Jane Clark Wins
Standing Ovation
Rare Appearance Draws Overflow Crowd
In a rare local public address, Jane Forbes Clark, Cooperstown’s #1 citizen, packed the Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater to overflowing this afternoon with a talk on her family’s legacy in Cooperstown and Otsego County. She detailed the activities of The Clark Foundation (college scholarships, plus much more), The Scriven Foundation (support for local charities, plus much more), and the one for-profit entity, The Leatherstocking Corp., which operates The Otesaga, The Cooper Inn and The Leatherstocking Golf Course. In all, she said, the Clark interests employ 4,000 people. She was greeted with warm applause, her remarks and answers to questions were frequently interrupted by more applause, and the hour-long presentation – 20 minutes formal; 40 minutes Q and A – was capped by a standing ovation. In particularly, the scholarship program, which has helped 11,000 high school graduates attend college since 1961, was singled out for repeated praise. At Miss Clark’s urging, Gary Kuch, scholarship program director, at right, recounted receiving a note from a recipient and her family, which read, “You have given us back our dream.” The theater’s 190 seats were filled, folding chairs were added, and some folks sat on the stage, but more than 100 people were still lined up when capacity was reached; Miss Clark agreed to repeat the talk at a later date to accommodate everyone who hoped to attend. The event was organized by the Friends of the Village Library as part of its Sunday Series. (Ian Austin photos for AllOTSEGO.com)
I grew up in Cooperstown and lived in the Alfred Corning Clark Gymnasium facility where my dad was the director. I received a scholarships from the Clark Foundation for all 4 undergrad years as well my graduate year. My mom is a current resident of the Thanksgiving Home. The Clark family has been very gracious to our family as well as the Cooperstown community! We will attend another program for the future.