Exploring Western Massachusetts: Franklin County

Showing posts with label Franklin County. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2012

Independence Day Celebrations in Western Massachusetts

The summer skies of June and July will soon be bathed in brilliant blossoms of color and sound as Western Massachusetts celebrates the spirit of 1776 once again with fireworks and festivities galore. Here's a sampling of some of the pyrotechnic displays towns and cities are planning for this season of independence in the year 2012. While most of the following events are free, some do request a donation and others charge an entry fee. It's best to visit the applicable websites to get the scoop on all of the details of each venue (as well as any additional planned holiday happenings the town or city may offer, such as parades or concerts) before heading out.

Brimfield
Saturday ~ June 23
139 Old Palmer Road
Brimfield, Massachusetts
Directions to Old Palmer Road

Easthampton
Saturday ~ June 23 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: June 24)
Galbraith & Daley Fields
Easthampton, Massachusetts
Directions to Daley Field
More info: http://www.easthamptonspirit.com/

Monson
Saturday ~ June 23 ~ 9:15 p.m. (Rain date: June 24)
Monson High & Quarry Hill School
Monson, Massachusetts
Directions to Monson High School
More info: http://www.monsonsummerfestinc.com/events.htm

Northampton
Saturday ~ June 23 ~ 9:15 p.m. (Rain date: June 24)
Look Park
300 North Main Street
Florence, Massachusetts
Directions to Look Park
More info: http://www.northamptonfamilyfourth.com/

Holyoke
Friday ~ June 29 ~ Dusk (Rain date: June 30)
Holyoke Community College
Homestead Avenue
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Directions to HCC
More info: https://www.facebook.com/HolyokeCommunityCollege

Chicopee
Saturday ~ June 30 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 1)
Szot Park
Front Street
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Directions to Szot Park
More info: http://www.festofall.com/

Lenox
June 30 ~ 9:30 p.m.
Elm Court Estate
Lenox, Massachusetts
Directions to Elm Court Estate

Ware
Saturday ~ June 30 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 1)
Grenville Park
Walter Drive
Ware, Massachusetts
Directions to Grenville Park
More info: http://www.townofware.com/Pages/WareMA_MeetingCal/S037ECD82-037ECE06?formid=161

Westfield
Saturday ~ June 30 (Rain date: July 1)
Stanley Park
400 Western Avenue
Westfield, Massachusetts
Directions to Stanley Park
More info: http://www.stanleypark.org/page/fireworks-freedom and http://www.cityofwestfield.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Community-Celebrations.pdf

East Longmeadow
Tuesday ~ July 3 ~ 9:00 p.m.
East Longmeadow High School
East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Directions to ELHS
More info: http://www.eastlongmeadowma.gov/

South Hadley
Tuesday ~ July 3 ~ 9:15 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
Michael E. Smith Middle School
100 Mosier Street
South Hadley, Massachusetts
Directions to MSMS
More info: http://www.southhadley.org/Pages/SouthHadleyMA_Recreation/specialevents

Sturbridge
Tuesday ~ July 3 ~ Dusk (Rain date: July 4)
Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
1-800-733-1830
Directions to Old Sturbridge Village
More info: http://www.osv.org/orders/listprograms.html?ID=29&G=

Agawam
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
Six Flags New England
1623 Main Street
Agawam, Massachusetts
1-413-786-9300
Directions to Six Flags
More info: http://www.sixflags.com/newengland/index.aspx

Amherst
Wednesday ~ July 4 (Rain date: July 5)
McGuirk Alumni Stadium, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Directions to Alumni Stadium
More info: https://www.facebook.com/Amherst.July4th.Fireworks/info

North Adams
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
Joe Wolfe Field
North Adams, Massachusetts
Directions to Wolfe Field

Pittsfield
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
Wahconah Park
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Directions to Wahconah Park
More info: https://www.facebook.com/pittsfield.parade

Springfield
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
Memorial Bridge
Springfield/West Springfield, Massachusetts
Directions to the Memorial Bridge
More info: http://www.spiritofspringfield.org/starspangle/index.html

Stockbridge
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 10:00 p.m. (Following performance)
Tanglewood Grounds
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Directions to Tanglewood
More info: http://www.bso.org/

Chesterfield
Friday ~ July 6 ~ 9 p.m. (Rain date: July 7)
Cummington Fair Grounds
Cummington, Massachusetts
Directions to the fair grounds
More info: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=308875732539382&set=a.244076865685936.55776.244039579022998&type=1&theater

Southwick
Friday ~ July 6 ~ 9:15 p.m. (Rain date: July 13)
STRDS Athletics Field
Powder Mill Road
Southwick, Massachusetts
Directions to STRDS Athletic Field
More info: http://www.southwickma.org/Public_Documents/SouthwickMA_CommCal/S037FC76C-037FC7B0?formid=161

Greenfield
Saturday ~ July 7 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 8)
Beacon Field
Beacon Street
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Directions to Beacon Field
More info: http://www.greenfield-ma.gov/Pages/GreenfieldMA_Recreation/Fireworks

Elsewhere in Massachusetts:

Fitchburg
Tuesday ~ July 3 ~ 10:00 p.m.
Rollstone Hill
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Directions to Rollstone Hill
More info: http://fitchburgcivicdays.com/

Worcester
Tuesday ~ July 3 ~ 9:30 p.m. (Rain date: July 5)
East Park (Christoforo Columbo)
Shrewsbury Street
Worcester, Massachusetts
Directions to East Park
More info: https://www.worcesterchamber.org/event-register?event=371

Boston
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 10:30 p.m.
Along Charles River, between Longfellow & Mass Ave. bridges
Boston & Cambridge, Massachusetts
Directions to Boston fireworks
More info: http://www.july4th.org/

Salisbury Beach Center
Wednesday ~ July 4 ~ 10:15 p.m.
North End Boulevard
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Directions to Salisbury Beach Center
More info: http://www.beachfests.org/fourth-of-july.html

Pepperell
Saturday ~ July 7 ~ Dusk
Field behind VFW Post 3291
Pepperell, Massachusetts
Directions to VFW Post 3291
More info: http://pepperell4thofjuly.org/

In Connecticut:

Hartford, CT
Saturday ~ July 7 ~ Dusk (Rain date: July 8)
Riverside Park & Riverfront Boathouse
20 Leibert Road
Hartford, CT
Directions to Riverside Park
More info: http://www.riverfront.org/events/festivals/#Riverfest

Stafford, CT
Saturday ~ July 7 ~ 9:00 p.m. (Rain date: July 8)
Stafford High School
145 Orcuttville Road
Stafford, Connecticut
Directions to SHS
More info: http://www.staffordct.org/calendar_civic/calendar.php?op=cal&month=7&year=2012&catview=0

Enfield, CT
Sunday - July 8 ~ 9:45 p.m.
Town Green
Enfield, Connecticut
Directions to the Enfield Town Green
More info: http://enfieldcelebration.org/

Please contact explorewmass@yahoo.com with suggestions for local fireworks displays we may have missed or corrections we need to make.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care. (And have a safe and super holiday!)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Map of Franklin County, Mass., c1879

Franklin County, Mass., c1879

Late 19th century Franklin County is represented in this small slice of the A. Williams & Company Railroad & Township Map of Massachusetts, published in 1879 at the Boston Map Store and printed by lithographers J. Mayer & Company.

Formerly part of Hampshire County, Franklin was relatively young in 1879, born by act of the state legislature on December 2, 1811. On July 1, 1875, according to state census figures, the population of Franklin County was 33,696. The land those folks owned had a total monetary value of $16,579,435, as recorded May 1, 1875.

The map notes both population and property value for each town. Post routes criss-cross the county, each circle along the road a post office, with distance in miles between stops noted accordingly. The offices with double circles sell money-orders.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

More about Franklin County...

Here is a link to the Franklin County segment of the History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts (1879), by Louis H. Everts, featured on the Western Mass. History & Genealogy website (an excellent resource): http://www.franklincountyhistory.com/everts/index.html

From EWM...

Photographs: A Fall Farm Stand in Franklin County, October, 1941: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2009/10/photographs-fall-farm-stand-in-franklin.html

Motoring the Mohawk , October 1941: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2008/10/motoring-mohawk-october-1941.html

A Walk Around Greenfield (circa 1903): http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2009/05/walk-around-greenfield-circa-1903.html

Cemetery: Old Deerfield Burying Ground: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2007/07/cemetery-old-deerfield-burying-ground.html

Map source: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division; Digital ID: g3760 rr002350; http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3760.rr002350; http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g3760+rr002350))

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Federal Writers' Project: George O. Dunnell, Northfield, Massachusetts

Montague St., Lake Pleasant, Mass.

The Federal Writer's Project began in an effort to put idle writers to work in the throes of the Great Depression. Funded as part of the Works Progress Administration, the project collected the memories of ordinary Americans as government-hired wordsmiths fanned out into the countryside armed with pads and pencils and the patience to listen.

For more stories and additional information about the Federal Writer's Project, check out the collection American Life Histories, Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940, at the website of the Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html.

The following is a segment of the ruminations of Northfield merchant, George O. Dunnell, discussing Spiritualism and Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts.

* * *

STATE Massachusetts

NAME OF WORKER Robert Wilder

ADDRESS Northfield, Massachusetts

DATE July 10, 1939

SUBJECT Living Lore

NAME OR IMFORMANT G. O. Dunnell

ADDRESS Northfield, Massachusetts

I stopped in to ask Mr. Dunnell if he would like to go along with me on an errand to Lake Pleasant, our "resort" lake beyond Millers' Falls. Mr. Dunnell's rheumatism was "botherin'", business was dull and the excursion proved to be a pleasant diversion.

As we jogged along in my ancient puddle jumper Mr. Dunnell reminisced.

"The only time I ever went to Lake Pleasant was when I was working in Deerfield, and the railroad run an excursion from Greenfield one Sunday. I wanted to hear Nellie Brigham. She was a Colrain girl. Nope, I never took much interest in Spiritualism.

"They was a feller up in Colrain that felt somethin' the way I do now. He had no use for Spiritualists. But his wife was a real devout one. Used to go to all the meetings, and to the camp meeting at Lake Pleasant.

"Lake Pleasant was quite a place in them days - that is, summers.

They wan't nothin' but a few caretakers there winters. The cottages set right side by side, close enough so that you couldn't walk between most of 'em. And they wan't anywhere near the lake, 'cept a few of 'em. They was all through the woods, laid out in blocks with streets and numbers and things. They was a common, somewheres near the center, where they had balloon ascensions and parachute jumps, sometimes. And they was hotels and stores and boarding houses - everything in the pine woods. And, of course, a railroad station. They was a steamboat landing, too, where you could get a ride around the lake for ten cents, and wooden swings, with backs, that would hold two people. They was a couple of amphytheatres in the woods with wooden seats, where if it rained, everybody would get wet except the speaker or the band, which had a little house of their own, down in the center. And, of course, they was the Temple, which was a kind of a church for the Spiritualists. They was also a circle of wooden benches around a flag pole, 'way off in the woods, where the 'mystic circles' was held. And practically every house had a fortune teller in it. Most of 'em wan't Spiritualists at all. They was only in the thing to make money. Oh, it was some place. They built a trolley line out there, too. And on Sunday afternoons when the weather was right, the place was,jammed like Coney Island. People doing nothing but walk up and down 'til they was tuckered out, then sitting down and watching the rest go by.

"They was wuth wat in' watchin', too. The gals had hair that was done way up high, so that their big hats, with flowers and garden truck on 'em, stood right up edgeways. Their hair made an arch above their faces that looked sunthin' like a fat sausage, or maybe, part of a life preserver- I mean the hair, not the faces. They had on shirt waists with high collars that had bones in'em and ruchin' around the edge. They had heavy black, skirts that dragged in the dust, and when they held 'em up a bit, you'd see a little of a white petticoat with flounces on it. Some of 'em carried parasols, but mostly the fellers carried 'em for them. They was pretty busy, what with holding up their skirts to keep 'em from dragging in the dust and feeling around back, slily, to see that their shirt waist hadn't parted company with their skirt. 'Course, I didn't see any, but just the same, I know that they all wore straight front corsets, 'cause that's what give 'em the funny shapes they had.

"Oh, yes, I guess we'd laugh at the fellers now. But they didn't look funny then. Those curly brim derbies would be good for a laugh. And we had long hair, except that it was trimmed - 'blocked' we called it - over our ears and 'round in back, and then our necks shaved, so when we had our derbies on, it looked from the back as if we was wearing felt wigs. And maybe we didn't have some collars. The feller who could wear the highest was best man, I guess. Anyway, some of the collars was stiff, white ones three four inches high. Our coats was padded in the shoulders - reg'lar feather bed on each side. And our britches was 'peg tops.' Don't know where the name come from out the pants was fairly small around the ankles the flaring in the seat. Then most of us had 'bull dogs' for shoes. They was mostly bright yellow. And they had turned up toes with knobs on 'em. Fairly high heels, too. And we wore detachable cuffs, and ready tied neckties, and had watch chains with things hanging on 'em.

"But I'm getting pretty fur away from that feller up in Colrain that had the Spiritualist wife, and didn't believe in spirits himself. He lived on the Shelburne Falls-Colrain Road where the trolley used to run. Shattackville was the name of the place.

"One morning before he got up he was lying there thinking about Spiritualism, and how devoted to it his wife was. And what a comfort it seemed to be to her. 'By George!' he says right out loud, 'I wish that if they's anything in Spiritualism that it would take hold of me! 'He said, next thing he knew suntain' grabbed him. Yes, sir. Yanked him up right out of bed and left him standing shivering out there in the cold. That settled it, he said. He became a believer. Anyway, he built a temple on his place where they used to hold meetings - large building it was, with blue glass winders - still standing, I guess, 't was the last time I was up that way. Folks laughed though. No wonder he believed in Spiritualism. He was a practicing spiritualist all right. Had been right along. Yer see, his business was making cider brandy. And he had his distillery right there next the temple. And as cider brandy is what spirits they is in cider, he was pretty familiar with 'em. They say that that combination of a spirit temple, and a spirit distillery, along with a picnic grove was a pretty profitable thing. And that the spirits made him good and prosperous. I don't know anything about it, but that's what the talk was. Maybe it was the idea of the money he'd make that yanked him out of bed."

More local Federal Writers' Projects stories on Exploring Western Massachusetts.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Fairs and Festivals in Western Massachusetts

Updated: July 7, 2012

Adams

Adams Agricultural Fair
August 2 - 5, 2012

Bowe Field
Columbia St. (Route 8)
Adams, MA
wheel2148@aol.com

http://aafadams.tripod.com/adamsfair/

Ashfield

Ashfield Fall Festival
Annual/October

Main St.
Ashfield, MA
info@ashfieldfallfestival.org

http://www.ashfieldfallfestival.org/

Becket

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
June - August 2012

358 George Carter Rd.
Becket, MA 01223
(413) 243-0745

http://www.jacobspillow.org/

Belchertown

Belchertown Fair
Annual/September

Belchertown Town Common
Main St.
Belchertown, MA
(413) 323-7201
questions@belchertownfair.com

http://www.belchertownfair.com/

Blandford

The Blandford Fair
August 31 - September 3, 2012

Blandford Fairgrounds
10 North Street
Blandford, MA 01008
(413) 848-0995

http://theblandfordfair.com/

Brimfield

The Brimfield Antique Show
2011 Schedule:
May 8 - 13, 2012
July 10 - 15, 2012
Sept. 4 - 9, 2012

Route 20
Brimfield, MA 01010

http://www.brimfieldshow.com/about_the_show.htm

Chicopee

Borrowed Talents Craft Fair and Art Show
July 28 & 29, 2012

The Moose Lodge and Family Center
244 Fuller Road
Chicopee, MA
(413) 827-8748
borrowedtalents@hotmail.com

http://borrowedtalentscraftfair.weebly.com/index.html

Cummington

Cummington Fair
August 23 - 26, 2012

Cummington Fairgrounds
97 Fairgrounds Rd.
Cummington, MA 01026

http://www.cummingtonfair.com/

Granville

Granville Harvest Fair
October 6 - 8, 2012

Town Center
Main Rd. (Route 57)
Granville, MA

http://townofgranville.net/default.aspx

Greenfield

The Green River Festival
July 14 & 15, 2012

Greenfield Community College
College Drive
Greenfield, MA
(413) 773-5463
balloon@crocker.com

http://www.greenriverfestival.com/

Franklin County Fair
September 6 - 9, 2012

Franklin County Fairgrounds
89 Wisdom Way
Greenfield, MA 01302
(413) 774-4282
info@fcas.com

http://www.fcas.com/

Brick + Mortar International Video Art Festival
October, 2012

Various Downtown Buildings
Greenfield, MA
Walking maps available on Town Common

http://greenfieldvideofest.org/about.html

Hancock

Country Fair
September 29 & 30, 2012

Hancock Shaker Village
34 Lebanon Mountain Rd.
Hancock, MA 01237
(413) 443-0188
(800) 817-1137
info@hancockshakervillage.org

http://www.hancockshakervillage.org/

Heath

Heath Fair
August 17 - 19, 2012

Heath Agricultural Society, Inc.
9 Hosmer Rd.
Heath, MA 01346
info@heathfair.org

http://www.heathfair.org/

Middlefield

Middlefield Fair
August 10 - 12, 2012

Middlefield Fairgrounds
7 Bell Road
Middlefield, MA
(413) 623-6027
middlefieldfair@gmail.com

http://middlefieldfair.org/

North Adams

Fall Foliage Festival Parade
September 30, 2012

Main St.
North Adams, MA 01247

http://www.fallfoliageparade.com/

Northampton

Three County Fair
August 31 - September 3, 2012

Three County Fairgrounds
54 Fair St.
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-2237
info@threecountyfair.com

http://www.3countyfair.com/

Paradise City Arts Festival
October 6 - 8, 2012

Three County Fairgrounds
54 Fair St.
Northampton, MA 01060
(800) 511-9725

http://www.paradisecityarts.com/

Old Deerfield

Old Deerfield Craft Fairs
June 16 & 17, 2012
September 15 & 16, 2012
November 16 - 18, 2012

Village of Old Deerfield
Deerfield, MA 01342
(413) 774-7476, ext. 18
info@deerfield-craft.org

http://www.deerfield-craft.org/

Springfield

Caribbean Festival
Annual/August

Springfield Carnival Association
Parade: Catherine St. to Blunt Park
Springfield, MA
(413) 726-9006
cariq69@hotmail.com

Glendi Greek Festival
September 7 - 9, 2012

Greek Cultural Center
St. George Cathedral
22 St. George Road
Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 737-1496

http://www.stgeorgecath.org/Glendi.htm

Mattoon Street Arts Festival
September 8 & 9, 2012

Mattoon Street
Springfield, MA

http://www.mattoonfestival.org/

Stockbridge

Stockbridge Summer Arts and Crafts Show
August 18 & 19, 2012

Berkshire Botanical Gardens
Routes 102 & 183
Stockbridge, MA

http://www.stockbridgechamber.org/arts_crafts.html

Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas
November 30 - December 1 & 2, 2012

http://www.stockbridgechamber.org/christmas.html

Above two events hosted by:

Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce
50 Main Street
Stockbridge, MA 01262
(413) 298-5200

West Springfield

The Big E
September 14 - 30, 2012

Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Avenue (Rte. 147)
West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 205-5115
info@TheBigE.com

http://www.thebige.com/fair/

Westfield

Westfield Fair
August 17 - 19, 2012

Westfield Fairgrounds
Russellville Rd.
Westfield, MA 01085

http://www.thewestfieldfair.com/

For more local activities and events check out EWM's Things To Do In Western Massachusetts and Museums of Western Massachusetts.

Your suggestions for additions to this list are welcome. Please leave a comment below or email: explorewmass@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Photochrom Prints of Northfield Seminary and Mount Hermon School, Massachusetts

Pastoral scenes frozen in Photochrom like the images below are just one of the many offerings that can be found online in the voluminous digitized collections of the Library of Congress (LOC). On the LOC website, vintage audio, moving pictures, documents, images and other historical ephemera tell the story of our nation and beyond.

Here is the link to the LOC website: http://www.loc.gov/index.html

And to the Photochrom Prints Collecton: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/pgz/

"Northfield Seminary, East Northfield, Massachusetts" (c1901)

The Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies was founded in 1879 by evangelist and publisher Dwight L. Moody. By 1889, 855 students had attended the seminary, including 18 Native American girls.

"Mount Hermon School, Mount Hermon, Massachusetts" (c1901)

The Mount Hermon School for Young Men in Gill, Mass., opened its doors on the opposite (west) side of the Connecticut River from the Northfield Seminary in 1881. Also founded by Dwight L. Moody, the two campuses merged into the current Northfield Mount Hermon School in 1971. The Northfield campus is presently for sale.

"Round top, East Northfield, Massachusetts" (c1902)

Dwight L. Moody is buried on Round Top with his wife, Emma, resting eternally beside him. Round Top is located behind the house at 32 Moody Street in Northfield, where the evangelist was born.

For a handy list of online archives offering a variety of digitized materials, visit EWM's, 'Digitized History: Online Archives': http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2007/02/digital-archives.html

Here is the link to Northfield Mount Hermon School's website: http://www.nmhschool.org/

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Image sources: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print; (Top) http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008679577; (Middle) http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008679578; (Bottom) http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008679579; Photo captions from LOC image pages.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Quabbin Views

On August 14, 1939, the flooding of the Swift River Valley in Central Massachusetts commenced. Quabbin Reservoir was born.

View south from Soapstone Mountain - Petersham

The four towns of Dana, Greenwich, Enfield and Prescott were dismantled and their residents displaced to build Quabbin Reservoir, an expansion of greater Boston's water supply.

Monson Turnpike - Old North Dana

Miles of roads were abandoned, railroad lines torn up and train stations removed. Bridges were blasted away with explosives.

Shoreline - North Dana

On June 22, 1946, Quabbin Reservoir reached full capacity for the first time: 412 billion gallons cupped within 181 miles of shoreline.

View near Doubleday Village

The flooding of the valley resulted in sixty islands dotting the 24,529 surface acres of the reservoir.

Swampland in Petersham

Wetlands make up 2,272 acres of the 79,215 total acres of the state-managed Quabbin watershed area.

Remnants of old Route 21

Quabbin Park opened in 1945. There are 22 miles of hiking trails within the park's boundaries, many following the route of formerly settled roads.

Wild columbine

Several of the numbered gates found along the perimeter of its eighteen mile length provide public access to the Quabbin watershed. One of the most popular gates to hike is Gate 40, which leads to Dana town center.

Mount Zion and Mount L

Shore fishing was first allowed at Quabbin on July 5, 1946. On May 27, 1952, the Quabbin reservoir was opened to anglers in boats.

View east from New Salem

For loads of information on the Quabbin Reservoir and the Swift River Valley area, including more than fifty links to maps, history, photographs and directions, visit EWM's, The Quabbin Page.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Other links of interest on EWM:

The Quabbin Chronology: A Timeline of the Swift River Valley

Quabbin Gate 40: The Dana-Greenwich Road

Quabbin Gate 40: Dana Town Common

Map: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, 1854

Quabbin Fishing/Boating Regulations 2010:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/quabfish.htm

Quabbin Visitor Center:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Massachusetts Mountain Lions and Quabbin Gray Wolves: Putting the "Fur" in Furtive

Grave's Landing, Quabbin

(This is a copy and paste of a comment I left back in 2008 on the Outdoors Forum on Masslive.com. With recent talk of restoring the gray wolf population in New England, I thought it worth reviving.)

Mountain lion evidence was found in Pelham, Mass., in the spring of 1997 by professional tracker John McCarter. DNA testing of droppings left behind proved conclusively that a mountain lion had been in the area.

http://www.easterncougarnet.org/northeast-desc/4-97.htm

http://www.easterncougarnet.org/northeast.html

Mass Wildlife had a press release from around that time confirming the McCarter find, but speculating that the mountain lion had been a captive released into the wild and not a native. With the reworking of the Mass Wildlife web site, the press release is now unavailable from the bookmark I had saved. I tried a search of the site, but so far have come up empty. From now on, I copy and paste stuff I don't want to lose to cyberspace!

Along with the McCarter find, I have heard firsthand two reliable accounts of mountain lion sightings in the same area of the west side of the Quabbin Reservoir. These sightings were not related to me by city folks out for a weekend jaunt, but by loggers who have spent their lives in the forests of New England. What struck both of these men was the way the animal they saw moved, unlike any animal they had seen before. In one of the accounts, the lion cleared the forest road with one leap from snowbank to snowbank.

According to the logger who witnessed the leaping animal, the next time he ran into an environmental officer while he was out logging his plot at Quabbin, he told him about the cat. The officer supposedly confided in the logger (who he had known for quite awhile through their Quabbin connection) that mountain lions had indeed made the area home, at least temporarily, if not permanently.

Apparently, in the winter, to help the resident eagle population out, the good folks at the Quabbin (and they do an awesome job) will sometimes put a fresh-killed deer on the ice for the birds' dining enjoyment. This particular officer claimed to have witnessed mountain lions feeding on these carcasses, as well.

I relate this second-hand, so it is subject to scrutiny and certainly unofficial in every sense of the word, to be sure. I've been interested in the question of whether mountain lions are among us here in Western Massachusetts for quite awhile now, but for now, history records 1858 as the year the last Massachusetts mountain lion was killed. Officially, there are no resident mountain lions in Massachusetts.

Of course, that's what the experts said about the gray wolf, too. And they were wrong:

http://www.recorder.com/story.cfm?id_no=4900943

With the presence of the gray wolf in Western Massachusetts confirmed, I feel less wacky sharing this experience my wife and I had almost ten years ago now.

We were hiking Quabbin's Gate 40, passing Dana Common and heading the two miles further out along Skinner Hill Rd. to the spot on the eastern shoreline known as Grave's Landing. Making our way around dead man's curve and down the slippery and steep hill beyond, we shed the walls of the forest for the wide-open expanse of the reservoir. It was a cold day in late winter, and the Quabbin was still plenty iced-in, with no hint of spring's approach.

Our attention was quickly drawn to the circling eagles above a deer carcass on the ice. Blood trails on the ice told the story of the young deer's final minutes. This was no ranger-kill, but a natural death. A death by predator.

My wife, Roma, and I hunkered down to watch the bald eagle buffet from the vantage point of the little peninsula just at the end of the road. We were about 100 yards away from the carcass, hoping to see our first Quabbin bear. I know, bears are dangerous, but remember, you only have to outrun the person you're with.

What we did see was even more amazing as far as we were concerned, although we've told very few people about our experience, for reasons pretty obvious to any skeptical Western Massachusetts outdoors-person.

Creeping slowly and warily out of the woods, a canine about one-and-a-half to one-and-three quarters the size of a large German Shepherd made its way down the snowy bank and onto the ice, stopping about ten feet from the deer, scouting for danger. Moments later, a second canine emerged from the woods, walking slowly past the first and to the carcass. After a glance around, the second animal began to feed, while the first waited patiently surveying the area, undoubtedly standing - or sitting in this case - guard. The markings, shapes and sizes of these two Quabbin creatures left no doubt in my mind of what we were looking at. Even more compelling was the instinctive, primordial sense that flooded my cranium, causing my adrenalin to surge and my hair to stand on end. My immediate and involuntary reaction upon the initial sighting was to whisper to my wife with a mixture of fear and awe, "Wolf!"

Indeed, it is possible to be both very pleased and scared silly at the same time.

The animals relaxed, the wind blowing in our favor. For about twenty minutes they took advantage of the free meal. Then again, maybe it was their kill. Looking at the healthy, strong and formidable creatures through binoculars, it didn't take a far stretch of the imagination picturing the scene.

By placing ourselves on a somewhat barren point of raised land jutting out into the frozen water, we had no choice but to lay low and wait for the animals to finish dining, hoping that they didn't head our way when they were done. Any attempt to remove ourselves from the tricky situation at that point involved the good possibility of drawing the (unwanted) attention of the two canines. I'm not so smart sometimes. With two sharp-toothed predators in play, outrunning my partner probably wouldn't cut it.

Okay, where are the photographs you ask? I must have taken pictures. Well, yes. I did. But unfortunately, being poor back then - funny how some things never change - my camera at the time was a cheap 110, and the photo quality is very poor. I also have photos of Scotland's Nessie. Just kidding.

I'll dig the photos up and scan them into my computer and post a link here when I get the chance.

When the two animals (notice I am still reluctant to call them wolves) had eaten their fill, they trotted off across the ice, heading southwest towards the ghosts of Greenwich. We feel privileged to this day to have spent part of that chilly morning with two such beautiful and regal creatures. Their shared bond was evident. Watching out for each other. Taking turns at the feast. Continuing their journey through the cold wilderness together when they are finished.

Some memories are worth dragging out for a look-see every once in awhile.

Mountain lions? Maybe. Gray wolves. Yep.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

For more on Quabbin, check out 'The Quabbin Page' or 'The Quabbin Chronology: A Timeline of the Swift River Valley,' both found exclusively at EWM!

Update - June 13, 2011: A 140-pound mountain lion was hit and killed by a vehicle in Milford, Ct. on Saturday, June 11, 2011. Here is a link to the Reuters article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/13/us-mountainlion-killed-idUSTRE75B1JE20110613.

Update - July 27, 2011: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty says the Milford, CT, mountain lion hailed from South Dakota, traversing upwards of 1,500 miles over a period of years as tracked by its DNA. Here is a link to the amazing story at the Middletown Press: http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/07/26/news/doc4e2f1341de52f489437623.txt?viewmode=fullstory

The New York Times also has an article on the far-flung feline: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/nyregion/wild-cougar-traveled-east-1500-miles-tests-find.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Western Massachusetts Highways and Byways, circa 1929

1929 Gulf Refining Co. Road Map

Before the Massachusetts Turnpike sped east to west, before Interstate 91 linked north and south, before Quabbin...Western Massachusetts, 1929...

Happy motoring!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Notable Residents of Western Massachusetts

Some folks may be famous in their own circles, others internationally, but one thing is for sure, Western Massachusetts has contributed its share of personality, genius and talent to the planet, and continues to do so today, to the benefit of all. Here are some of the people who have called Western Massachusetts home...

~A~

Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. - (15 Sept 1914 - 4 Sept 1974) - U.S. Army General; Army Chief of Staff - Namesake of the M1 Abrams Tank - Born in Springfield, raised in Feeding Hills - Buried in Arlington National Cemetery

Susan Brownell Anthony - (15 Feb 1820 - 13 March 1906) - Temperance Activist; Abolitionist; Suffragette - Born in Adams

Johnny April - (27 Mar 1969 - ) - Musician; Drummer, Staind - Resided in Springfield

~B~

Elizabeth Banks, born Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell - (10 Feb 1974 - ) - Actress - Pittsfield native

Louis Knox Barlow - (17 Jul 1966 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist; Singer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Lived in Westfield

Everett Hosmer Barney - (7 Dec 1835 - 31 May 1916) - Inventor of clamp-on ice skates; Philanthropist - Springfield resident from 1864 - Interred in Barney Mausoleum, Forest Park, Springfield

Leonard Baskin - (1922 - 3 Jun 2000) - Artist; Sculptor; Illustrator; Printmaker - Resided in Northampton

Jesse Barrett-Mills - (2 May 1984 - ) - Award-winning Filmmaker - Raised in Amherst

Mark Henry Belanger - (8 Jun 1944 - 6 Oct 1998) - Major League Baseball Shortstop - Born and buried in Pittsfield

Edward Bellamy - (26 Mar 1850 - 22 May 1898) - Author, Looking Backward 2000-1887 - Born and died in Chicopee Falls

Travis Eric Best - (12 Jul 1972 - ) - NBA Basketball Player - Born and raised in Springfield

Samuel Bowles - (9 Feb 1826 - 16 Jan 1878) - Editor of the Daily Republican Newspaper - Springfield native and resident

Milton Bradley (8 Nov 1836 - 30 May 1911) - Lithographer; Inventor; Game Manufacturer - Springfield Resident from 1856

John Brown - (9 May 1800 - 2 Dec 1859) - Merchant; Abolitionist - Springfield resident, 1846-49

Rachel Fuller Brown - (23 Nov 1898 - 14 Jan 1980) - Biochemist; Co-developer of anti-fungal antibiotic Nystatin - Born in Springfield

William Cullen Bryant - (3 Nov 1794 - 12 Jun 1878) - Poet; Editor, New York Evening Post - Born and lived in Cummington

Nick Buoniconti - (15 Dec 1940 - ) - Football Player; Member of NFL Hall of Fame - Born in Springfield

Thornton Waldo Burgess - (14 Jan 1874 - 5 Jun 1965) - Conservationist; Author, Old Mother West Wind, etc. - Lived in Springfield and Hampden

Augusten Burroughs, born Christopher Robison - (23 Oct 1965 - ) - Bestselling Author, Running With Scissors, etc. - Raised in Northampton, Amherst resident

~C~

Christopher Frank Capuano - (19 Aug 1978 - ) - Major League Baseball Player - Born and raised in West Springfield

Eric Carle - (25 Jun 1929 - ) - Children's Book Author and Illustrator, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, etc. - Resided in Northampton 20+ years

Catherine Grace (Cady) Coleman - (14 Dec 1960 - ) - USAF Colonel; NASA Astronaut - Resident of Shelburne Falls

Chris Collingwood - (1968 - ) - Songwriter; Producer; Musician, Fountains of Wayne - Resident of Northampton

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. - (4 Jul 1872 - Jan 1933) - Northampton Politician; 30th U. S. President - Amherst, Northampton resident

Zenas Crane - (9 May 1777 - 29 Jun 1845) - Currency, Certificate and Bond Papermaker; Co-founder of Old Berkshire Mill, now Crane & Co. - Resided in Dalton

Frances Crowe - (1919 - ) - Peace Activist, Pacifist - Lives in Northampton

~D~

Timothy Patrick Daggett - (22 May 1962 - ) - Gymnast; Olympic Medalist; Sports Broadcaster - Born in Springfield, raised in West Springfield

Michael D'Antonio - Songwriter; Designer; Musician, Killswitch Engage - Westfield

William Danoff - (7 May 1946 - ) - Singer, Starland Vocal Band; Songwriter, Co-wrote Take Me Home Country Roads - Born and raised in Springfield

Cecil Blount DeMille - (12 Aug 1881 - 21 Jan 1959) - Filmmaker; Academy-Award Winning Producer; Director - Born in Ashfield

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson - (10 Dec 1830 - 15 May 1886) - Reclusive Posthumously Published Poet - Born, lived and died in Amherst

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois - (23 Feb 1868 - 27 Aug 1963) - Scholar; Author; Civil-rights Activist - Born and raised in Great Barrington

Charles Edgar Duryea - (15 Dec 1861 - 28 Sept 1938) - Co-producer of first gasoline-powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

James Frank Duryea - (8 Oct 1869 - 15 Feb 1967) - Co-producer of first gasoline powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz - (4 Apr 1977 - ) - Musician, Killswitch Engage - Raised in Westhampton

~E~

Kevin Brooks Eastman - (30 May 1962 - ) - Artist; Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -Resided in Northampton

Jonathan Edwards - (5 Oct 1703 - 22 Mar 1785) - Fervent Preacher; Theologian - Lived in Northampton

Joseph Buell Ely - (22 Feb 1881 - 13 Jun 1956) - Lawyer; Politician; 52nd Governor of Massachusetts - Born and lived in Westfield

~F~

Damien Richard Fahey - (1 Jun 1980 - ) - MTV VJ; Entertainer - Raised in Chicopee and Longmeadow

Marshall Field - (18 Aug 1834 - 16 Jan 1906) - Department Store Founder, Marshall Field & Co.; Philanthropist - Born in Conway, lived in Pittsfield

Estelle Condit (Suzy) Frelinghuysen - (1911 - 19 Mar 1988) - Abstract Artist; Opera Singer, Philanthropist - Married to George L. K. Morris - Resided in Lenox

Daniel Chester French - (20 Apr 1850 - 7 Oct 1931) - Sculptor, Lincoln in Lincoln Memorial, etc. - Summered in Stockbridge

Robert Lee Frost - (26 Mar 1874 - 29 Jan 1963) - Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet; English Teacher at Amherst - Lived in Amherst

~G~

John Cantius Garand - (1 Jan 1888 - 16 Feb 1974) - Firearms Designer, M1 Garand - Resided and died in Springfield

Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss - (2 Mar 1904 - 24 Sept 1991) - Author; Illustrator, Green Eggs and Ham, etc. - Born and raised in Springfield

Kim Althea Gordon - (28 Apr 1953 - ) - Musician; Singer-Songwriter, Sonic Youth; Designer; Producer - Northampton resident

Sylvester Graham, Rev. - (5 Jul 1794 - 11 Sept 1851) - Creator of the Graham Cracker; Dietary Reformist; Minister - Resided in Northampton

William Robert Guerin - (9 Nov 1970 - ) - Hockey Player; NHL's First Latino - Born and raised in Wilbraham

Arlo Davy Guthrie - (10 Jul 1947 - ) - Musician; Folk Singer; Song Writer - Resident of Washington

~H~

Chester Harding - (1 Sept 1792 - 1 Apr 1866) - Portrait Artist - Born in Conway, resided 36 years in Springfield.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, born Nathaniel Hathorne - (4 Jul 1804 - 19 May 1864) - Author, The House of the Seven Gables, etc. - Resided in Lenox

Francis Xavier Healy - (6 Sept 1946 - ) - Major League Baseball Catcher; Sports Broadcaster - Born in Holyoke

Edward Hitchcock - (24 May 1793 - 27 Feb 1864) - Geologist; Pastor; Professor; President, Amherst College; Author - Resided in Deerfield and Amherst

Joseph Hooker - (13 Nov 1814 - 31 Oct 1879) - Major General in Union Army, Defeated by Lee in Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville, VA, 1863 - Native of Hadley

~I~

~J~

Helen Maria Hunt Jackson - (18 Oct 1830 - 12 Aug 1885) - Author, Ramona, etc.; Indian Rights Activist - Born in Amherst

Penn Fraser Jillette - (5 Mar 1955 - ) - Illusionist; Magician; Entertainer - Born and raised in Greenfield

~K~

John Tracy Kidder - (12 Nov 1945 - ) - Pulitzer Prize-winning Author - Resident of Northampton

~L~

Peter Alan Laird - (27 Jan 1954 - ) - Artist; Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Native of North Adams

Timothy Francis Leary, Dr. - (22 Oct 1920 - 31 May 1996) - Author; Psychologist; 1960s Counter-Culture Figure - Born and raised in Springfield

Aaron Lewis - (13 Apr 1972 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist, Staind - Raised in Longmeadow

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin - (6 Oct 1973 - ) - Basketball Player, WNBA; Sports Broadcaster - Raised in Southwick

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - (27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882) - Professor; Poet, Paul Revere's Ride, etc. - Resided in Pittsfield

~M~

Archibald MacLeish - (7 May 1892 – 20 April 1982) - Poet, Writer, JFK Speechwriter, Librarian of Congress - Resided in Conway

Anne Mansfield (Annie) Sullivan Macy, born Johanna Sullivan - (14 Apr 1866 - 20 Oct 1936) - Teacher; Sign Language Pioneer; Governess, Helen Keller - Born in Feeding Hills

Rachel Anne Maddow - (1 Apr 1973 - ) - Media Figure; Broadcaster; Political Commentator - Resident of Western Massachusetts

Taj Mahal, born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks - (17 May 1942 - ) - Grammy Award-winning Blues Musician - Raised in Springfield

Joseph Donald (J) Mascis - (10 Dec 1965 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist, Singer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Born and lives in Amherst

Herman Melville - (1 Aug 1819 - 28 Sept 1891) - Author, Moby-Dick, etc. - Lived in Pittsfield

Charles Merriam - (31 Nov 1806 - 9 Jul 1887) - Co-founder G. & C. Merriam Co., Publisher, Webster's Dictionary; Philanthropist - Resided and died in Springfield

George S. Merriam - (20 Jan 1803 - 22 Jun 1880) - Co-founder G. & C. Merriam Co., Publisher, Webster's Dictionary; Editor; Author, Life and Times of Samuel Bowles, etc. - Resided and died in Springfield

Dwight Lyman Moody - (5 Feb 1837 - 22 Dec 1899) - Evangelist; Publisher; Founder of Northfield and Mount Herman Schools - Born in Northfield, where he died

Thurston Joseph Moore - (25 Jul 1958 - ) - Musician; Singer-songwriter, Sonic Youth; Producer - Resident of Northampton

Justin Morgan - (28 Feb 1747 - 22 Mar 1798) - Composer; Horse Breeder, Morgan Horse - Born and lived in West Springfield

William G. Morgan - (1870 - 1942) - Inventor of Volleyball; Physical Education Instructor - Resided in Northfield, Springfield and Holyoke

George L. K. Morris - (1905 - 1975) - Abstract Artist; Philanthropist - Married to Estelle Condit (Suzy) Frelinghuysen - Resided in Lenox

Kathryn Bridget Moynahan - (28 Apr 1971 - ) - Model; Actress - Resident of Longmeadow

Emmett Jefferson (Patrick, Murph) Murphy III - (21 Dec 1964 - ) Musician; Drummer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Born in Amherst

Mike Mushok - (10 Apr 1969 - ) - Musician; Guitarist, Staind - Raised in Ludlow, lived in Springfield

~N~

James Naismith - (6 Nov 1861 - 28 Nov 1939) - Inventor of Basketball; Physical Education Instructor; Coach - Resided in Springfield

~O~

~P~

Linda M. Perry - (15 Apr 1965 - ) - Musician; Producer; Singer, 4 Non Blondes - Born in Springfield

Matthew Langford Perry - (19 Aug 1969 - ) - Actor, Friends, etc. - Born in Williamstown

Louis Brian Piccolo - (31 Oct 1943 - 16 Jun 1970) - NFL Football Player; Cancer Fight Immortalized in Movie, Brian's Song - Born and lived in Pittsfield

Sylvia Plath - (27 Oct 1932 - 11 Feb 1963) - Poet; Writer; Teacher, Smith College - Lived in Northampton

Eleanor Torrey Powell - (21 Nov 1912 - 11 Feb 1982) - Actress, Dancer - Born in Springfield

Victoria Principal - (3 Jan 1950 - ) - Actress - Resided in Chicopee

William Pynchon - (11 Oct 1590 - 29 Oct 1662) - Massachusetts Settler; Co-founder of Springfield; Theologian - Resided in Springfield

~Q~

~R~

Jeffrey James Reardon - (1 Oct 1955 - ) - Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher - Born in Dalton

Norman Percevel Rockwell - (3 Feb 1894 - 8 Nov 1978) - Artist; Illustrator; Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1977 - Lived and died in Stockbridge

Kurt Vogel Russell - (17 Mar 1951 - ) - Actor, Silkwood, etc.; Baseball Player - Born in Springfield

~S~

Edmund Hamilton Sears - (6 Apr 1810 - 14 Jan 1876) - Minister; Author, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, etc. - Born and raised in Sandisfield

Suzanne Strempek Shea - Award-Winning Author, Selling the Lite of Heaven, etc. - Born in Western Massachusetts, resident of Bondsville

Edward William (Eddie) Shore - (25 Nov 1902 - 16 Mar 1985) - NHL Hockey Player; Player, Owner, AHL's Springfield Indians - Resided and died in Springfield

Josiah James Linsly (Josh) Simpson, Jr. - (1949 - ) - Glass Artist - Resident of Shelburne Falls

Horace Smith - (28 Oct 1808 - 15 Jan 1893) - Inventor; Gun Manufacturer; Co-founder Smith & Wesson, Co.; Philanthropist - Born in Cheshire, resided in Springfield - Buried in Springfield Cemetery

William Stanley, Jr. - (28 Nov 1858 - 14 May 1916) - Physicist; Electrician; Inventor, Thermos Bottle, etc. - Resided in Great Barrington

Charles Pomeroy Stone - (30 Sept 1824 - 24 Jan 1887) - U. S. Army Officer; Surveyor; Engineer, Statue of Liberty Foundation and Pedestal, etc. - Born in Greenfield

Joel Michael Stroetzel - (24 Jul 1980 - ) - Musician, Killswitch Engage - Raised in Westfield

Jimmy Sturr - Grammy Award-winning Polka Musician - Born in Springfield

Jane Maria Swift - (24 Feb 1965 - ) - Politician; First Female Governor of Massachusetts - Born in North Adams, resident of Williamstown

~T~

James Vernon Taylor - (12 Mar 1948 - ) - Grammy Award-winning Musician, Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Resident of Washington

Uma Karuna Thurman - (29 Apr 1970 - ) - Actress, Pulp Fiction, etc. - Resided in Amherst and Northfield

Sojourner Truth, born as Isabella Baumfree - (1797 - 26 Nov 1883) - Abolitionist; Women's Rights Activist - Resided in Florence

~U~

~V~

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - (11 Nov 1922 - 11 Apr 2007) - Author, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. - Lived briefly in Northampton

~W~

Francis Emroy Warren - (1844 - 1929) - First Governor of Wyoming - Born in Hinsdale

Daniel Baird Wesson - (18 May 1825 - 4 Aug 1906) - Inventor; Gun Manufacturer; Co-founder Smith & Wesson, Co.; Philanthropist - Resided in Springfield - Buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Springfield

Edith Wharton, born as Edith Newbold Jones - (24 Jan 1862 - 11 Aug 1937) - Designer; Pulitzer Prize-winning Author - Resided in Lenox

Stephanie Diana Wilson - (27 Sept 1966 - ) - Engineer; NASA Astronaut - Lived in Pittsfield

Mark Edward Wohlers - (23 Jan 1970 - ) - Major League Baseball pitcher - Native of Holyoke

Jon Wysocki - (17 Jan 1971 - ) - Musician; Drummer, Staind - Born in Northampton, raised in Westfield, lived in Springfield

~X~

~Y~

Jane Hyatt Yolen - (11 Feb 1939 - ) - Award-winning Author; Editor - Resident of Hatfield

~Z~

As I worked on this list, I began to realize that I could keep adding to it indefinitely...there are so many interesting and able souls that hail from Western Massachusetts. I'll keep working on it as time passes, so check back for updates every once in awhile. If you have a suggestion of someone I should add (and I'm certain there are many) or a correction/modification I should make, please leave a comment below. Thanks! ~Mark (Updated October 4, 2010)

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Photographs: A Fall Farm Stand in Franklin County, October, 1941

Autumn in Western Massachusetts is bonfires and spiced cider, rake tines teased by the dance of leaves in a brisk October wind, cozy-windowed homes glowing warm in an early dusk and trees bursting blooms of breath-taking brilliance and beauty: Crowns afire in the season's attire. It is a time for sweaters and long, tight outdoor hugs; and families of jack 'o' lanterns lighting porch steps. It is when we hop into our cars and set off with no destination, the act itself entertainment aplenty. Autumn in Western Massachusetts is the harvest time of color and sustenance, farm stands edging winding, paved Indian trails, offering fruits of the fields bare in the distance.

One such farm stand near Greenfield caught the eye of photographer John Collier back in October of 1941. And rightly so, with its unique decorations and unusual gourdian arrangements. The Collier photographs below are from the America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black-and-White Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945 collection, which is part of the American Memory project of the Library of Congress. Captions in quotes are from the LOC web site.

"Wayside harvest stand near Greenfield, Massachusetts."

Greenfield's position at the crossroads of Routes 2 (the Mohawk Trail) and 5 & 10 make the town an ideal leaf-peeper stop-over for food, fuel or fun. Here's a link to the town of Greenfield's official web site:

http://www.townofgreenfield.org/Pages/index

Sometimes you get passed by a carload of dummies on the road. One can't help but secretly admit to a smug sense of satisfaction when you pass them later and they're spun out up on somebody's lawn.

Western Massachusetts' farmers have long sought ways to attract potential customers' attention. Currently popular as a source of income for local laborers of the land are corn mazes, patterns of paths etched out of fields that challenge folks to maneuver their twists and turns from entry to exit. Close to Greenfield, Mike's Maze at Warner Farm in Sunderland has been creating magical mazes for nine years, growing from 4 acres of chunk-of-cheese-chasing fun in 2000 to 8 acres today. This year's maze: Charles Darwin, flowing beard and all. Here's a link to the Warner Farm web site with details and directions (and an aerial shot of this year's maze):

http://www.mikesmaze.com

To find many other enjoyable open-air entertainment opportunities in the Bay State, visit the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources web site's list of agri-tourism farms compiled by county. Here's the link:

http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/agritourism_farms.htm

"Sales attention at a wayside harvest market near Greenfield, Massachusetts."

Whimsy on wheels, resourceful New England farmers find a myriad of ways to utilize resources at hand to earn their living from the land.

With faith in fruition, seeds sown in the rocky New England soil in spring become life affirmed as green shoots pierce the dusty crust of well-worked soil against unfavorable odds, poor results diverted by the patient tiller of the farmer's plough, guided by steady hands and strength of purpose. Finally, after days under the hot sun of Western Massachusetts summer and nights under the frosty, starry autumn sky, despite downpours and drought, the harvest is borne to table and we and our neighbors are fed the fruit of optimism. From field to family, harrow to home: Here is the land of milk and honey.

Pumpkin creatures greet farm stand patrons in front of a wall o' winter squash.

For maps of the area old and new to assist in your explorations, make sure to visit the EWM page, Trails, Rails & Roads: Western Mass. Maps.

And for outing ideas in the area, check out EWM's ever-expanding list, Things To Do In Western Massachusetts.

Autumn in Western Massachusetts is here, windows a'fog with the mist of baking pies and spirits snug and hunkering down for the long winter ahead. Days of corn-stalk tepees and the laughter of children awash in piles of dried leaves. A colorful reminder that life is a cycle, a circle with no beginning and no end. We orbit its crux, passengers on the human journey, the puzzle not for us to solve.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

For many more John Collier photographs of the Mohawk Trail, check out the EWM post Motoring the Mohawk, October, 1941.

Photo Sources - LOC Digital IDs:
1. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25844
2. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25847
3. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25848
4. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25849
5. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25850
6. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25853
7. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c25854