Cooperstown and Me

At least ten years ago, maybe more, I did a series for our local newspaper about people who had collections of antiques. It was actually fascinating--you would not believe what some people collect--and I met a lot of people who were passionate about everything from telephones and spittoons to museum quality American flags, dolls and even baseball memorabilia. It turned out to be a popular feature and we played with the idea of doing a book or calendar (the publisher of the newspaper also published glossy magazines), but nixed it for, you guessed it, limited marketability.

In any event, on Friday night we took our eldest son out to dinner for his birthday and as we were leaving this rather trendy, South Philly restaurant, a woman approached me and asked if I remembered her. She looked familiar but I couldn't place her and I asked for a clue. Well, it turns out that I had written an article about her husband's baseball collection way back when and sixty four of the items in his collection are now headed for Cooperstown, NY to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I am not exactly sure if these artifacts are going to be on loan or part of the permanent collection, but she did tell me that two curators from the Hall of Fame came to their house and selected the articles they wanted to display. And get this: among the pieces they chose was a copy of my article which they had framed and displayed on their wall. So Cooperstown, here I come!

My husband says we need to make a pilgrimage (a grand excuse, no doubt to finally visit!) but it sounds like fun. I am awaiting further details from the owner of these items as to whether or not there is a formal exhibition opening, but I will keep you posted.

Just goes to show you, you never know where your words will end up.