Each February as winter settles in, it is the warmth and comforts of home that we all desire. However, we all seem to have many more “home” moments than we ever expected, which has brought to light what we treasure most – our relationships. As museum members, you are one of the relationships the museum considers essential. One way in which people have enjoyed continuing their essential relationships from afar (socially distanced) is through letters. Communicating and connecting through letters has been enjoyed for centuries. Hence, letters hold an important historical role, and many fascinating letters are found in museum collections. Fenimore’s collection of letters is vast and fascinating, especially those written by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

As “We LOVE Our Members Month” commences we wanted to take a moment to share this time to get to know you better through a letter. During these challenging times, we would like to include a bit of a kindness to our letter writing, hence we are calling these “Love Letters.” For February’s 28 days we will be mailing 28 letters to museum members from our museum staff who would like to share a bit MORE about their professional position here at the museums. Want to join in the fun?  Please consider sending the Membership Department a “Love Letter” that describes something you consider wonderful about the museum or perhaps recounting an experience you enjoyed while visiting the Fenimore Art Museum and/or The Farmers’ Museum, or just tell us a bit about you. Mail to Fenimore Art Museum, Attn: Membership, PO Box 800, Cooperstown, NY 13326 or email: [email protected]. We want to share our LOVE of art and history with you and please feel free to share yours with us!

We will also be showing a little LOVE with a few special treats throughout the month…who doesn’t LOVE a prize?!? Be sure to watch for these weekly prizes on our social media and website. The way you can WIN is easy––write a letter to us! Also, any member who receives a letter is automatically entered to WIN so watch your mailboxes…and IT IS YOU! Members receiving letters are certainly not required to do anything with the letter if you choose not to; however, you can correspond back if you would like. Also, there is a treat enclosed from the shops for you to enjoy in April 2021. Each member program opens the door allowing members MORE to LOVE about your museums.  Thank you for continuing to be an important part of it all!