on what one orders, can be relatively inexpensive. Even so, when we stopped in Kingsville, Ohio at an Arby’s and ordered one of their ultimate BLTs, we were surprised at how inexpensive it seemed to be. We put it down to the fact that a lot of things cost less in the Midwest and did not give it another thought until we looked at the receipt for our meal. We had gotten, without even asking, a 10 percent senior discount. We were dismayed.

We would prefer to think that just because we are 60, with obvious mobility issues and a head of gray hair, it does not mean we should be given a senior discount. But evidently, in Ohio it does as we also received a similar senior discount at a Burger King in New Baltimore, Ohio. Granted, we could dye our hair, but there is little we can do about the mobility issues or the age, for that matter.

In closing, most years when we make our annual spring trip to the Midwest, we are always somewhat sorry to return to Cooperstown to realize that spring comes much earlier out there than it does here. However, this year, given the weather we have had for the past week, we do not think we are all that far behind. In fact, we can safely report that our spring allergies are as bad here as they were out there. 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.