Hall of Fame President Surprised
To Learn of White House’s Visit
By JIM KEVLIN
COOPERSTOWN
Jeff Idelson, National Baseball Hall of Fame president, isn’t taking any credit for the First Fan’s planned Thursday, May 22, visit to 25 Main.
“As far as I understand it, with White House events, you get a little bit of notice and you go from there,” said Idelson.
The phone rang the Thursday before. It was Ken Meifert, the Hall’s VP for development. He had just gotten a call, out of the blue, advising him President Barack Obama would be paying a visit.
“It originated out of the White House,” said Idelson. “It was the White House’s idea. And I can’t think of a better one.”
As for the Hall’s 75th anniversary season – it seems to be just a coincidence, he said, that it starts just two days after the president’s visit with the annual Hall of Fame Classic game.
News that President Obama would be visiting Cooperstown – the first sitting president since Martin Van Buren got in Woodside Hall’s garden after a reception in 1839 – was first reported in an AP story out of Washington Friday afternoon the 16th.
The next morning in his weekly radio address, about bringing jobs homes from overseas, the president declared, “I’ll be heading to Cooperstown, New York – home of the Baseball Hall of Fame – to talk about tourism.
“Because believe it or not, tourism is an export. And if we make it easier for more foreign visitors to visit and spend money at America’s attractions and unparalleled national parks, that helps local businesses and grows the economy for everyone,” he said, before moving on to “first-class infrastructure.”
What followed was a lesson in how the post-9/11 world works at the highest level.
No one is authorized to say anything. Information is shared on a need-to-know basis, and people who get it are asked to keep it to themselves.
Best source: Chatter around the cash register at Price Chopper, where folks were talking over the weekend about running into short-haired, suited men with dark glasses who just must have been secret service.
Governor Cuomo’s office wouldn’t say if he was coming, nor would the offices of U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand. Local invitations began arriving Monday evening, to top local officials like Mayor Jeff Katz and county Rep. Kathy Clark, county board chair.
White House liaisons were reportedly meeting with key executives at the village’s main institutions, Bassett Hospital in particular. The Clark Sports Center announced it would be closed.
“We don’t even know what it is yet,” said Jim Donley, walking down Main Street Tuesday afternoon. “All we know is that the Hall of Fame is closed. It’s almost like it’s nothing.”
“I heard he isn’t going to be walking around, which is unfortunate,” said Rick Turner at Seventh Inning Stretch. “I’d like to meet him, but I doubt it’ll happen.”
What was heard was an echo of President Obama’s 2008 message – hope. “I hope I get to shake his hand,” said Steve Schroder. “I plan on being near the Hall of Fame.”
But excitement remains high and shop owners are hopeful that his talk of tourism will also include a tour of Main Street. “Whether you like him or not, it’s still cool to meet the most important person in the world,” said Brian Paterno of Paterno Bros. Sports. “He’s a baseball fan, so what’s better than the stores on Main Street. He could come in here, we could talk about baseball. He seems really down to earth.”
Over at Crazy Cupz, Jennifer Stalzer was trying to figure out a patriotic frozen yogurt blend – she’s thinking vanilla with strawberries and blueberries – just in case the Commander-in-Chief gets hungry. “I feel like I’m a hundred feet from the President,” she said. “I wouldn’t complain if he wanted some fro-yo!”
Back at the Hall of Fame, everyone was seeking to be helpful in any way requested. “Our job as a jost is to make is as successful as they’d like it to be,” said Idelson.
And everyone’s savoring what may be a short-term connection to the nation’s corridors of power, he added. “I certainly have enjoyed the experience so far, as has our staff. It’s a once in a lifetime experience to work with the White House.”