Exploring Western Massachusetts: Nature

Showing posts with label Nature. Show all posts

Sunday, March 6, 2011

A Berkshire Brook in Black & White, c1906

"A View near Greylock, Berkshire Hills, Mass, c1906"

Hawthorne in Berkshire

Mountains and valleys! dear ye are to me:
Your streams wild-wandering, ever-tranquil lakes,
And forests that make murmur like the sea;
And this keen air that from the hurt soul takes
Its pain and languor:-Doubly dear ye are
For many a lofty memory that throws
A splendor on these heights.-'Neath you low star,
That like a dewdrop melts in heaven's rose,
Dwelt once a starry spirit; there he smote
Life from the living hills; a little while
He rested from the raging of the world.
This Brook of Shadows, whose dark waters purled
Solace to his deep mind, it felt his smile-
Haunted, and melancholy, and remote.

~Richard Watson Gilder, 1897

Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994006026/PP/
Poem: The Century; Volume 55; Issue 2; Dec 1897

A Ride on the Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke

Electricity, entrepreneurship and an eye for entertainment transformed the highest peak on the Mt. Tom Range from a knuckle in the stone spine of the Metacomet Ridge into the happening local destination of the 1890s and beyond, thanks to William S. Loomis, owner of the Holyoke Street Railway Company.

As a Holyoke businessman dissatisfied with the pace of the street railway's line expansion, Loomis decided to take matters into his own hands, purchasing the four-year old company outright in 1888. Electrification of the lines came in 1891 and, despite a faltering economy, the Holyoke Street Railway grew apace under his ambitious stewardship.

In 1895, Loomis's railway began shuttling weekend passengers in search of respite and recreation to a 365-acre parcel on Holyoke's Mt. Tom that he had purchased and begun to groom some years before. Opened in 1894 and named Mountain Park, the new connection to the Holyoke Street Railway resulted in a steady increase of visitors and profits.

In 1897, with a state charter to build a pleasure resort in hand, Loomis strove to make his vision blossom, adding a restaurant (with open-air dining), a dance hall, and a 2,500-seat theater named The Casino. A unique switchback railway (a new type of roller coaster, the first of which had been built just 13 years before at Coney Island, NY) beckoned the daring soul, with a merry-go-round and water ride providing additional, less-challenging, amusement.

The Holyoke Street Railway's weekend trolley park on the mountain served both pleasure and profit, with day-off fares proffered by grateful workers free on holiday to board trains that would else sit idle as a Sunday factory: Indeed, a combined natural win for both city folk and stakeholder.

Mountain Park & Mt. Tom Summit House, Holyoke, Mass., between 1900-1910

No self-respecting turn of the 20th century mountain resort was without a crowning summit house. Locally, proprietor William Street's Eyrie House hotel and resort had perched at the apex of Holyoke's Mt. Nonotuck for 36 years - the summit house atop Mt. Holyoke in one form or another for much longer - by the time the Mt. Tom Summit House opened in 1897. The fresh and fierce competition for patrons, coupled with a calamitous fire, drove William Street from the pleasure business into bitterness and seclusion by 1901. Mt. Holyoke's summit house fared better, operating as the Mt. Holyoke Hotel into the 1930s.

Lower station, Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Key to the success and popularity of the Mt. Tom Summit House as a satellite of Mountain Park, despite its location atop the highest peak of the Mt Tom Range, was the construction of the Mt. Tom Railroad in 1897. An offshoot of the Holyoke Street Railway Company, the two lines' convenient connection at Mt. Tom's lower station made the steep, uphill climb a painless, even pleasurable, experience for patrons.

In the photo above, cars of the Holyoke Street Railway service passengers at the lower station platform. Access to the Mt. Tom Railroad is on the opposite side of the station.

Mt. Tom Railroad elevating car, The Elizur Holyoke, between 1900-1920

The Mt. Tom Railroad was uniquely engineered to master the steep, uneven terrain using two special elevating cars, designed with seats that automatically leveled themselves to the immediate incline for passenger comfort. Each car could carry up to 80 fares.

The duo were named in honor of contemporaries Elizur Holyoke and Rowland Thomas, 17th-century surveyors of the area from the down river settlement of Springfield and namesakes of Mt. Holyoke and Mt. Tom. Elizur Holyoke married Springfield settler and magistrate William Pynchon's daughter Mary in 1640, the first marriage recorded in Springfield.

The Rowland Thomas, after passing turn-out, between 1905-1915

With two cars shuttling passengers on one line, it was necessary to incorporate a turn-out, or bypass, on the Mt. Tom Railroad constructed to be capable of allowing the overhead electric cables of each car to pass unimpeded on their meeting.

In the photo above, the Rowland Thomas (foreground) climbs toward the Mt. Tom summit after passing the Elizur Holyoke, the turn-out visible between them.

The Elizur Holyoke climbs Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Basalt barriers blasted, mountain flora cut to earth: a mile of wooden ties and steel racks were tacked to rugged stone slope to create the Mt. Tom Railroad, linking Mountain Park and the Mt. Tom Summit House, 700-feet above. Bordered by traprock piles, desolate in their displacement, the railroad's construction cut what would be a time-consuming - or even impossible for some - on-foot ordeal into a short, 10-minute ride to the top, accessible to anyone with the price of the fare, twenty-five cents (as recorded in 1912).

Approaching Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station, between 1900-1906

The Elizur Holyoke appears in the distance climbing toward the Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station. The two cars on the line, as well as the upper and lower stations, were linked by telephone, affording ease in communication and providing an extra level of safety and service. A full-service telephone was available for public use at the Mt. Tom Summit House.

The Elizur Holyoke crests the final rise of the Mt. Tom Railroad, between 1900-1906

Trade union publication, The Railroad Trainman, with an appreciative eye for the innovative, took note of the newly-built Mt. Tom Railroad in its July, 1898, issue:

"The summit of Mt. Tom was not easily accessible until the construction of the Mt. Tom Railroad in the year 1897. Now, the street cars of Holyoke (which connect with the Springfield system of street cars, and with the Boston & Maine and N. Y., N. H. & Hartford railroads) run to the lower station of the Mt. Tom Railroad, and in less than ten minutes afterward the mountain cars deliver their passengers on the summit. The Mt. Tom Railroad is a cable-trolley-electric, modern mountain railway. The two cars are connected, and balanced by a 1 1/4 inch tested steel cable, made of 120 steel wires, twisted into the six minor cables which form the strong steel rope which runs over an eight-foot sheave at the top of the incline."

Electric brakes were backed up by an automatic, speed-sensitive braking system, as well as a cable brake. Power to spark the whole line traveled through pole-supported electric wires from a generating source five miles distant.

Pulling into upper station on the Mt. Tom Railroad, between 1900-1906

President William McKinley and First Lady Ida were very important passengers on the Mt. Tom Railroad on an outing to the Mt. Tom Summit House in 1899. The 25th president of the United States, accompanied by Massachusetts governor Roger Wolcott, was taking in the local sights while visiting Western Massachusetts to attend his niece Grace's June 20th graduation from the esteemed Mt. Holyoke College. Re-elected to a second term in 1900, McKinley perished September 14, 1901, assassinated by an angry anarchist at the age of 58. McKinley was the last sitting president to have served in the Civil War and the first to be captured on film in a 'moving picture.'

Upper station, Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Over a thousand feet above sea level, the vista outside the Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station exploded in stretching immensity, offering striking, breathtaking views of the valley and beyond. Visitor conquerors of the jagged cap of Mt. Tom Range alighted in the heavens from electric chariots full-lunged and fresh, ready to enjoy the amenities and entertainment scattered about the peak for their pleasure.

Steps away from the upper station beckoned the Mt. Tom Summit House - perched on a basalt tor defiant - with its maps and telescopes, sitting nooks and myriad wide windows inviting visitors to drink in the distant and near. The top-notch Top-O-Tom restaurant provided an upscale ambiance to the rugged natural surroundings offering diners both fine food and magnificent views in a classy atmosphere. The establishment was noted for its unique, ivy-covered interior walls.

The Mt. Tom Summit House, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

The original Mt. Tom Summit house, built in 1897, was destroyed by fire on October 8, 1900. The Holyoke Street Railway Company wasted no time rebuilding, employing laborers over the winter to work post haste to replace the profitable asset with an even bigger and better version. On May 15, 1901, the new Mt. Tom Summit House (above), complete with golden dome, 300-person capacity hall, and 3,920 square-foot, glass-enclosed upper observation deck, opened for business.

The imposing, seven-story tall structure served as a focal point of the valley and a day trip destination until its own demise by fire in 1929. A small building made of metal was constructed on the spot as a replacement, but, as growing automobile ownership expanded folk's choices, and increased competition for recreation revenue coupled with the onslaught of the Great Depression, the once-keen popularity of the Mt. Tom Summit House failed to rebound. The land became the seed for Mount Tom State Reservation, groomed by the Civilian Conservation Corps beginning in 1933, and still serves today as a piece of public paradise.

In 1938, the last summit house and the Mt. Tom Railroad were dismantled and sold for scrap, an ignominious exit for a vibrant era fast fading to sepia-toned memories.

Mountain Park, having marked its share of ups and downs navigating the past 117 years, has enjoyed a more illustrious and lasting legacy than its satellite in the sky, persevering in various forms and configurations until the end of the 1987 season, when its gates closed for what sadly appeared to be the last time.

Fortunately, the 60 acres that had been the heart of Mountain Park through the decades remained in private hands and were purchased in 2006 by local visionary and entrepreneur, Eric Suher, who entertains dreams of restoring the park of locals' memories. Generations apart, William Loomis and Eric Suher complete a century circle of commercial creativity and inspiration, promoting the hard acres of Mt. Tom, inventing and re-inventing the happy world of Mountain Park. Well-attended concerts organized by Mr. Suher in 2009 and 2010 breathed life into the dormant and dismantled park, public support for Mr. Suher's endeavors on display in the enthusiastic turn-out for the shows.

View of Easthampton from Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass., c1908

On his 1899 visit, President McKinley declared the view from Mt. Tom "the most beautiful mountain out look in the whole world." Perhaps had he enjoyed the opportunity on his trip to visit more of the several summits standing sentinel above the Pioneer Valley, witnessing perfection in constant laid out below, he would have expanded his generous summation to reflect what locals truly know: Western Massachusetts is the most beautiful place in the world.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Explore more...

One ride from Mountain Park that can still be ridden is the 1929-built merry-go-round, relocated and still spinning at a buck a ride beneath a wonderful recreation of its original pavilion at Holyoke's Heritage State Park. For more information, visit the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round website at: http://www.holyokemerrygoround.org/

Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke maintains an excellent website, Chariots of Change, chronicling the history of the Holyoke Street Railway Company, including interesting links to a large collection of digitized reference material: http://wistariahurst.org/holyokestreetrailway/introduction/

The website, Mt. Holyoke Historical Timelines, presented by Robb Strycharz, is an excellent resource that captures the symbiotic relationship between Mt. Holyoke, Mt. Tom, and Mt Nonotuck throughout their commercial development: http://www.chronos-historical.org/mtholyoke/index.html

In 1912, the Holyoke Street Railway Company - under the management of Louis D. Pellissier - published Views on and about Mt. Tom and of Mt. Tom railroad, an illustrated promotional tool for the resort. Louis Pellissier and William Loomis worked together for years molding the mountain acreage into a profitable business. Pellissier purchased Mountain Park in 1929 and operated it until 1952. Here's a link to the publication, digitized at the Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/viewsonaboutmtto00pell

Here's a nice website with information and images, including the original Mt. Tom Summit House: http://www.mounttom.com/

Jay Ducharme, author of the book, Mountain Park (Arcadia Publishers), is the local authority on the park's history. Here's a link to his website: http://www.karenandjay.com/mtpark/mtpark.html

Plan your visit to Mt. Tom State Reservation in Holyoke with directions, printable trail map and more, courtesy of the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/mtom.htm

Check out the EWM channel on YouTube for a collection of vintage clips and videos of Holyoke history in motion: http://www.youtube.com/user/Explorewesternmass

Learn more about William Street, proprietor of the Eyrie House atop the summit of Mt. Nonotuck, with EWM post, The Eyrie House: William Street's Home in the Clouds: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2010/03/eyrie-house-william-streets-home-in.html

Take a photo-hike around Mt. Tom's Lake Bray with EWM post, A Misty Morning on the Bray Loop Trail: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2008/06/misty-morning-on-bray-loop-trail.html

EWM post The Federal Theatre Project Visits Mt. Park Casino features posters from the depression-era WPA Federal Theatre Project advertising shows at Mountain Park Casino: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2009/03/federal-theatre-project-visits-mt-tom.html

Photo source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection:
1: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994006420/PP/
2: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021402/PP/
3: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994002003/PP/
4: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021403/PP/
5: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021401/PP/
6: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994005743/PP/
7: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994005744/PP/
8: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994009976/PP/
9: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021398/PP/
10: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021400/PP/
11: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994019924/PP/

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Mystery Cat Prowls Massachusetts

It seems fitting that a photograph of a mystery cat snapped in West Brookfield should wind up in the EWM in-box on the same day that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) declared the eastern cougar officially extinct, recommending its removal from the endangered species list. The question of whether Massachusetts hosts a wild mountain lion presence will always tease the interested though, so far unanswered it seems. The catamount is a creature elusive and, despite the USFWS' official edict, the aura of the big cats' presence continues to shadow the hills, valleys and flatland of the Bay State, fed by relatively frequent and credible encounters reported by locals. Indeed, the fact that a gray wolf (a creature long thought to be extinguished from Massachusetts) was killed in Shelburne in October, 2007, illustrates the constant possibility of the unknown among us.

The image below is cropped from a photograph taken by Kevin Sloan of West Brookfield this past Saturday (February 27, 2011). Kevin and his wife "scrambled to get the camera" and were fortunate enough to capture this big cat passing through their back yard.

The cat undoubtedly has powerful, muscular features and a full-length, heavy tail. It certainly seems much beefier than a house cat. The tawny color, although darker than expected, is close to that of an eastern cougar. Unfortunately, the uncropped, original photograph (below), with the snow covered expanse between the swing set and the cat skewing the perspective, makes determining the actual size of the creature by eye extremely difficult.

By Kevin's estimate, the cat was about 150 feet away when the above photograph was snapped, with the camera lens adjusted to 10X-12X optical zoom. Tracks in the snow on the left can be seen marking the animal's path. Adult mountain lions are 24 to 30 inches tall at the shoulder and range in length from 5 to 9 feet head to tail tip. Males can weigh over 200 lbs. Females are generally smaller.

The feline that cut through Kevin's yard left the tracks shown in the photograph above, snapped by Kevin soon after the cat was gone. Skeptics have rightly pointed out that the raised features of the tracks are unusual for a track left in snow.

A closer look at the tracks. The proximity of the animal's feet in their positioning is a typical indicator of a cougar moving at a quick pace.

The above graphic, kindly shared with EWM by Bill Kettler, author of the blog, Southwest Backcountry, illustrates both what a mountain lion track looks like as well as the positioning of a lion's feet in motion. To this amateur eye, the images in the graphic and the tracks in Kevin's yard are strikingly similar.

Here is another graphic comparing shapes of tracks; bobcats, dogs and coyotes known denizens of Western Massachusetts. The mountain lion tracks are again very close in appearance to the ones in Kevin's yard.

What do you think? Could the cat in the photograph be a mountain lion? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or email explorewmass@yahoo.com

Thank you to the Sloans for sharing their photographs with EWM and its readers. It is much appreciated.

Update March 6, 2011: Having seen the photographs above and a later one taken by Kevin for size reference by placing a household tub with set dimensions in the same spot as the cat, Bill Davis, District Supervisor at the Mass. Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, has determined that the cat in the photograph is not a mountain lion. In correspondence Kevin shared with EWM, Mr. Davis wrote: ..."you’ve taken a nice photo of a domestic cat, albeit a large, chubby one! The prints in the snow confirm this as a cat and are consistent with house cat."

For more on mountain lions in Massachusetts, visit previous EWM post, Massachusetts Mountain Lions and Quabbin Gray Wolves: Putting the "Fur" in Furtive, which has developed a very active comment thread (including numerous reports of local lion and wolf sightings) since its August 4, 2010, publication.

A February 7, 2011 article, On the Trail of the Unusual, in the Telegram mentions the EWM comment thread and explores the cougar question. Here is a link: http://www.telegram.com/article/20110207/NEWS/102070450/1116

Here is a link to the USFWS press release declaring the eastern cougar extinct: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ecougar/newsreleasefinal.html

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Barney Demonstrates Skates at Forest Park

Everett Hosmer Barney (December 7, 1835 - May 31, 1916), Springfield resident and major benefactor of the city's Forest Park is probably best known for his invention of the clamp-on ice skate, for which he received his first patent in 1864.

One of Barney's many other patents, awarded in 1868, was for a perforating machine that could stamp the amount due on a check, or the words "canceled" and "paid."

Here Mr. Barney is seen demonstrating his prowess on his product in a photograph from the 1900 book, A Handbook of Figure Skating Arranged for Use on the Ice, written by George H. Browne, A. M., and published by the Barney and Berry Company in Springfield.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938: The Aftermath in Western Massachusetts

"New England tobacco barn."

In the mid-afternoon of September 21, 1938, a fast-moving hurricane, the likes of which hadn't been seen in two-hundred years, slammed without mercy into Long Island, New York, at Great South Bay and continued hastily north along its path of despair, racing across Long Island Sound into the unsuspecting coastal town of Milford, Connecticut. By dinner time, the indiscriminate meteorological demon was tearing up Vermont, leaving Milford and dozens of other New England towns and cities dazed and digging out or underwater in its wake.

Western Massachusetts was not spared the hurricane's scouring winds or stinging, pelting downpour. Indeed, the buckets of precipitation borne westward from the African coast upon the hellish cyclonic winds of September 21st only served to exacerbate an already-saturated Bay State, the abundantly wet summer of 1938 keeping streams, rivers and ponds full and bursting at their banks. When the hurricane hit, the flooding commenced. Wind and water at powerhouse speeds lashed the valleys and hills, and swept the land like a broom of fate.

The following images snapped shortly after the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 are from America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black and White Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945, which is part of the American Memory Collections at the website of the Library of Congress. Captions in quotes are from the website.

"House in Amherst, Massachusetts."

Around 9,000 homes were destroyed in New York and New England as a result of the hurricane, with estimates of another 15,000 to 25,000 damaged.

"Tobacco Barn in Amherst, Massachusetts."

In total, about 19,000 structures, including barns and other outbuildings, were considered total losses after the hurricane, their damage was so complete.

"Tobacco barn near Amherst, Massachusetts."

Property damage added up to over $300 million in 1938 dollars, which translates to around 4 to 6 billion 2008 dollars.

"Tobacco barn in Massachusetts."

The Great New England Hurricane, also known as The Long Island Express, pummeled Western Massachusetts tobacco farms, striking during the late season leaf-curing process.

"Chicken house between Worcester and Amherst, Massachusetts."

At the height of the rushing hurricane, winds in excess 100 miles per hour hammered New England with a vengeance only unwitting nature can unleash. A wind gust of 186 miles per hour was recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts.

"Farmer clearing debris of chicken house between Worcester and Amherst, Massachusetts."

Accounts vary on the storm's ultimate toll in human life and limb. Common estimates put the number of deceased at around 700, with the number of injured at about 1,800.

"Chicken house near Worcester, Massachusetts."

In a matter of a few desperate afternoon hours on the first day of Autumn, healthy, vital livestock was decimated throughout the Pioneer Valley and beyond, farmers left to pick up the pieces of their broken livelihood.

"Chicken house damaged by the debris of a second chicken house which was demolished between Worcester and Amherst, Massachusetts."

In addition to the thousands of livestock lost to the chaotic onslaught, upwards of 750,000 unfortunate chickens are thought to have perished on Long Island alone.

"Apple orchard near North Brookfield, Massachusetts. This orchard has seven thousand trees and eighty-five percent of them went down."

Much of the region's ready-to-harvest apple crop was wiped out by the storm. Many mature trees were lost for good, large portions of orchards left in need of replanting.

"Pine wood lot near North Brookfield, Massachusetts."

At one point, the Great New England Hurricane had reached top-ranking on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, clocking in as a Category 5 on September 20th before settling into a horrifically damaging Category 3 on the 21st. Striking the Southern New England coastline at high tide with the moon at full face, the hurricane wreaked havoc unimaginable on a populace virtually unwarned by forecasters of the weather.

"Pine wood lot near Worcester and Amherst, Massachusetts."

When the sky cleared and the storm had passed, the Northeast was less 275 million trees in her forests and glens.

"Pine wood lot near Worcester and Amherst, Massachusetts."

Amherst's town center was altered forever with drastic destruction: 3,000 trees on and around the Common twisted victims of the storm's swift saber of wind.

"Flooded-over cornfield near Amherst, Massachusetts."

Roads were erased and train tracks washed out when the hellacious hurricane of 1938 swept across Western Massachusetts. In all, 26,000 automobiles were destroyed in its stead.

"Onions, corn stalks, and debris washed across the road by the Connecticut River near Northampton, Massachusetts."

The Connecticut River, already swollen with the steady downpour that had fallen relentlessly on the area in the days before the storm, easily reached several feet high above flood stage as the raging torrent of hurricane rain poured from the sky.

"Onions, corn, and a mixture of debris brought in by the Connecticut River flood near Northampton, Massachusetts."

The heavy devastation inland notwithstanding, the coastal areas of Southern New England bore the brunt of the hurricane's blind and calamitous trajectory, with 2,600 boats destroyed and thousands more damaged. Maritime and many other industries, already off-balance as a result of the Great Depression, reeled under nature's cursed blow.

"Salvaging onions near Hadley, Massachusetts."

A landscape strewn with viciously unearthed onions 'twas surely perfumed with a pungent breeze.

"Salvaging onions near Hadley, Massachusetts."

Power went out and communications were lost as nearly 20,000 miles of the electric and telephone lines zig-zagging the Northeast were torn from their masts. Virtually everyone was in the dark in the wake of The Long Island Express. Thirty percent of New England picked up their telephone receivers and heard only dead air.

"Salvaging onions near Hadley, Massachusetts."

A smile of hope after a brush with death. Onions are gathered, weighed and bagged. Life goes on after the storm.

"Onion field near Hadley, Massachusetts."

Today, there are warning systems and around-the-clock weather stations on television and radio to keep folks up to snuff on the latest perceived possible future atmospheric inclinations of Mother Nature. Still, more of us are here now, living on the beaches and in the fertile floodplains, planting our foundations in homes where corn and onions used to grow, or on grains of sand ever-shifting, infinite configurations of storm-whipped possibilities. Are we ready?

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 remains the meanest, strongest, most powerful storm to hit the Northeast in two centuries. Long may it hold that distinction.

Here's a link to a PDF of an interesting 2008 report by Risk Management Solutions, Inc. exploring the potential outcome of a similar storm hitting the Northeast in the modern day: http://www.rms.com/Publications/1938_Great_New_England_Hurricane.pdf

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Amelia Park Ice Arena & Garden Celebrates Ten Years

Westfield's Amelia Park Ice Arena and Garden is one of the finest examples of personal philanthropy in Western Massachusetts. Built as a tribute to his late wife Amelia, Albert F. Ferst has created an amazing skating complex within a nearly 50,000 square foot facility, the culmination of a dream the woman affectionately known as "Millie" had held dear to her heart.

Outside the arena, Amelia's Garden graces a beautifully transformed acre of land replete with flowers and foliage, statuettes and streaming waterfalls.

Today, September 10, 2010, is Amelia Park's 10th anniversary, which is being marked with a celebration to be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. complete with cake, free skating (rentals $3), face painting and more.

For details, visit: http://ameliaparkice.org/arena-programs/special-events/10th-anniversary-celebration.html

Noble Hospital will be offering free blood pressure screening at Amelia Park during today's event. A prescription for inner peace could surely include a slow walk through the garden, likely to bring calm to even the highest-strung soul.

"Amelia Ferst was a beautiful, humble person who never looked to be

recognized for all the good deeds she did. She and her husband Albert

always saw with their hearts the needs of the community and took

every opportunity to enrich the lives of others.

This garden has been created as a loving tribute to Amelia, her vision

and her commitment to the future of Westfield and its children.

The splendor of the flowers is a reflection of her beauty.

The chirping of the birds is the sweet melody of her voice.

The soft whisper of the wind is the quiet manner in which she gave to others.

The warmth of the sun is the embrace of her love.

The springtime rebirth of the garden is her unwavering belief in God."

As the seasons change and autumn makes her entry, some colors brighten, some shades fade. All the hue and cry of nature unbound, splashed on cosmic canvas to become portraits ever-changing, memories everlasting.

There are some who walk the path whose footprints never fade.

Amelia Garden is an acre of undying love, watered and nurtured, the fruit a harvest of joy to be savored.

Sit for a bit and reflect. Let the sights and sounds carry you away in place.

Bricks fired in the kiln of the passionate heart. Mortar mixed in turning days strung together as a life well-lived. Memorials and tributes in stone, for the ages to behold. A garden is the work of a beautiful soul.

A gazebo and trellises grace the garden. Sixty-four beds of flowers masterfully maintained are individual smiles.

"Lives are filled with happiness when hearts are filled with love."

Our lives are each one of themselves a time capsule, stored in the hearts of those who would remember our passing. The world is a better place because of Amelia and Albert Ferst.

Here is a link to the Amelia Ice Arena & Garden's website:

http://ameliaparkice.org/

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Legend of Wahconah Falls

Wahconah Falls

From Myths and Legends of Our Own Land, Vol. 4, Tales of Puritan Land by Charles M. Skinner, 1896

The pleasant valley of Dalton, in the Berkshire Hills, had been under the rule of Miacomo for forty years when a Mohawk dignitary of fifty scalps and fifty winters came a-wooing his daughter Wahconah. On a June day in 1637, as the girl sat beside the cascade that bears her name, twining flowers in her hair and watching leaves float down the stream, she became conscious of a pair of eyes bent on her from a neighboring coppice, and arose in some alarm. Finding himself discovered, the owner of the eyes, a handsome young fellow, stepped forward with a quieting air of friendliness, and exclaimed, "Hail, Bright Star!"

"Hail, brother," answered Wahconah.

"I am Nessacus," said the man, "one of King Philip's soldiers. Nessacus is tired with his flight from the Long Knives (the English), and his people faint. Will Bright Star's people shut their lodges against him and his friends?"

The maiden answered, "My father is absent, in council with the Mohawks, but his wigwams are always open. Follow."

Nessacus gave a signal, and forth from the wood came a sad-eyed, battle-worn troop that mustered about him. Under the girl's lead they went down to the valley and were hospitably housed. Five days later Miacomo returned, with him the elderly Mohawk lover, and a priest, Tashmu, of repute a cringing schemer, with whom hunters and soldiers could have nothing in common, and whom they would gladly have put out of the way had they not been deterred by superstitious fears. The strangers were welcomed, though Tashmu looked at them gloomily, and there were games in their honor, Nessacus usually proving the winner, to Wahconah's joy, for she and the young warrior had fallen in love at first sight, and it was not long before he asked her father for her hand. Miacomo favored the suit, but the priest advised him, for politic reasons, to give the girl to the old Mohawk, and thereby cement a tribal friendship that in those days of English aggression might be needful. The Mohawk had three wives already, but he was determined to add Wahconah to his collection, and he did his best, with threats and flattery, to enforce his suit. Nessacus offered to decide the matter in a duel with his rival, and the challenge was accepted, but the wily Tashmu discovered in voices of wind and thunder, flight of birds and shape of clouds, such omens that the scared Indians unanimously forbade a resort to arms. "Let the Great Spirit speak," cried Tashmu, and all yielded their consent.

Invoking a ban on any who should follow, Tashmu proclaimed that he would pass that night in Wizard's Glen, where, by invocations, he would learn the divine will. At sunset he stalked forth, but he had not gone far ere the Mohawk joined him, and the twain proceeded to Wahconah Falls. There was no time for magical hocus-pocus that night, for both of them toiled sorely in deepening a portion of the stream bed, so that the current ran more swiftly and freely on that side, and in the morning Tashmu announced in what way the Great Spirit would show his choice. Assembling the tribe on the river-bank, below a rock that midway split the current, a canoe, with symbols painted on it, was set afloat near the falls. If it passed the dividing rock on the side where Nessacus waited, he should have Wahconah. If it swerved to the opposite shore, where the Mohawk and his counselor stood, the Great Spirit had chosen the old chief for her husband. Of course, the Mohawk stood on the deeper side. On came the little boat, keeping the centre of the stream. It struck the rock, and all looked eagerly, though Tashmu and the Mohawk could hardly suppress an exultant smile. A little wave struck the canoe: it pivoted against the rock and drifted to the feet of Nessacus. A look of blank amazement came over the faces of the defeated wooer and his friend, while a shout of gladness went up, that the Great Spirit had decided so well. The young couple were wed with rejoicings; the Mohawk trudged homeward, and, to the general satisfaction, Tashmu disappeared with him. Later, when Tashmu was identified as the one who had guided Major Talcott's soldiers to the valley, the priest was caught and slain by Miacomo's men.

Wahconah Falls State Park: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/wahf.htm