A Romantic Weekend in Cooperstown (Where Else!)

There is an old Heineken beer commercial with two men talking, the dialogue goes something like this:

1st Man - What did you get your wife for your first wedding anniversary?

2nd Man - I got her this great washer and dryer.

1st Man - You can't give her something like that for your first anniversary, you should take her some place romantic.

2nd Man - Do you think I should take her to Cooperstown?

I don't know how much beer that ad sold for Heineken, but it is a commercial that has no little irony for Carol and myself. We first took Paul to Cooperstown in 1986, that was before baseball memorabilia took off, my memory is that there were one or two such stores in the whole village. We have gone back on a regular basis, many times with Paul (through college), but now continue to go there almost annually ourselves. While Cooperstown is well known for the Baseball Hall of Fame, the village also hosts two other excellent museums, the Farmer's Museum and the Fennimore Cooper Art Museum.

Over the course of our visits Carol has become as interested in the Farmer's Museum as I am in the Hall of Fame. In fact, I think at some level, she enjoys going to Cooperstown even more than I do - as witnessed by her comment after a brief one day visit - "I need at least two days." The suggestion that she likes it more than I do is typically greeted with skepticism by some cynical people (ie, women), but it is true.

By coincidence this year, the Hall of Fame hosted a 19th century baseball research conference, the day before our anniversary. So our plan was that I would go to the conference while Carol did what she liked and we even got to joke about the "take her to Cooperstown" aspect of the trip. Our plan had been to drive home the night of the conference, but then we got an e-mail about a program that night at the Bump Tavern (pictured above) which is part of the Farmers Museum. The program included dinner, talks about the tavern, and some 19th century musical entertainment.

After a little reflection, we decided to stay an extra night in Cooperstown and make that our anniversary celebration. It was well worth it, it was a very enjoyable evening, it was a way of experiencing living history in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere. We had both felt that this might be our only visit to Cooperstown this year, but we both came away wanting to go back - even if it isn't our anniversary! When I told a friend the Heineken beer commercial story and the irony that Carol likes Cooperstown as much, if not more, than I do, the response was you are really lucky. I am indeed and not just because of Cooperstown!