The South Hadley Historical Society

Click here for our new website

2011-02-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

Please visit the newly redesigned web site for the South Hadley Historical Society.

Thanks much,

Robert Salthouse
South Hadley Historical Society

Beechwood was post-war jumpin' joint

2011-02-02T13:43:00.001-05:00

Beechwood was post-war jumpin' joint

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

It was the late 1940s, and the joints were jumpin'.

Post-World War II America had much to celebrate after the troops came home, and for many, a night on the town meant dining and dancing to a live band in a club chock-a-block with other partiers.

And little South Hadley was home to one of the biggest and most popular clubs in Western Massachusetts.

For nearly a quarter-century - continuing well after the post-World War II glow had faded - the Beechwood and its successor, Conti's Beechwood, was not only an epicenter of area nightlife but also a popular destination for more sedate events such as wedding receptions, testimonials and banquets.

Today, the only evidence that the Beechwood used to border one side of the Beechgrounds on Main Street is a lone pillar, which stands next to the driveway of the apartment building built on the club's former site.

But, before it was demolished some 40 years ago, the hulking two-story edifice was such a trendy place to be that, in the words of former manager Frank Conti, "Some Friday and Saturday nights there would be 1,000 people upstairs and downstairs."

That was something no one could have foreseen when the spanking-new emporium opened its doors in the early 1920s. It was constructed to serve as a "Red Men's Hall," the local headquarters for a now-largely defunct fraternal organization that had headquarters in many U.S. cities (among them Holyoke, Northampton and Springfield).

The building was sold in the mid-1930s to Emile Lariviere, a South Hadley resident. He renamed it the Beechwood and transformed it into a collection of small businesses, including lunch rooms, bars, a cigar shop and even a bowling alley.

But, by 1943, new owner Jimmy Downing had other ideas for the Beechwood. A South Hadley real estate investor who lived less than a mile from the club, Downing also was the leader of the popular Jimmy Downing Orchestra.

Downing's dual interests meshed perfectly. His band had a permanent place to play, and it didn't take long for Downing's "new" Beechwood to catch on, starting with the men in uniform.

"The Westover GIs during World War II kept coming for the nightlife and then all through the years," said Conti.

The Beechwood was buzzing. In its heyday, it wasn't unusual to see lines of would-be patrons snaking down the sidewalk while waiting for admittance; inside, radio stations WACE and WHYN each broadcast live programs on Saturday nights A boxing exhibition with Willie Pep, the featherweight world champion from Hartford, was staged in the 1950s.

Even the more mundane was larger than life at the Beechwood. It hosted 25 consecutive policemen's balls, and it wasn't uncommon for the club to host five wedding receptions going on at once, according to Conti, who says the Beechwood was the site of South Hadley's first television set.

Other acts to play at the Beechwood included Bob Ezold's dance band (a member of the long-time Holyoke musical family and owner of the Pizzitola Music Studio, Ezold also was married to Downing's system, Helen) and Larry Chesky's polka orchestra.

In 1953, the Downings leased the club to Frank and Doris Conti, whose family owned several South Hadley restaurants. But as entertainment tastes changed, the club's business slowly dwindled and the facility closed its doors in 1968 when the Contis' lease expired.

Downing's plans to convert the vacant Beechwood into apartments didn't pan out, leading to its demolition. A new apartment building, the Parkview, instead was built in the early 1970s.

But even as it sat vacant, awaiting its demise, the Beechwood still had some music left in it. Jimmy Downing's son, James III, and his rock band Bear Mountain used the old building as a practice venue. Judy Van Handle is a member of the South Hadley Historical Society. To learn more about the society, go online to http://southhadleyhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/

1936 flood

2010-05-23T17:19:00.002-04:00

This is one of the fine photos of the 1936 flood donated by Ken McKenna to the Historical Society in May, 2010. The caption on the back of this photo is, Flood 1936 Main St., looking up Glasgow Hill - National Guardsman Gerald A. Judge in center." I presume that World War 1 veterans were made "National Guardsmen" during the flood.

Town athletes have a storied legacy - Click HERE or on the story below for full size

2010-04-22T15:18:00.005-04:00

Click HERE for terrific photos of Holyoke

2010-04-21T16:10:00.001-04:00

South Hadley Historical Society Newsletter - April 2010 - Click HERE

2010-04-15T20:16:00.001-04:00

World War II museum in Natick - not South Hadley, but worth a visit

2010-04-07T15:35:00.000-04:00

I recently visited the terrific musuem in Natick MA described at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/24/veil_lifts_on_a_trove_of_wwii_treasures/?page=3.

The musuem is as good as the story suggests. I encourage anyone with an interest in World War II to visit it.

The state South Hadley census for 1905

2010-04-02T13:58:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the Gaylord Library for this post!

The Census: Moving Forward After Mailing It Back

April 2, 2010

A tagline for the Census this year is “We Can’t Move Forward Until You Mail It Back.” To celebrate this, I have decided to provide a little perspective, by way of the Census of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1905, of the ways we have already moved forward.

Thus, in 1905:
•A total of 940 people responded as “Heads of Family” in South Hadley—785 men (84%) and 155 women (16%). In relation to these “Heads of Family,” 722 women labeled themselves as “wives,” but a category for “husbands” did not exist. 6 women were “matrons,” and presumably due to the College, 572 women were “students.” Interestingly, 4 women responded as being in “other relationships,” not including grandmothers, in-laws, daughters, granddaughters, guests, aunts, nieces, inmates, servants, or assistants. Also of interest, only one person listed themselves as a stepfather to the head of the family, and only 7 people were stepchildren.

•Of the South Hadley citizens “Native Born” (3,806), 2,689 were from Massachusetts (71%), with the second largest category being from New York (8%). Of the citizens “Foreign Born,” (1,248), 352 were Canadian French (28%), 250 were Irish (20%), and 194 were from Germany (15%).

•4 South Hadley residents registered as “colored” and 3 as “Chinese.” The only other categories were white, Japanese, and Indian.

•Occupations in ‘Trade and Transportation’ included: 9) draymen, hackman, teamsters, etc., 10) hostlers, and 11) hucksters and peddlers. For those as unfamiliar with some of these terms as I am, draymen drove wagons without sides (and may still be used by brewery companies for parades), and husksters are “retailers of small articles, esp. a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker” (Dictionary.com).

•A section was provided for “Defective Social and Physical Condition” which included “paupers” and “feeble-minded.” Paupers were defined as “all persons from disease, accident, intemperance, misfortune, and any other cause have become dependant upon public charity” and “feeble-minded” was assumed to be obvious, since it was not defined.

•Massachusetts held the fifth place in the production of silk and silk goods, following after New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut.

•The average salary for South Hadley was $1,517.00, which was higher than Northampton ($1,051.64), Amherst ($968.06), and Springfield ($1,261.94).

•34.59% of the Agricultural Products & Property in South Hadley comprised of “Dairy products,” followed by “Hay, straw and fodder” (19.48%) and “Vegetables” (12.30%).

•Inland fisheries in South Hadley generated a $235 value—from bass, eels, perch, pickerel, pout (horned), and trout (the greatest at $150).

To find out more about statistics and data of Massachusetts in 1905, as always, please consult our archives. All the information above can be found in four volumes of the Census: I) Populations and Social Statistics, II) Occupations and Defective Conditions, III) Manufacture and Trade, and IV) Agriculture, the Fisheries, Commerce.

"Creating Holyoke" Click HERE

2010-03-29T20:15:00.002-04:00

March 2010 Historical Society newsletter - Click HERE

2010-03-15T20:22:00.002-04:00

Pelham Program for 2010

2010-03-13T10:44:00.003-05:00

[image/jpeg:PelhamPrograms.jpg]

[image/jpeg:PelhamPrograms2.jpg]

Many South Hadley residents worked at the National Blank Book - Click below or HERE

2010-03-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

Hadley Historical Society - 2010 Program

2010-03-04T14:17:00.001-05:00

Hadley Historical Society - Annual letter for 2010

2010-03-04T14:09:00.001-05:00

Historical Perspectives: The Irish in Early Holyoke - Click HERE for more information.

2010-02-27T09:45:00.002-05:00

South Hadley's 19th century Irish-Americans were intimately involved with Holyoke in one way or another. The talk below will be of interest to their descendants:

Wednesday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. – Historical Perspectives: The Irish in Early Holyoke

STCC adjunct professor Don D’Amato returns with a talk about the New City of Holyoke and how it was established. Professor D’Amato will discuss the city’s canals, the dams and living conditions of early Holyoke in the 19th Century. $3 admission

William H. Gaylord, founder of the Gaylord Memorial Library - Click HERE

2010-02-26T23:15:00.001-05:00

"Fun on the Ferry" - Click HERE

2010-02-26T23:10:00.001-05:00

Regicide Jurists in Hadley - Click HERE

2010-02-25T23:18:00.001-05:00

“The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Connecticut River” - Click HERE

2010-02-21T16:19:00.003-05:00

Does anyone know the source of the (Village) names Woodlawn, and Plains?

2010-02-17T20:33:00.007-05:00

From: Gary Moorman
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 10:32 AM
To: SouthHadleyHistoricalSociety@gmail.com
Subject: Does anyone know the source of the (Village) names Woodlawn, and Plains?

Hi,

My wife Karen grew up in South Hadley, and we came for a visit last week. The question came up, "What were the source of the names Woodlawn and Plains parts of South Hadley?" The "Falls" and "Center" are pretty obvious. If I had to guess about "Plains," I picture the flat open fields and farms along 202, east of the Plains School, with the Hadley Range on the horizon. It is reminiscent of the western plains of the US. It could just as well been named after someone named Jeremiah Plains for all I know.

Anybody know the answer?

Thanks,
Gary Moorman
--------------------------

NOTE: Please post your response here or send it to SouthHadleyHistoricalSociety@gmail.com and it will be forwarded to Mr. Moorman.

Newsletter - February 2010 - Click HERE

2010-02-16T17:45:00.001-05:00

Howard and Lathrop Paper Company - Click on story below for a larger image

2010-02-13T17:22:00.003-05:00

Old photo - 6 North Main Sreet - James Bertam

2010-02-13T09:03:00.005-05:00

Dear Jack,

Conflicting Information:

We find no military record for James Bertram in South Hadley. There were Richard Rutherford Bertram who lived at 11 Maple Street and Robert Bertram who lived at 43 Bardwell Street. Our Veterans Agent did a computer check and found no James Bertram in WWI in the State of Mass.

Our Town directories show no Bertram people living at 6 North Main Street S.H. from 1892 until 1940 when the house was taken down.

If you provide your mailing address I will send you the military records of Richard and Robert Bertram as they possibly might be relatives of yours.

regards.

South Hadley Historical Society

John J. Zwisler

From: Jack Bertram
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 7:48 AM
To: BobJudge@comcast.net
Subject: Re: RE: Old photo

Thanks Bob. I am in the process of translating it from his rough handwriting. It is not easy though. It detailed his life on a troop ship that made several trips between Hoboken NJ and France during WW1. He was buried in Chicago listed as a Pharmacists Mate being from Illinois when I know he lived in South Hadley during the war. You can post the photo.

---------------------------------------------------

Feb 9, 2010 09:50:51 PM, BobJudge@comcast.net wrote:

Dear Mr. Bertram:

I will ask another member of the S. Hadley Historical Society to see if we have any record of him.

May I post the information and the photo at http://southhadleyhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/? If your grandfather's diary has interesting notes about South Hadley, would you be able to photocopy the pages and send them to me. With your permission, I would also post the excerpts from his diary...

I will be back to you after we check here. Thanks for contacting us!

- Bob Judge

Member

South Hadley Historical Society

From: Jack [mailto:jb1975@verizon.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 10:27 PM
To: SouthHadleyHistoricalSociety@gmail.com
Subject: Old photo

Hello. Attached is an old photo I found. My grandfather James Bertram, far right lived in South Hadley at 6 North Main St adjacent to your location. This photo was taken in front of the house which no longer stands. In looking at old photos of the fire station, I see that the house was there before. My great grandmother was waked at the residence according to her obiyuary in 1907.

He served in the US navy in WW I as a Pharmacists Mate aboard the USS Mercury. I cannot locate his military career etc from the area. Can you tell me if you have him listed on any rolls etc? I have his diary from the war and he mentions how he travelled quite a bit via streetcar from the "Falls." Thank you.

Jack Bertram Milton, MA

Mary Frances Buckhout McVay 1910 - 2010

2010-02-11T17:07:00.001-05:00

Mary Frances Buckhout McVay 1910 - 2010 GRANBY - Mary Frances Buckhout McVay passed into eternal life on Saturday, January 30, 2010. A native of South Hadley, she was born to Harriet Atherton and Albert Buckhout on March 1, 1910. After graduating from Mt. Holyoke College in 1938, she went to China for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to teach English and music at the Wenshan Girls School in Ingtai. She arrived in China during the Sino-Japanese War, on the eve of World War II. As the Japanese invasion of China continued it became apparent that the students may be in danger, so they moved the school 350 miles inland, a treacherous journey, most of which was on foot over the mountains. In January of 1941 she married H. Vilroy "Bill" McVay, a U.S. Navy radio operator stationed at the American consulate in Foochow. She and Bill moved to Chung King after the attack on Pearl Harbor, not returning to the States until 1943. In 1955, after several Navy tours of duty in the U.S. and Europe, Mary and family returned to the Buckhout family home in South Hadley. They moved to Granby in 1964. Throughout her life, Mary Frances was active in her church and community...

"New England Travels" has posts of interest to South Hadley people

2010-02-10T20:27:00.001-05:00

Click here for a Nice photo from Hadley, and more

Remembering Lou Conti - See the two pages below or Click HERE to see them as one page

2010-02-06T18:05:00.005-05:00

"Cool Machines for Cooler Planet" Radio Show & Podcast

2010-02-01T12:12:00.002-05:00

*Connecticut Valley:**
*

*Wednesday, February 17, 2010
**Cool Machines for Cooler Planet
*In this episode, Back to the Future will examine non-electric machinery that used to power manufacturing, drive steamships and grist mills and accomplish all kinds of tasks as well as, if not better than, today's motor-driven technology. Penni Martorell, curator of the Holyoke History Room and Archive at the Holyoke Public Library will talk about the history of water power in Holyoke and how the current use of water power is part of the emerging "green" profile of the city. We will talk to an historian about the historical use of windmills on Cape Cod and a wind expert from the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Research Laboratory about the contemporary use of wind power. And historian Robert Forrant will talk about the pre-electric power machine tool industry in New England.

*location: *WMUA 91.1 FM Amherst, WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM Valley Free Radio Northampton, and WMCB-LP 107.9 FM Greenfield. Podcast is also available online at www.cchange.net <https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=435786>
*phone:* (413) 545-3691
*web:* www.cchange.net <https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=435787>
*cost:* free

/*funded by Mass Humanities grant program <https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=435788>*/

Louis Conti 1934-2010 - Click here for an excerpt from the book "Collision at Home Plate: The Lives of Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti

2010-01-28T17:43:00.009-05:00

Lou Conti remembered as one of South Hadley's great athletes

By Garry Brown

January 29, 2010

Lou Conti and Bob Methot grew up in the same South Hadley neighborhood, loving sports and dreaming of wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees.

They went on to become teammates at South Hadley High School, playing baseball and basketball for one of this region’s revered coaches – Tom Landers.

Those who played with Conti would be hard-pressed to say which sport was his best.

“In basketball, he was just a natural. He was so good, he made us all better, He’s the first guy around here to make behind-the-back passes, and he was totally unselfish,” Methot said.

In baseball, Conti pitched and played the outfield. After his graduation, the Boston Red Sox invited him to Fenway Park for a workout while the team was on a road trip. Methot, a pretty good shortstop, also was invited.

“There we were, two Yankee fans working out for the Red Sox. When it was all over, Lou got signed and I got sent home,” Methot said.

Conti played three years of minor league baseball in the Red Sox system. He eventually settled into a life in the restaurant business, all the while maintaining his love for South Hadley sports.

Lou Conti died Monday at the age of 75.

“A great athlete – and a great teammate,” Methot said.

Louis Conti, opened Buddha's Restaurant
by Daily Hampshire Gazette

SOUTH HADLEY - Louis A. "Buddha" Conti, 75, died at his home of 60 years on Canal Street on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010.

Born on Nov. 9, 1934, above the Egg & I Restaurant on Main Street in South Hadley to Gino and Bruna (Bottoni) Conti. He lived all his life in South Hadley Falls. He was a 1953 graduate of South Hadley High School, where he was a standout outfielder and pitcher for the baseball team and captain of the basketball team. He played professional baseball in the Boston Red Sox organization from 1953 to 1955. He then served in the U.S. Navy for two years. He worked as a sales rep. for the former Lestoil, Inc. of Holyoke. Then he was the owner and worked along with his brother at Conti's Luncheonette from 1963 to 1973. He later owned Casa Conti's Restaurant & Lounge in South Hadley from 1974 to 1979.

He opened Buddha's Restaurant (now known as the Crack of Dawn) in 1979 which he ran until 2000 when he retired after 40 years in the food and restaurant Business. Lou enjoyed playing golf and watching his beloved South Hadley High School sports team...

"Taken From His Grave By Persons Unknown" - Click HERE

2010-01-26T15:56:00.001-05:00

The Valley Advocate: News - Craven Boosts Dinosaur Mural

2010-01-13T18:11:00.001-05:00

The Valley Advocate: News - Craven Boosts Dinosaur Mural

Driftwood

2010-01-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

Driftwood
Originally uploaded by ScribeGirl

View of South Hadley Falls from Holyoke side of the Connecticut River, January.

Uploaded by ScribeGirl on 6 Jan 07

Thank you to Bill Owens! Click HERE to visit Bill's fine blog.

2010-01-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

South Hadley Old Fire House Museum

South Hadley, MA - The Fire District No. 1 Firehouse was constructed in 1888-89. In addition to a firehouse it was also used as a polling place, a theater, a graduate site, a meeting hall and a social hall. This firehouse was used until 1974 when a new firehouse was built in Newton Street. In 1974 the Historical Society was chartered for the purpose of preserving the Old Firehouse. The Firehouse Museum was dedicated on July 3, 1976.

The museum is staffed by volunteers, all belonging to the South Hadley Historical Society. They are always looking for memorabilia to add to their collection; so if you have something historically significant they will be more than happy to display it in their museum.

The Old Firehouse, the bell from the tower was moved to the new firehouse.

Here is a 19th century hand pumper and a 1926 Dodge Fire Engine.

A motorized Ice Saw.

South Hadley Electrical Department display.

There is much more, I can't give it all away. There are somethings I will use in a future posting (you will just have to wait and see).

I just happened to stumble on the museum when it was opened for someone to make a donation to the displays.

Hours are: MAY - SEPT. 1:30 - 4:00
JULY - AUG WED 1:30 - 4:00

There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.

Info from museum handout.

- The post above is from the fine blog by Bill Owens

Old mill, South Hadley Falls

2010-01-11T09:25:00.001-05:00

Old mill, South Hadley Falls
Originally uploaded by ScribeGirl

"Texon, which made "fiber impregnated materials for the shoe, luggage, and automotive industries" was among the several industries housed here since the building was constructed in 1873.

Uploaded by ScribeGirl on 7 Dec 09"

The South Hadley Canal - Thanks again to Bill Owens - Click HERE to visit Bill's fine blog.

2010-01-11T07:27:00.000-05:00

South Hadley, MA - The Connecticut River was used as a highway to transport stones, hides, lumber, and other raw materials from the North and brought back Iron, Molasses, Sugar, Rum, and Manufactured goods. These items were transported by Flatboats which floated down the river and had to be poled or pulled back up. The round trip from Wells, VT to Hartford, CT took 25 days. The problem was around the South Hadley area, the river bed dropped 53 feet within 2 and a half miles causing rapids. A way to by-pass the rapids had to be found so a canal was built. The South Hadley Canal was the Nations first commercially operated canal. The canal was two and a half miles long and at the South Hadley Falls a unique way of getting the flatboats over the falls was built.

It was called the "Hampshire Machine" a 275 foot long, 30 foot wide, and 53 foot high stone inclined plain; it was capable of lifting 250,000 pounds. It took two years to build and was opened in 1795. Boats were floated onto a carriage and pulled up the inclined plain, waterwheels at the top supplied the power to pull the boats up; I believe a cable or rope was attached to the boat and the turning of the waterwheels would wrap around an axle and pull the boats up. The whole trip up the ramp took fifteen minutes. This model is located in the South Hadley Firehouse Museum.

This path brings you to a section of the canal still there. I walked down the path along the canal and did see "No Trespassing" signs so you can only go a short ways along the canal.

This part of the canal is still existing, there is a path from the Hadley Falls Canal Park(see bridge above ).

This is an overlook at Hadley Falls Canal Park, where you can have a great view of the Connecticut River and what is left of the canal.

A dam was built south of Northampton, MA to raise the water level to divert water into the canal. Citizens of Northampton brought suit against the canals proprietors in 1803, saying the backed up water caused them to suffer "fevers, miasma's(bad air caused by decaying material), and malaria". The inclined plain was close and a series of locks were put in in its place.

"...the children might like a visit out to South Hadley..." - Click HERE for the full story

2010-01-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Precious Blood

PVHN Survey Results Summary

2010-01-09T18:04:00.002-05:00

From: "Cliff McCarthy" <camcca@charter.net>
To: "Cliff McCarthy" <camcca@charter.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 9:32:24 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: PVHN Survey Results Summary

Hey, All.

As promised, for those who are interested, here are the compiled results of the PVHN survey that we conducted a few weeks ago. The Steering Committee found the response interesting and exciting. Overall, we believe this affirms the general direction that we have set with our PVHN Gatherings and this will help us to plan future events.

Thanks go out to all of you who participated in the survey! We really appreciate the help.

Cliff McCarthy
Chair, PVHN Steering Committee

---------------------------------------------

PVHN Survey Responses

12/17/09

1. Have you ever attended a PVHN gathering?

Yes: 68% No: 32% Total resp: 47

2. If yes, how many have you attended?

1: 28% 2-4: 47% 4 or more: 25% Total resp: 32

3. If no, why not?

topic not of interest: 46%

location not convenient: 31%

day of the week not convenient: 31%

time of day not convenient: 23%

time of year/season not convenient: 8%

Total resp: 13

Comments:

new to PVHN (4)

date conflicts (4)

didn't know about gatherings (3)

"makes a very long day for me"

"just too busy...we fully intend to once we are better established"

4. What day of the week is best for you to attend a gathering?

Wednesdays: 42%

Tuesdays: 36%

Saturdays: 36%

Thursdays: 22%

Mondays: 16%

Fridays: 4%

Total resp: 45 (70)

5. How long would you like gatherings to be?

all day with lunch: 41%

morning and lunch: 25%

afternoon only: 25%

lunch and afternoon: 21%

morning only: 18%

Total resp: 44

6. What location do you like best?

Rotating location: 41%

Deerfield: 35%

Northampton: 30%

Springfield: 11%

Others: 19%

Total resp: 46 (69)

Comment: "would like to get out to see sites around area"

7. What format do you like best?

a mix of all three: 81%

lecture: 13%

hands-on: 9%

demonstration: 6%

Total resp: 47 (53)

Comments:

"Bring-a-problem-to-share" with the group for feedback

"include time for discussion about collaboration"

8. what role would you like to see PVHN gatherings serving?

educational: 81%

professional development: 61%

social: 23%

entertainment: 9%

Total resp: 43 (82)

Comments:

all of the above (3)

networking (2)

"collegial solidarity"

"building collaborations – making plans"

9. Suggestions for topics/themes for future gatherings

Total resp: 20

1. Re: "How long would you like gatherings to be?" I have no preference so checked all.

2. oral histories, document preservation, cemetery restoration

3. How to run a small museum with only volunteers - when to be open, etc.; cost effective software for inventory of collections; Creating events and exhibits - how best to focus efforts; Engaging the community at large around a theme; lessons learned with town wide events such as town anniversaries; best methods in creating town history books.

4. As a geologist, I'd suggest a view into "Deep History"....our geological heritage. Program and field trip makes a great day.

5. I derived the most benefit from sharing ideas, frustrations, and achievements with other similar historical entities with a low budget and/or an all volunteer staff. This should be a network between our various places in the area. I'm not so sure that the places that have a low budget and an all volunteer staff should be in the same company as those with a paid staff and beaucoup funds where the latter must seek to retain their income for their salary while the rest of us just try to come up with projects to preserve our collections and the history of our communities without pay.

6. personally I enjoy the topic of Travel/ vacationing in the pioneer valley.

7. Nationwide trends in historical associations/societies. Upkeep of historical properties
board development for small/volunteer societies

8. since a majority of your museums are small organizations, consider creating "work parties" where meeting participants could help out specific member organizations at an event.

9. Mix themes on one day. how-tos (scanning, cross reference filling, acquisitions, storing media, fund raising event, etc)

10. Practical display advise, you did this once, very successful. How to organize an event that brings in the public. Outside speakers from successful museum programs. How to attract and manage school groups to satisfy educational requirements and open doors for grant funding and self-promotion for the museum. Risk assessment--look what happened to the Emily Dickinson Museum--would you be prepared and financially covered? New ways to display... out with the old and in with the new.

11. Local towns (Historical info, data, etc.)

12. exhibit topics, program resources (presenters), cost-effective solutions to common concerns 13. Look at themes that cut across the region: industrial history such as sites linked to the Springfield Armory or textiles in the area, transportation such as canals or rail lines, King Philips' War, immigration perhaps of specific groups or periods, unions, agricultural technology, etc.
We would be happy to present on how to work with schools or youth groups to put a local history story on the web.

14. Conservation, care and handling of artifacts, planning and executing exhibits,

15. using the web, building the board, ways to be relevant to the community

16. PastPerfect training, what to do with house museums that no one attends, web presence for historical collections, board development and training, historic preservation

17. Life in the valley in Colonial and Early America: work, daily life, business, travel, communications.

18.--How to write larger grants, either for museum staff, or to tackle cataloging areas of a historical museum.--Hands-on historical museum management primer for historical societies where the people with knowledge have passed on or dropped out, and a small group of new members are tasked with catching up with donations, technology, and outreach without enough knowledge about proper methods.

19. area history including promotion of available sites and museums for viewing as well as current programs.

20.Folk Art, Underground Railroad

Slavery in Colonial Amherst - January 21, 2010

2010-01-08T14:01:00.005-05:00

Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:00 P.M. at the Pelham Library -

Bob Romer will talk about "Slavery in Colonial Amherst". Copies of his new book, "Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts" (Levellers Press) will be available.

The Pelham Library is about three miles from the center of Amherst. The fairly new large building (which also houses some town offices), on your right as you go from Amherst to Pelham, at the intersection where North Valley Road (on your left) and South Valley Road (on your right) intersect the main Amherst-Pelham road.

Connecticut River Scenic Byway - Click HERE

2009-12-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

The history of the current Black Stevens Conservation Area - Click below or HERE

2009-12-26T19:14:00.003-05:00

52 North Main Street, and more

2009-12-25T13:24:00.004-05:00

To: Liz',/ Bob Judge
From:Don Halket, Dec. 25, 2009
Subject: South Hadley Falls

I remember North Main St. well. George Winslow, Marty, and Bobby Judge were childhood pals. My family,and brother Guil lived at 61 High St., one of Mrs. F.M. Smith's rentals.

I remember that Tommy Quirk lived in #50. I believe he died quite young. We moved from SHF in 1937 to Newton Center, near Boston, then to Manchester, NH for my senior year in HS. While there I had a visit from two brand new Navy men, George Winslow and Georga Duncan. I was laid up with rheumatic fever at the time. My family moved back to Holyoke and I went into the Navy in 1943.

Yes, I was named "Groucho" by Bobby Judge and the name stuck. You will have to ask Marty why. For civility sake I can't reveal it here.

...I wonder if Marty remembers when we built a "divng helmet" from a large can, a piece of glass, a hose and a bicycle pump.

We had much fun in those days, but the project met with disaster when one of the shoulder straps broke, spilling all the air.

...I remember you Liz' very well.

My wife Millie and I have two daughters, two grandsons, and a brand new great grand-daughter. Time flies.

--------------------------------------------------

From: Elizabeth Johnson
To: Mary Lawler Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Subject: Re: 52 North Main St.

Hi Mary Lawler,
"52" was sold after my father, Sumner P. Winslow, passed away in 1968... I left home when I was married in 1948. I loved the house too and my children have fond memories of running up the backs and down the fronts, and having floral snowball fights with the fruit of the bush by the back steps. I loved belting out tunes in the garage - it was like having a mike...My brother George and I used to play with cars and soldiers under the porch in the silty sand. I loved visiting Mrs. F. M. Smith's beautiful rose garden next door. I wonder if that has been kept in good condition... Mary Nolen McGrath (…the Nolen family who lived at "50") is coming up today for a few days...It's nice to know you love the house...I hope you have many happy years there.
- Liz Elizabeth Winslow Johnson
________________________________________
From: Mary Lawler
To: Elizabeth Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Subject: Re: 52 North Main St.
How nice to hear from you Elizabeth...Bunny Popp did indeed buy 52 from your family.. Both Bunny and Maurine are gone now but their son Steve still lives next door...the porch...had fallen into a bit of disrepair... I am trying to keep the house as original as possible and I don't believe that Greek revival houses in 1847 had porches but I am still digging. I would LOVE to put a porch back, it's on my wish list. No bush by the back steps anymore. But we have done quite a bit of landscaping and tidying up because the house had been rental property for a while and had become seriously overgrown and scraggly. Mrs. Smith rose garden is being maintained by Mary Popkowski, she and her husband Mitch live in that big old house on the other side... I am so grateful that your family is willing to share stories and information with me. I am keeping records, photos and stories in a book which will remain with the house. There are still so many mysteries..
My Best
Mary Lawler
---------------------------------
From: Elizabeth Johnson
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009
To: Mary Lawler
Cc: Christine Winslow; Bob Judge
Subject: Re: 52 North Main St.
Hi Mary: My brother was George Haxton Winslow II, born on 7/5/1924 while my parents were living in NYC. My father, Sumner P. Winslow, b. 7/5/1889 was a textile broker in Fall River, MA and later with Butler and Prentice in NYC. He married my mother Ruth Elizabeth Webster on 8/25/1919. They came back to an apartment in Holyoke after “THE CRASH" and lived there until "52" was ready. Mrs. F. M. Smith made it into a two family house for my parents and grandparents. It was probably 1931, 2, or 3 when we moved in, 'cuz I started first grade in the Old Carew St. School and I had to be 6. I was born in 9/9/27 (I’ll expect a birthday card!). We lived in Mt. Vernon, NY at the time though my mom came, temporarily, to be with her family in SH when it came time for me to enter the world. The pool table was in the room off the kitchen, the dining room was always the middle room with a den off that, and of course, the living room was the front room. Brother George had his band rehearsals in that living room. Actually, it was Jimmy Young's Band and my brother played the trumpet in it. My father moved to SH when he was 12 so that means they (they being George I, Mary, and children Clyde, Ethel, and Sumner, and maybe Mildred although she may have been married by this time) moved to SH in 1901. They lived in the house on the other side of Mrs. Smith's all the time he was growing up. He had a Morgan horse with which he hauled a wagon in order to deliver groceries for Lane's Market on Main St. Mother's parents were Benjamin and Elizabeth Webster and lived in the first house on the left (going from N. Main) on High St. The Halket and Adams families later lived in that house. Is there still a barn attached to the garage at 52? This is probably more info than you wanted...I will look for pictures this weekend... More later....
- Liz Winslow Johnson
________________________________________
From: Bob Judge
To: Elizabeth Johnson; Mary Lawler
Cc: Christine Winslow
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009
Subject: RE: 52 North Main St.
Dear Elizabeth: ...I was talking this morning with Brian Duncan, George Duncan's younger brother, and Brian said he remembers you. And tonight I spoke with my uncle Dave Judge who remembers you well. Dave has a terrific memory for your old S. Hadley days. He said you dated Bill Bennett, with whom I became friendly with a few years ago. He said he remembers the shed behind 52 N. Main Street where as a group of children they once climbed onto the roof, and where he once sat on a nail that necessitated getting a tetanus shot. He said that you went to college in Maine... Dave and my grandmother (Amy Stone Judge 1896-1976) talked to me about Judge Nolen and his family, when the Nolens lived at 50 North Main Street. My grandmother greatly enjoyed the book by, I believe, his son William, the doctor who wrote "The Making of a Surgeon" in 1970. I met his brother James Nolen when he was a Massachusetts state representative in the early 1970's, when he visited UMASS, where I was in school there. I believe that James was later a lawyer in Ware MA and I wonder if he is still there. Dave mentioned your sister “Mary,” so I’m thinking that that Mary Nolen McGrath is the sister of William and James Nolen. The Halket family to which you refer must have included Donald. My uncle Martin wrote to me that, “Donald "Groucho" Halket grew up in the first house on the left as you went down High Street from North Main. He, your father, Winslow, and I were the gang when we were in grade school.” It’s a pleasure to meet another Winslow!

Yours,
Bob Judge
--------------------------------
From: Elizabeth Johnson
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009
To: Bob Judge
Cc: Mary Lawler; Christine Winslow...
Dear Bob: It's so nice to connect with you and everyone in SH. Now that my cousin Marion Webster Lippmann has passed away (April, '08) I don't visit anymore. I talked with Beth Dietz (my cousin Margaret Webster Smiledge's dau.) just a week or so ago... Yes, I dated Bill Bennett. He lived up in the center on Hadley St. and went to grammar school there. I met him at SHHS. His father was a or THE florist for Mt. Holyoke. He was and probably still is a very nice guy. The Halket gang included my brother George...My father played with Mrs. Smith's sons. The one who was in the firm of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and SMITH was her son "Win" whom my father accidentally shot while playing cowboys and indians. Did I relate the info that your grandmother Judge was my girl scout troop leader? She was a wonderful influence and genuinely nice person. And I remember your uncles Marty and David very well. Your dad was a member of our football team... We played in the field across from your grandparents house when it was on Lathrop St. - now the rotary... In reference to the shed mentioned by David---there was (and still is, I think) a two car garage attached to "52" and attached to that a large barn which was attached to the Smith's garage by a small structure about 6 ft. high (maybe the "shed" referred to by David). We used to climb up on that to get up to the garage roof - where we usually got the whistle, stomping and hollering from my mother... There also a good climbing tree in the area between the two garages and our house. And a great sliding hill behind the houses in Cordes Court right down to a few yards from High St., when conditions were good. ...Miss Pratt was very kind... Mary Nolen's brother Bill also had a dance band in which Bill Bennett played the trumpet. Bill died after three heart surgeries while waiting for a transplant. His wife also passed away some years ago. He had 6 children also, 3 of each. Jimmy Nolen is practicing law in Ware where he lives with his wife Janet. The youngest of his six boys just graduated from college. Judy Nolen lives in the Springfield area and has recently retired from teaching. Has 5 children. She and her sister Mary get together often.
Aunt Ethel Winslow was first grade teacher and principal of the Woodlawn School off Newton St. She lived with her parents and then with my parents, and then the Cotter Nursing Home across the street, until her death in 19fifty-something. Aunt Clyde Winslow taught school in Long Branch, NJ. Don't know when she left 52...She passed away in 1945. Aunt Mildred Winslow Prentice lived in NYC and later California. She also taught school, before marrying. Ethel went to Gorham Normal School in Gorham, Maine (now University of Maine), Clyde went to Wheelock, and Mildred went to Simmons. By the way, she lived to be 103; died of pneumonia after falling and breaking her hip. She had two children and three grandchildren. I communicate with her granddaughter who lives in Corvallis, Oregon.
Mary's Kitchen and Jack and Alta Ford's Restaurant were favorite lunch places during high school. Conti and Veto's Restaurant had the best CHOPPED HAM AND PICKLE SANDWICHES ever made on the planet. And getting back to the band business - I think it was Bill Bennett's Band with Bill Nolen playing the sax...and they practiced at Nolen's house... I'd like to know who else played in it...They had a great female vocalist named "Babe" of whom I was very jealous. I am going to copy this to Mary so she can add historical facts or correct any errors. Mary lives in West Simsbury, CT, had 5 children. This has been fun - and who knows - there may be more MEMORIES floating to the surface of crater lake in my brain (?) My best to you and your uncles.... Okay, I guess that is all for now.
Best always
Liz Winslow Johnson
--------------------------------
From: Bob Judge Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009
To: 'Elizabeth Johnson
Cc: Christine M. Winslow
Subject: RE: 52 North Main St.
Dear Liz: ...Yes Bill Bennett is a fine guy who lives in Agawam. I met him when he visited the Old Firehouse museum a few years ago. He has occasionally attended dinner meetings of the South Hadley Historical Society, also sometimes attended by his old S. Hadley friends John Zebryk, Ed Nardi, Bill Cary, and/or my uncle Dave. John Zebryk graduated from S. Hadley High School in 1947 and although he left S. Hadley as a young man, he has retained a strong interest in the town and contributes to the blog, as does Bill Cary. Both live in Florida now. ... I have heard of Miss Pratt of course. She was mentioned by several people who participated in the oral history project, which you can see at http://home.comcast.net/~southhadleyhistoricalsociety/oralhistory.html. Bill Bennett also participated, but his interview has not yet been transcribed, unfortunately. ...
- Bob

A Labor of Love: Community project turns into tribute to town veterans

2009-12-12T10:58:00.005-05:00

Saturday, December 12, 2009

SUNDERLAND - "Sunderland's Veterans: A Book of Remembrance" is a historical document, a collection of letters, photos and stories about every town resident who ever served in the United States Armed Forces.

It is also a testament to the gratitude and respect Sunderland residents have for the service of their neighbors.

That was not its original intent. When members of the Sunderland Veterans Memorial Committee set about creating "A Book of Remembrance" two years ago, they sought to create something that would show the town's appreciation for those who had contributed their time, effort and money to the construction of the Veterans Memorial that had been completed in the summer of 2007.

But as community endeavors have a habit of doing, one thing led to another, and the rest, so to speak, is history.

"The book grew out of recognizing the people who donated to the memorial, and kind of evolved from there to a recognition of everyone from the donors to the veterans," said Dan Van Dalsen, a Veterans Memorial committee member.

The book contains a chapter that lists those who contributed to the monument, and another that details every significant moment in the monument's construction. But it is also much more.

The crux - and perhaps most impressive feature - of the book are the chapters dedicated to telling the stories of the town's veterans. The stories begin in the French and Indian War, before the United States had declared its independence, and continue through every major conflict up until 2007.

Today, the book is available for viewing at the Sunderland Library, the culmination of two years of work by Van Dalsen and the two other Sunderland Veterans Memorial Committee members, Janet Conley and Will Sillin.

The trio solicited stories from family members, collected letters written by the veterans and pored over town records for biographical information on each soldier. The group also worked with members of the Historical Society, who provided information on veterans from the earliest conflicts: the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

Van Dalsen, a retired lieutenant colonel who served 38 years in the Air Force, said the stories help bring to light the sacrifices made by those who served. "The story behind the name really brings home the fact that there was a real person with a real life behind that name," Van Dalsen said in a recent interview at the Sunderland Library.

He said the letters especially can be quite moving. "Some of the histories you read just bring you to tears," VanDalsen said.

Sillin made a similar point.

"When you get the personal photos with the family snapshots and the stories, it strikes you. It's a revelation in a way: You can't thank these people enough," Sillin said. "When you get the personal story, that's when that thought really hits me."

Van Dalsen noted that much generosity has gone into the production of the book. When the group took the idea to Bridgeport National Bindery, the company immediately agreed to bind the book for free. Today it is in a leather binder, giving it the look of an encyclopedia.

Van Dalsen said they chose a binder format so that future pages, about new veterans, can be added as needed. "It's going to become bigger, unfortunately," Van Dalsen said.

A condensed hard-copy version of the book will be available for purchase in the next couple of months, Van Dalsen said. Profits made are headed to maintenance costs of the Veterans Memorial, he said.

On a recent morning, Van Dalsen and Sillin flipped through the book, expressing awe at the actions described within it.

As an example of the type of heroics found in the book, they pointed to the story of Michael Magelinski, a Korean War veteran, who earned the Distinguished Service Cross after he carried his wounded patrol leader through waist-high snow to safety.

The Book of Remembrance also chronicles tragic stories as well, they noted. Richard Graves, a prodigy with machinery who first flew a plane at the age of 16, was the last Sunderland resident killed in action after his plane was shot down over Vietnam. His younger brother, David Graves, was sworn into the U.S. Navy's Aviation Program one month later.

Paul Korpita, a Sunderland native and longtime resident, submitted information to the book about his two brothers, Michael and Edward Korpita, both of whom fought in World War II. Michael was awarded a Purple Heart, the American Defense Medal and the Pacific Theater Service Medal, but died after his ship, the USS Dehaven, was sunk in an aerial attack, according to the book.

Edward Korpita also was aboard a ship that was sunk in battle, and yet he survived. Edward's ship, the USS Cooper, had been engaged in a brief firefight with the Japanese destroyer, the Kuwa. The Cooper sank the Kuwa in a matter of minutes, but not before the Japanese vessel got off one last torpedo, which sunk the Cooper. Edward found refuge by clinging to a lifeboat, which he shared with fellow survivors from both the American and Japanese ships. The boat washed up in the Philippines, where Edward was rescued by the Filipino resistance, the book said.

In a phone interview, Paul Korpita said he was glad that both of his brothers would be remembered in the book. "It's a great thing," Korpita said. "Both of them were on losing ships, but Eddie washed up on shore and was rescued by the Filipinos, who took him up into the mountains. He told quite a story, and I thought that warranted getting into that book," Korpita said.

Conley said it was an honor to work on the book. "It is something that started to grow as a seed and has continued to blossom," Conley said. "The key I think to this is that the three of us worked on this with a great deal of respect and gratitude for those on the wall."

Contact the selectmen's office at 665-1441 for information about submissions and purchasing the book.

Nash Dino Land, South Hadley - Click HERE

2009-12-11T14:23:00.002-05:00

Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts - Click HERE

2009-12-11T14:21:00.002-05:00

Do you need to transfer videotapes to DVD?

2009-12-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

Hello:

I would not normally put a advertisment on this blog. However, I know that historians sometimes need to transfer old film to DVD.

Jean Lawler is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Harvard, a friend of South Hadley, and a good friend of mine. I can assure you that any relative of hers would be reliable. So, If you need to transfer old videotapes to DVD, you might want to check http://www.xfermation.com

- Bob Judge

------------------------------------
From: Jean Lawler

Hello friends!

I'm writing to let you know...Mark E. Lawler this month...has decided to continue pursuing his undergrad degree starting in January here at NorthShore Community College. He should finish his 2 year degree this summer and will transfer to UMASS Amherst to study environmental ed. Then his sights are set on Harvard Ed. (What is that about the acorn and the tree?)

Anyway, to earn money while he is in school, Mark has set up a media transfer business and will be making DVDs from VHS, miniDVD, Super8 and all that jazz. Soon he will also be doing slides and photos to CDs.
I wanted to let you know about it in case you have recently looked at a shelf of videotapes and wondered what to do with them.

Here is the website http://www.xfermation.com. Orders can be placed online...

Creating Holyoke: Voices of a Community

2009-12-03T18:08:00.002-05:00

Creating Holyoke: Voices of a Community Documentary Premiere

Thursday December 10, 8 pm at Barnes & Noble in Holyoke!

You are invited to see the Creating Holyoke: Voices of a Community documentary in its first public showing!

Once considered the Paper Capital of the World, and home to premier cotton and silk mills, the history of Holyoke, Massachusetts offers a microcosm of American industrial development. Founded in 1848 as one of the nation's first planned industrial cities, Holyoke attracted successive waves of Irish, French Canadian, German, Polish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants who worked in the mills, established small businesses, raised their families, and created communities defined largely by ethnic and religious affiliation. However, by the mid-twentieth century, Holyoke, like so many American cities, found its industrial base rapidly disappearing. In the 1960s the most recent wave of people began re-creating Holyoke. Puerto Rican migrant farm workers, attracted by jobs in Western Massachusetts, began settling in old tenement houses once inhabited by earlier immigrant groups.

Join us as we tour Holyoke and learn how it has re-created itself throughout its rich history!

This documentary was funded in by The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nan and Matilda Heydt Fund, the City of Holyoke and WGBY.

The show looks amazing and we could not be more thrilled to invite you to attend!

Please pass on to anyone you think would be interested!

Thanks
Kate Thibodeau
Holyoke City Historian

Elliot B. Lyman Portrait Whereabouts?

2009-11-27T11:13:00.003-05:00

From: Bob Williford <bwilliford@cwmars.org>
Date: Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Elliot B. Lyman Portrait Whereabouts?
To: SouthHadleyHistoricalSociety@gmail.com

I received a call from out of state inquiring about the whereabouts of a portrait (caller implied it was an oil painting) of Elliot B. Lyman. She believed it was presented to the South Hadley High School in the 1950s by the South Hadley Men's Club. She thought the high school had "gotten rid of it."

Since the high school's library is named for Lyman, I asked their librarian, but she didn't know anything about it.

Anybody in the Historical Society know where it ended up?

Bob Williford
Reference Librarian
South Hadley Public Library
South Hadley, MA 01075
(413) 538-5045
FAX: (413) 539-9250

"All of us are smarter than any of us"

Archiving the Collection News by Mary Lawler

2009-11-21T13:07:00.011-05:00

The work has begun on digitally archiving the collection of The South Hadley Historic Society. After the coding system was established, work began on the photograph and post card collection. Each piece is being scanned, numbered and organized, and being returned to an archival environment where necessary. Throughout the process all records will be archived to CD.

This process is necessary to ensure that future generations will have access to information and images, when investigating their genealogy, writing articles or papers, and for research by historians and archivists. Many pieces in collections are facing ruin especially paper and fabric that is not encapsulated. Light, air pollution, and inherent acids are slowly destroying these items. The archiving process not only digitally records these pieces but also provides an opportunity to store them in an archival manner, if it has not already been done.

Addressing some of the concerns raised about the process, every photograph, paper or object in the collection will be handled with the utmost care. Objects in the collection that are of questionable historic value will be set aside but will not be disposed of without the Board of Directors review and vote after the archiving process is completed.

These records are not intended to be posted on the Internet, advertising what the Society has custody of, rather, the records be available in digital format when requested. One image was recently published by The Ensign on Page 20: A brief history of the South Hadley Inclined Plane Canal. Digital archives also insure the information and images are preserved in case of any damage by fire, water or accident.

It is expected the entire project will span a three-year period, in part because it is volunteer driven. At this writing, only three people are working on the process and many more are needed. Computer skills are not necessary for many of the tasks and all help is welcome. If you are interested in learning about archiving, or have some archiving or photography experience and would like to help, email Mary Lawler at mary.lawler@verizon.net.

Historical Society Party December 14, 2009 - Click below to enlarge it

2009-11-20T10:22:00.004-05:00

Mr. Newton Smith - Click here

2009-11-17T11:26:00.002-05:00

From Martha Terry RE November 12 Know Your Town meeting

2009-11-04T17:49:00.002-05:00

Dear Bob,
   
Would you kindly forward this flier to any email lists you have, for example, the Progressive Democrats of South Hadley, the Historical Society, etc?  Thank you for doing this.

Sincerely,

Martha Terry

Know Your Town
Presents

"Comprehending the Comprehensive Plan"

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

A framework for how South Hadley can revitalize its base,
Plan for growth in housing and where to locate it,
Retain our open space and natural treasures, 
Cultivate our historical and cultural assets,
Strengthen our schools and municipal facilities
And communicate our community's business

THURSDAY, NOV. 12   7 P.M.
So Hadley High School Library

Come hear, share and participate

Presenters will be members of the
Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee

The October 2009 Newsletter - Just click on it to make it larger!

2009-10-20T16:14:00.004-04:00

From Meghan Gelardi Holmes, formerly the Assistant Curator at the Skinner Musuem

2009-10-19T13:52:00.002-04:00

Meghan:

Congatulations to your husband, although your departure is a loss for Western Massachusetts historians! I'll post your message at The S. Hadley Historical Society blog

- Bob Judge

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 1:44 PM, Meghan Gelardi Holmes <mgelardi@mtholyoke.edu> wrote:

Hi Bob,

Thank you for the invite. You may not have heard, but I've left the area - my husband secured a post-doc position at Princeton, so we have moved. I'm in the process of finding a museum job here now!

My replacement has not been hired yet, but I'll forward this message on to Wendy Watson at the Art Museum. When the new person is found for Skinner, I hope they'll get in touch with you and the Society to continue talks about future collaborations.

All my best,
Meghan

--
Meghan Gelardi Holmes
Skinner Museum Assistant Curator

Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Lower Lake Road
South Hadley, MA 01075-1499
(413)538-2245 fax (413)538-2144

Dinner meeting - Monday, October 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Falls Congregational Church

2009-10-17T16:03:00.005-04:00

The next dinner meeting of the South Hadley Historical Society will be Monday, October 26, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at the Falls Congregational Church 11 North Main Street in South Hadley.

The menu will include tossed salad, chicken stew, buttermilk cheddar biscuits, and mini pecan pumpkin pies. The cost is $13.00

At 7:30 p.m., Society member Mark Larrow will give a talk about "Historic Breweries of the Pioneer Valley.”

To make a dinner reservation, please contact John Zwisler at 413-533-5672 or boppaz@comcast.net

RE: Never to be forgotten

2009-10-14T20:41:00.002-04:00

Dear Sally:

Yes, that would be Holyoke Water Power. Yes, Jack Croke’s passing was a loss.

Thanks for the permission to post this. Someone like Bill Cary or John Zebryk might have a thought here. - Bob

From: SJ Benson
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:08 PM
To: Bob Judge
Subject: Re: Never to be forgotten

Bob…You may post the message as is.

…Roger Burr was the boy; a good friend but we "lost" him after grammar school.

I was recently in town briefly to see my sister Barbara (Benson Chaffee) Peterson's family one year since her death. Thanks for a wonderful town whose long history is rich and which nourished us all.

Sally Benson

From: SJ Benson
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 7:12 PM
To: Peter S…
Cc: …bob Judge…
Subject: Re: Never to be forgotten

Thank you, Peter. I often think about the fact that the "discovery" and opening of the camps was happening just as we were starting First Grade - just days after V-J Day. We were largely kept ignorant of the true WWII and post war world of our peers in Europe and Asia because by the time it would have been appropriate to be taught, the country was immersed in the McCarthy Hearings and the bitter Cold War.

The Croke book about the South Hadley generation just ahead of us speaks of the German POWs in town working in the fields. First I had ever known that. At Center School we had a boy arrive from England in 4th grade and a German family w/o father in the 6th - related to the Barretts of the Water Company. As adults some of us thought back and wondered what their young stories were. Brigitta in our class came to our 8th grade reunion a few years back and did talk about it some. I wonder if Carew and Granby had refugee children. (I started grade school in Granby.) Fond regards, Sally

South Hadley Historical Society - September 2009

2009-10-14T19:24:00.003-04:00

"Recorded tales bring history to life" - Holyoke - CLICK here for oral interviews

2009-10-07T15:04:00.005-04:00

Wednesday, October 07, 2009
By MIKE PLAISANCE
mplaisance@repub.com

HOLYOKE - The "Dynamiters Club" was an informal group of labor crusaders who met in a friend's kitchen on Saturday nights to talk about union issues in the 1920's.

"Some of them were my friends," says Wyatt E. Harper.

Harper, who died in 1983, says this in a reedy though not unpleasant voice, a storyteller's voice.

"To understand the Dynamiters Club, you must understand almost without exception they were dyed-in-the-wool labor. They were all labor men," Harper says.

"You want to know what the Dynamiters talked about? They talked about Prohibition. When Al Smith was running for the presidency, they talked about, what would the party stand for? You'd be surprised at the depth of understanding that these men showed in economic matters."

Tape recordings of Harper, who taught history at Holyoke High School and wrote the book "The Story of Holyoke," are among nearly 60 oral histories about Holyoke now available online.

As for the group name, Harper told his interviewer: "I don't know. There was one member within the Dynamiters assembly there, they called him dynamite. Dynamite O'Connor."

The in-their-own-voices accounts provide pockets of history that otherwise might have gotten overlooked.

City Historian Kate N. Thibodeau, headquartered at Wistariahurst Museum on Cabot Street, came up with the idea to interview people about how they lived and what they saw, heard, smelled and felt in their slices of Holyoke.

It actually wound up being a cool project with some cool people involved," Thibodeau said.

The oral histories are available at http://www.creatingholyoke.org/items/browse/tag/People

The project involved doing new interviews over the past year and digitizing others, like those of Harper, that were done in the 1970's and 1980's. It was funded with a $5,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Thibodeau said.

Volunteers were enlisted to do the interviews. To prepare, they met once a month from November to May with Thibodeau and Laura Miller, a graduate student in history from the University of Massachusetts.

The volunteers were instructed in how to do interviews: "Each interview should be at least one hour long, but if the conversation is flowing and you would like to continue, please do!" reads an information sheet given to volunteers.

They also had a reading list and assignments to do between meetings.

Four digital voice recorders were bought and volunteers could sign them out at Wistariahurst to do interviews.

Volunteers were free to choose whom they interviewed, with each encouraged to interview three to four people.

Each volunteer was required to transcribe their interviews.

It fell to Thibodeau to edit the recordings to the one- to two-minute snippets posted online. The original recordings are stored intact.

While three or four or more snippets are available for each subject, the editing was difficult, given how hard volunteers worked and accessible the subjects were, she said.

"I mean, it's terrifying, in fact," she said.

Those who were interviewed had to sign releases stating that they allowed their comments to be used, she said.

Julie C. Bullock, of Ware, the weekend supervisor at Wistariahurst, loved doing the interviews. She recorded the histories of six people, including Karlene E. Shea and Shirley Morrison, docents at Wistariahurst.

"The best gift is to listen to somebody, listen to what they say, that what they have to say is important, that what they did was important," Bullock said.

She focused her interviews on asking people what had changed over the years. Some recalled seeing the milk man and the ice man coming down their street, she said.

"There were all these luscious memories," she said.

Among the oral histories is that of Cecile Barthello. She was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1906, came to Holyoke after World War I, worked at the Merrick Factory, ran a rest home on Northampton Street and died in 2004.

A minor regret, she says in her interview, is failing to learn English at a younger age.

"We could have had much better jobs," Barthello said.

Family and friends would play Canadian orchestra records on a Victrola, she said.

"We were very nostalgic," she said.

Gustavo Acosta, chairman of the board of directors of the local Nueva Esperanza Inc., said in his oral history that he moved here 12 years ago from New York City.

"I was looking for a place that would be home," Acosta said.

His wife got a degree at Smith College in Northampton. He got a job as resident coordinator of 425 units of affordable housing. Holyoke became home, he said.

"People were very warm and friendly," Acosta said.

Thibodeau said the oral history recordings will be available to teachers for use in classrooms.

Philip Smith of the South Hadley Smith family, 1919-2009 - CLICK HERE

2009-10-07T09:27:00.004-04:00

From: George Smith
To: John Zwisler, Bob Judge
Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 2:00:13 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: Smith Family

I know you both have had an interest in the Smith family from South Hadley. I am saddened to tell you that my father Philip Cushman Smith, one of the three remaining Smith cousins, died Oct 1, 2009 at age 90. The other two are Luella Smith Bousquet and Marvin Smith. I've sent along an obituary and picture so you can update your archives. I plan to continue working on my family's history though I will be severely hobbled without by father's insight. I hope you will continue to share with me tidbits you may come across and I will do likewise. - George Smith

------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:56:27 PM EDT
From: John Zwisler
To: George Smith
Subject: Smith Family

Dear George,

I have mailed to you today some local information I had gathered about the Smith farm and family. Please accept this with my compliments, I hope it will be of interest to you.

regards,

John Zwisler

Philip Smith, Amherst native, WWII veteran

-----------------------------------------------------

by Daily Hampshire Gazette

AMHERST - Philip Cushman Smith died on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009, at the age of 90 in Sandy Spring, Md.
He was born Feb. 11, 1919, in Amherst, the son of Edith Maria Stevens and Philip Henry Smith. He was preceded in death by his sister Katherine Stevens Smith and brother Allerton Butterfield Smith. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ary Stathis Smith; his son George Philip Smith; his daughter-in-law, Valerie Thomakos Smith; two grandchildren, Philip Constantine Smith and Alia Theodora Smith; and two nephews, David Stevens Smith and Stephen Allerton Smith.

Mr. Smith graduated from Amherst High School in 1937 and Williston Academy (now Williston-Northampton School) in 1938. In May 1942, Mr. Smith graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in English from Brown University in Providence, R.I. He was inducted into the U.S. Army in July 1942, and served in World War II, first in the 13th Armored Division, 46th Tank Battalion, and later in the Army Air Force from where he was honorably discharged in 1946 having attained the rank of staff sergeant. After the war, he worked for two years in the print shop owned by his friend, Hamilton I. Newell. He then enrolled in the College of Engineering and Science at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pa., now part of the Carnegie Mellon University, from where he graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Printing Administration.

Mr. Smith worked in the printing business his entire career, which included long tenures at the National Publishing Co., later McCall Printing Co. Mid-Atlantic Division, and Corporate Press Inc., from where he retired in 1985. He enjoyed a long retirement, living with his family in Brinklow, Md., where he enjoyed the company of his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and beloved grandchildren. Mr. Smith was a lifelong musician, having taken up the clarinet at age 12 and later the saxophone. He played professionally during college and then again after retirement with such groups as the Roland Cumberland Band, the Olney Big Band, and the Rockville Concert Band, with whose 77 members he participated in a Sister City Exchange to Pinneberg, Germany, in 1989.

Mr. Smith traces his paternal line to 1634, when his Smith ancestors first settled on the Massachusetts coast; then Wethersfield, Conn.; Hadley and South Hadley; and finally Amherst. He and his brother were also proud to be Mayflower descendants through among others, their Cushman and Allerton lines. Though he attended the Universalist Church as a child, he was baptized into the Greek Orthodox faith in 1989. Interment will take place at the Greek Orthodox Cemetery in Baltimore, Md.

In lieu of flowers, please direct contributions in memory of the deceased to the Wounded Warrior Project by using the downloadable form or on-line form found at http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/content/view/627/924/.

South Hadley Flood of 1936 by John Zwisler

2009-10-06T11:39:00.001-04:00

You are invited to view a photo album: South Hadley Historical Society - The Flood of 1936 - by John Zwisler

South Hadley Historical Society - The Flood of 1936 - by John Zwisler

South Hadley MA -

Oct 6, 2009

John Zwisler of the South Hadley Historical Society is a regular contributor to the Town Reminder.

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South Hadley Historical Society - The Flood of 1936 - by John Zwisler

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Finding Funds in Troubled Times -- PVHN Gathering #7

2009-10-02T14:33:00.002-04:00

From: Cliff McCarthy <camcca@charter.net>
Date: Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Subject: Finding Funds in Troubled Times -- PVHN Gathering #7

Dear PVHNers,

I am once again pleased to present to you our Fall Gathering: "Finding Funds in Troubled Times", to be held on Wednesday, October 28 at the White Church in Historic Deerfield.

Attached you will find our Program for the day, along with descriptions of the presentations and workshops. Also attached is a Registration Form you may use to reserve your spot and order your lunch. This info is also available at our website: www.pioneervalleyhistorynetwork.org

As always, we endeavor to keep our events as affordable as possible and I'm sure you will recognize the value of this topic for us all.

Cliff McCarthy

Chair, PVHN Steering Committee

Jonathan Edwards' Northampton

2009-09-29T20:03:00.002-04:00

Jonathan Edwards' Northampton
Reading and Cemetery Tour October 3

Jonathan Edwards is often caricatured as the stern Puritan who preached fire and brimstone sermons such as his notorious "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Yet Edwards was also America's preeminent genius of the 18th century. Besides being a moving force in the Great Awakening, Edwards was a relentless speculative scientist, an acute psychologist, a world famous theologian and philosopher. Edwards first came to Northampton in 1726 to assist his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, in his ministry. When Stoddard died in 1729, the young, but brilliant, Jonathan Edwards took his place.

There has been great interest in Jonathan Edwards' Northampton in recent years. While his home is no longer extant, the remaining historical buildings can give us a glimpse into Edwards' Puritan society. The First Churches is located on the site of Jonathan Edwards' original meeting house. The Manse, a private residence, was the early residence of Edwards' grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. His grandfather and daughter, Jerusha Edwards, are buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery. Visit Historic Northampton to learn more about Jonathan Edwards self-guided walking tours, merchandise and online research resources.

Historic Northampton is pleased to announce that novelist Susan Stinson will present two events in honor of Jonathan Edwards on Saturday, October 3. The events are sponsored by the Forbes Library. See below for more information.

Jonathan Edwards in Northampton: Reading and Cemetery Tour with novelist Susan Stinson

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Walking Tour, Bridge Street Cemetery, 10 am
Reading, First Churches, 129 Main Street, 7 pm
Free

Jonathan Edwards, widely considered to be America's most brilliant theologian, was minister at what is now First Churches in Northampton from 1727 to 1750. The spiritual and intellectual richness of Edwards' inner world is matched by the dramatic events of his life, including the ambiguities in his role as a slave owner.

Susan Stinson is the award-winning author of three previous novels and a collection of poetry and lyric essays. She has received awards and grants from the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Deming Fund, the Wurlitzer Foundation, the Millay Colony, and the Blue Mountain Center, among others. She's been at work on Spider in a Tree, her novel about Jonathan Edwards, for seven years. She lives in Northampton.

For the cemetery tour, go to the Parsons Street entrance of the Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton, and look for the red trike with the Jonathan Edwards tour sign.

Sponsored by Forbes Library

Featured Publication: Jonathan Edwards and the Gospel of Love

by Ronald Story

In one of the most recent contributions to Edwards studies, Ronald Story examines Edwards' legacy and how it has been constructed and reconstructed over the last two centuries. Story argues that an essential element of Edwards' thought and work has been filtered out by theologians and historians alike. The "real" Edwards, Story contends, must include not only his jeremiads and his Enlightenment reflections but also his neglected writings that suggest that love of beauty, harmony, and humanity as well as fear of God have a place in the firmament.

Purchase Online

Walking Tours and Informational Kiosks

Historic Northampton recently installed a series of seven historic markers linking selected sites from Florence Center to the Bridge Street Cemetery. Each marker provides a link in a chain of interpretation telling the story of Northampton's history. Containing colorful historical photographs and prints, these site markers tie history and place together.

There are two of particular interest to the Jonathan Edwards enthusiast - the First Churches kiosk and a historic marker at The Manse, the early residence of Jonathan Edwards' grandfather.

Find more information on the Northampton Historic Markers

Historic Northampton also offers A Visitors' Guide to Paradise: Historical Walking Tours of Northampton, Massachusetts containing six walking tours, including Jonathan Edwards' Northampton.

Purchase A Visitors' Guide to Paradise

Online Research Resources

Historic Northampton Museum is now offering exclusive subscription access to its extensive online archives - a reference portal to one of the most unique historical collections in New England.

Join Today!

Visit our Reference Shelf for additional resources related to Jonathan Edwards.

Contents

Jonathan Edwards in Northampton: Reading and Cemetery Tour

Featured Publication: Jonathan Edwards and the Gospel of Love

Walking Tours and Informational Kiosks

Online Research Resources

Visit Historic Northampton's Website!

www.historic-northampton.org

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Forbes Library Events- Gazette Index program

2009-09-23T13:31:00.001-04:00

Explore the Hampshire Gazette newspaper index

Wednesday September 30, 2009 at 7pm

Community Room, Forbes Library

An illustrated talk on the Hampshire Gazette Index. This index was completed through the WPA project and includes the years 1786-1937 and provides one of the few subject indexes with access to eighteenth and nineteenth century newspapers. Learn about the treasures in your community newspaper!

Presenter: Elise Bernier-Feeley, Local History & Genealogy Librarian.

Soul of a People: Writing America's Story, a series of programs funded by the National Foundation for the Humanities and presented by Holyoke Community College and Wistariahurt Museum. For a list of all events, see http://www.hcc.edu/campus/library/sop

Forbes Library
20 West Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060

www.forbeslibrary.org

413-587-1011

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News from the Granby Historical Association - Fall 2009 - Click for larger image

2009-09-23T11:26:00.001-04:00

Ancestors' Nite In at the Forbes Library - October 22, 6-9 pm

2009-09-22T14:08:00.002-04:00

Ancestors' Nite In

Find the keys to solving your family history questions at the Forbes Library's Genealogy "lock-in"

Thursday October 22, 2009 6-9 PM

In honor of Family History Month, join Forbes Library staff for an exclusive after hours opportunity to access the Hampshire Room for Local History, the Genealogy Reference collection, microfilm collections and Ancestry, Heritage Quest and New England Ancestors databases. Staff and volunteers will be available to provide one-on-one assistance with your research.

Cost: $10 per person and includes parking, free photocopies, computer printouts and microfilm printouts.

Arrive at Forbes Library 5:45-6:15pm. The library will be closed to the public during this special program and limited to 15 patrons. You may bring your own dinner (a microwave is available) or pre-order a sandwich from Sam's Café. Drinks, snacks and desserts will be provided.

For more information or to sign up, call 587-1014, email localhistory@forbeslibrary.org or stop by Reference Desk.

Julie H. Bartlett
Archivist
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum
Hampshire Room for Local History
Forbes Library
20 West St.
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 587-1014
jbartlett@forbeslibrary.org
"In spite of all the other facilities books are the principal permanent repository of knowledge and culture."
From the syndicated newspaper column "Calvin Coolidge Says" April 30, 1931

"Spectators...on the South Hadley shores..." - Click here

2009-09-19T10:23:00.001-04:00

September 2009

2009-09-18T08:51:00.001-04:00

Historical Society dinner meeting - September 28, 2009

2009-09-10T17:30:00.000-04:00

From John Zwisler:

Our next Historical Society dinner meeting will be Monday September 28, 2009 at 6:30pm at the Falls Congregational Church 11 North Main Street.

A program about the Springfield Armory will be presented by its Historian Richard Colton.
The menu will be sheperds pie, tossed salad, rolls, gravy and chocolate pound cake with a viennese glaze. The cost is $13.00

Historic Holyoke homes look for official oversight

2009-09-09T11:46:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, September 09, 2009
By MIKE PLAISANCE
mplaisance@repub.com

HOLYOKE - Stone walls frame the intersection. The road itself presents a median of trees and green grass bisecting a street lined with hulking Victorians, the old mansions standing on both sides of Fairfield Avenue like some heroic, hoary regiment.

Its median and houses of dusty elegance immediately show Fairfield Avenue to be different from most streets in the city.

Records from the Board of Assessors show at least two of the homes were built when the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was still a very recent memory

Keeping Fairfield Avenue unique is presenting a challenge.

The City Council voted in December 2007 to designate Fairfield Avenue a historic district, which means exterior alterations must maintain the lane's historic integrity.

That means residents still can paint their homes any color they want. But permanent awnings are prohibited and utilities must remain in the back of homes.

Changes to siding must be approved, and residents are urged to keep the shape of roofs, railings, porches and exterior door locations.

The issue is that the seven-member commission authorized to approve or reject proposed alterations of property on Fairfield Avenue has yet to be appointed.

The council on Aug. 4 referred to Mayor Michael J. Sullivan an order from Councilor Rebecca Lisi urging that he appoint the Fairfield Avenue Historic District.

"In the simplest terms, it's important because the city needs to do a better job with accountability and follow-through," Lisi said later.

Sullivan said the issue isn't simple. The ordinance establishing the Fairfield Avenue Historic District says that in addition to residents, the commission must include one member from two nominees submitted by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects and one member from two nominees submitted by the local Board of Realtors.

City letters to both organizations seeking nominees have gone unanswered, and he is unlikely to appoint the panel until the organizations respond, Sullivan said.

Also, he said, while there was support from residents of Fairfield Avenue to make their street a historic district, there also was opposition.

"I was marginally supportive of it," Sullivan said.

A Republican story in February 2008 showed some residents embraced the historic designation but others weren't completely receptive.

In the meantime, Historian Kate N. Thibodeau said the city Historical Commission - which with the establishment of the Fairfield Avenue Historic Commission no longer has jurisdiction over Fairfield Avenue - nonetheless has been fielding questions as they arise about proposed alterations.

It is a myth, for example, that a homeowner cannot paint a house the color of his or her choice, she said.

Getting Fairfield Avenue declared a historic place was a yearslong and worthy effort, she said, hopeful that qualified commission members can be found.

The goal of preserving a community's historic nature is that such detail distinguishes the community, she said.

Some of the frames of Fairfield Avenue's homes are sagging and the siding on some is more chipped than whole. But most have a "look at that" quality, some with colors that pop like blue, yellow or aqua, others with two-toned detailing around windows.

Some have wrap-around porches and even a few turrets. Some were built as far back as 1870, 1880 and 1891.

"They're gorgeous houses," Thibodeau said. "They're close to what they looked like 100 years ago."

The Dudley family of Granby, Belchertown, and South Hadley

2009-09-06T16:46:00.001-04:00

September 6, 2009

Dear Bob:

Thanks for taking Marie and I yesterday to the site of your great-grandfather's farm in Granby.

As you know, your great-grandfather Charles Dudley was born about 1820 in Ireland, and died 28 Aug 1897 in Belchertown.

You wrote to me recently:

“...Let me just give you a little bit of what Aunt Lizzie talked about to me when I would visit her:

Charles Dudley came to this country from Ireland but arrived in Canada. He came to Troy, N.Y. where I think he received the papers he needed. Then he came to Massachusetts, and found work at the Springfield Armory during the Civil War where they were manufacturing the famous Springfield Rifle. He eventually brought his wife to this country which I assume was after he had made enough money to buy land and build a house in Granby. There his children were born. Aunt Lizzie would tell me stories about the hill at the back where she and her sisters would go picking wild berries and bringing them home for the family. The cellar hole of the house is still there, although it's getting covered with bushes and saplings. Eventually, he bought a farm in Belchertown, and he kept the Granby property as a wood lot.”

As you know, among the seven children of CHARLES DUDLEY and MARGARET HEALY were:

i. JOHN DUDLEY, b. Abt. 1856, probably Troy, New York; d. 1903, Amherst MA.

ii. JAMES R. DUDLEY, b. Nov 1865, Troy, New York; d. 22 Feb 1931, S. Hadley.

iii. MARGARET MARY DUDLEY, b. Abt. 1854, probably Troy, New York

John Dudley was your grandfather. James Dudley married Annie Welch, who was the granddaughter of Patrick Loftus, from whom Marie and I are both descended.

About Margaret Dudley, you wrote:

“All have is this one document of the sale of the Belchertown farm, which, by the way, was on the, "third day of January AD. 1902 by and between Margaret Dudley, Mary Ann Dudley, (about whom I never heard a word) Elizabeth Ann Dudley, Margaret Mary Moran, Ellen Murphy, John Dudley and James Dudley, the widow and heirs at law of Charles Dudley late of Belchertown...and George Sanford and J. L. Stebbins, both of said Belchertown...”

Some of the Dudley family later migrated to South Hadley, where you were raised.

You can see the photos I took at http://picasaweb.google.com/Robert.Judge/DudleyCellarHoleInGranbyMA#.

- Bob Judge

The Croysdale Tea Room - Click here

2009-09-05T17:13:00.003-04:00

My great aunts Isabelle and Frances Lois Parfitt owned and operated a tea room and inn called Croysdale up on Newton St. just a little beyond Mt. Holyoke. It was built for them by their brother, my great Uncle John Parfitt. It is stucco. The year is imprinted on the chimney along with the words : The House that Jack Built. (1920?) Isabelle and Frances were very big in the WCTU.

They also chaperoned students on trips abroad.

They were my maternal grandmother's sisters and brother. She also had a brother named Will Parfitt. The two men had a furniture store in Holyoke, and I don't remember where. They lived in Holyoke, as did the aunts in later years.

Best always,

Liz

Elizabeth Winslow Johnson

Women of Florence Historic Walking Tour, Saturday, September 12, 10:00 am

2009-09-03T16:58:00.001-04:00

The David Ruggles Center

Second Saturday Series Tours

Women of Florence

Historic Walking Tour

Lydia Maria Child at age 63. Never much caring for how the camera treated her, this was her favorite photograph. She complemented the photographer, James Adam Whipple, on having made her "plain old phiz present such a good appearance to posterity." Child lived in Northampton and Florence from 1838 to 1841 during critical years in the history of the abolition of slavery and women's rights movement.

(Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College)

Saturday, September 12, 10:00 am (raindate Sunday)
Leaves from Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue,

corner Park and Pine Street, Florence

Over the last decade Florence has become recognized for the many sites that document African American History, anti-slavery and the Underground Railroad. In a parallel history these sites and many others help us remember the history of the movement for women's rights. Two of the best known abolitionists and women's rights activists, Sojourner Truth and Lydia Maria Child, lived here. Transcendentalist and education reformer Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was instrumental in establishing the first free kindergarten in the United States--The Florence Kindergarten (Hill Institute). But many other women of stature labored here in Florence, Anna Garlin Spencer, Sophia Foord, Elizabeth Powell Bond, Mary White Bond, Frances Judd, and Sarah Askin are but a few whose stories are in evidence in a walk through the streets of Florence.

The split that occurred between conservative and radical wings of abolitionism is viewed by historians as a springboard for the women's rights movement. Child, Truth, and other women of Florence were in the thick of this controversy. The Northampton Association of Education and Industry asserted in its constitution and bylaws the principal of equal rights that had become a major platform of the Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society. "[Article V] The rights of all are equal without distinction of sex, color, or condition, sect or religion." Accordingly women, as well as blacks and fugitive slaves, had an equal vote, and were paid equally for their labor in this rare and forward thinking community.

The Free Congregational Society founded in 1863, largely by former members of the NAEI, continued to emphasize equal rights. "...recognizing the brotherhood of the human race and the equality of human rights, we make no distinction as to the conditions and rights of membership in this society, on account of sex, or color, or nationality." Join us as we explore the lives of the women who helped found Florence as a progressive community.

Visit us at www.davidrugglescenter.org for more information.

Talk at the Conway Historical Society

2009-09-01T19:17:00.005-04:00

Tim Blagg, editor of the Recorder and well known historian will give the first program of the year at the Conway Historical Society, Tuesday, September 8th at 7.30 at the historical society building, 50 Main Street.

He will talk about the birth of what became known as the "American System of Manufacturing" in the valley, centered on the Springfield Armory, between l820 and l855. This type of precision manufacturing, originally developed to produce firearms for the government, spun off the bicycle, typewriter, and sewing machine businesses as well as the automobile business.

American machiine tools and techniques spread around the world, and when, coupled with Henry Ford's assembly line techniques, allowed this country to lead the way into the modern world of manufacuring asnd interchangeable parts.

Mr. Blagg is an historian who specializes in military history and the history of technology. He is currently completing a master's program in military history at Norwich University.

Mitton, Walker, Blackhall, Brooksbank

2009-08-30T08:56:00.003-04:00

From: LF O'Donnell

Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 1:57 PM

Subject: Re: Question

One of the Mittons...descendants, moved to NJ and about seven years ago was killed in the line of duty (he was a cop)...I always think of them as from SH even though they did come from Holyoke and a few of them are buried in Forestdale. The South Hadley familes I am REALLY interested in that are connected to me are the Walker and Blackhall families.

David W. Walker (1878-1956) and Alice Roy Houston (1877-1950) were b in Scotland but settled in SH. Actually David's sister Jennie married Alice's brother Alex. But David and Alice raised their kids in SH while the others didn't that I am aware of.

The Blackhalls are connected to my Miles line. James Blackhall came from Scotland, served in the military during WWI. He married Agnes Brough in Holyoke, they had one daughter named Jean A. Blackhall and they lived in SH...There are reports that Agnes Brough Blackhall died and James married her sister, though that is all unverified...Another surname I keep an eye open for also found in SH is Brooksbank. One line in Holyoke is connected to...It interests me that so many Yorkshire, England folk ended up in Holyoke. Brooksbanks were here quite early and there were a lot of them...

Corporation Card File Search

2009-08-28T21:49:00.001-04:00

Searching for some business history? It may be a longshot, but you could try the Corporation Card File Search that's hosted by the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's Corporations Division at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cor/corpweb/corcard/cardinf.htm. Click on the link to "Search the Corporate Card File Database," which is still a work in progress. I tried "Texon" and got scans of four cards. The date given is the "date of organization." These are very brief entries, but might answer some merger and acquisition questions. The Corporations Division says on their website that "If you need a document that is not already a PDF on our system please email us" and they will presumably copy or scan the corporation card that applies.

Cheers,

Bob Williford

Reference Librarian

South Hadley Public Library

South Hadley, MA 01075

(413) 538-5045

FAX: (413) 539-9250

How the California Gold Rush lured Valley fortune hunters - Click here for full story

2009-08-28T09:43:00.006-04:00

Members of the South Hadley Historical Society have participated in the work of the Pioneer Valley Historical Network, which is responsible for this fine story.

Old Firehouse Museum in the Springfield Republican August 25 2009 - Click here

2009-08-26T10:27:00.001-04:00

Free Genealogy Workshop Sept 24, at Holyoke Public Library

2009-08-25T11:36:00.001-04:00

...Free Genealogy Workshop that will be presented by Massachusetts State Reference Archivist, Janis Duffy. The Workshop will take place on Thursday, September 24 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holyoke Public Library, 335 Maple Street, Holyoke, MA. Please call 413-552-2842 or email martorellp@ci.holyoke.ma.us to reserve your spot.

Penni Martorell
Curator, Holyoke History Room & Archive
Holyoke Public Library
335 Maple Street, Holyoke, MA 01040
temporarilly housed at
Holyoke Community College, Donahue 204
303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01040

413-552-2842
martorellp@ci.holyoke.ma.us

Clara Pierce, Civil War Wife

2009-08-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

Thanks to John Zwisler and the Town Reminder

Clara Eliza Perce was the fourth of nine children born to Luther and Mary Ashley Pierce. Except for her brother John, who was born in Vermont, all the other children were born in Massachusetts and 180 census shows the family had settled here in South Hadley. Clara worked in a local mill until 1854, when at age 21, she married Amos B. Wood of Springfield. Their first child, Fred Luther, was born in Springfield in 1859.

After the Civil War started, Amos enlisted on August 15, 1862 for a nine month term with Company A of the 46th Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers. Clara came back with her son, Freddie, age 3 to stay with her mother in South Hadley while Amos was gone. They corresponded sometimes twice a week during his absence. The first letter from Amos (from his actual writing) said “I think we will get away from Boston Harbor to Newbern, N.C., tomorrow morning. Clara I read your letter this morn & may your prayers be answered I shall try to do my duty & may God bless us all that you ask shall be granted. I saw Captain about the state aid & sinid the allotment roal for eight dollars a month which you can get at the city clerks office. Kiss that dear boy for me & may he be spared to you & may God bless you boath. My dear wfe I will close for this time and bid you good by for this time.”

In other letters home he writes of sleeping on the ground, waiting for clothes and receiving their guns. “The rifles are very heavy but rather pretty. I never saw eny like them. We have not tried them yet but think they will shoot well. I hired my washing done last week for five cents a peace. Don’t think I shall have eny more done as we are close to the rive so that I can do my own. It is not as big as the Connecticut river.” Amos relates about talking with the enemy across the river with all hoping the war will be over soon so they can out and go home.

Clara’s letters to Amos always told of how sick little Freddie was staying up nights with her and not being to go outdoors. She was living in the falls and writes in April of 1863, “I went to Holyoke and back yesterday doing a lot of walking and visiting friends and they all felt so sorry for Freddie being sick that they all sent him something. I had my bag full of one thing or another for him when I got home including a cake of maple sugar. I got him some thick sole shoes and took him out on the ground for the first time for twelve weeks and he enjoyed it.” Clara had heard that some of the regiment was going to re-enlist and said “I hope you will not think of it for a moment will you.”

The 46th regiment returned to Springfield and were given a reception at City Hall. They had participated in battles at Kinston, Whitehall, Goldsboro and twice repelled attacks on Newbern. Amos mustered out of the Army on July 29, 1863. Amos and Clara had three more children, Clarence 1868-1869, Minnie 1870-1952, and Maybelle 1873-1947. After returning from the war, Amos worked at the Springfield Armory, Milton Bradley Company, and was a Forest Park Policeman from 1896 until he died in 1902. Clara died in 1905 and is buried alongside Amos, Clarence, Minnie, and Maybelle in Oak Grove Cemetery in Springfield. Sickly little Freddie lived to be 83 and is buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton with his wife and her parents. Amos wood had two brothers, who at different times, were president of the Chicopee Savings Bank, that had been incorporated in 1875.

Clara had to brothers that remained in South Hadley Falls. John Pierce bought the house at 30 Spring Street in 1864. He died young at age 47 and his wife continued living there until 1902, when she moved to Holyoke to live with a daughter. The house is still there. Edwin Pierce enlisted and then re-enlisted in the Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. He was captured and spent time in Libby and Anderson prisons. Returning to the falls, he resumed his trade as a painter and paperhanger living with his family at 15 Methodist Street, now Gaylord Street. The house was torn down.

Clara Pierce Wood’s mother, father, four brothers, and one sister are buried in the South Hadley Falls-Village Cemetery.

"George Herbert Smith...coming in 1852 to South Hadley Falls" - Click here

2009-08-20T09:28:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Laurel O'Donnell for this story.

From Mary Lawler: South Hadley Historical Society Votes to Move Forward With Digital Archiving

2009-08-14T17:56:00.003-04:00

From: Mary Lawler
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 2:30 PM
To: Bob Judge
Subject: Blog Post

South Hadley Historical Society Votes to Move Forward With Digital Archiving

At the August 12, 2009, meeting of the Executive Committee, it was voted unanimously to appropriate funds and move forward with digital archiving.

The need for The Firehouse Museum collections to be digitized is growing, not for the institution itself but for the ability to share information and images with other historical societies, libraries, universities, and repositories. What the South Hadley Historical Society has in its possession has great value, that is, the information the collection holds for the residents of South Hadley, students, genealogists, and historians.

Digitizing the collection will protect the information and images should they be lost, damaged, or destroyed. The real failure would be not to capture material now, that we will wish we captured, later. A foundation for this undertaking has already been laid, as over 400 items have been archived, numbered, and stored over the years and that information is in both hard copy and digital form. That represents a small portion of the items and documents that are still to be recorded.

Every object in the Society’s possession will be photographed, identified, described, numbered, and digitally archived for sharing on the web. In addition, all documents and photographs will be scanned and prepared for digital archiving and preservation. Items in the collection that will not stand the test of time will have their image and history preserved. The challenge will be to upgrade computer software systems as they are developed to keep the digital records accessible as new technology and formats are developed. With our feet firmly planted in the Information Age, it is the Society's responsibility to ensure that the collection in the possession of the Society is not only digitized and protected but also accessible to sister institutions and the public.

The Lelands...and more

2009-08-14T07:26:00.003-04:00

Hi Bob,

It is truly great to read the blogs. The gal who did the blog on Peter Bain did a beautiful job. I saw him play only once and couldn't believe my eyes, although I wasn't surprised because his dad, Jackie, was a full-scale athlete.

Something made me think back to Barbara Leland, the doctor's daughter who lived on the corner of Bardwell and Carew. I am sure many old timers will remember her; she was a fun person.

Well...about twelve years ago my wife and I were able to visit with Barbara and Don who had a fabulous condo overlooking the Gulf on Bonita Beach up the road from us. One evening we arrived to an unforgettable surprise: sitting in the living room were Dick Sholl and his wife, Dick Bonneville and his second wife, Roberta Alvord and her husband...and, to top the surprises off, Janet Roberts, our biology teacher and neighbor, and her husband. She looked younger than we did!

On the way across the highway to dinner (I still call it "supper.") Dick Sholl asked me if I would give some thought to writing a fun history of South Hadley as we lived it.

Thinking of Barbara started me reminiscing about her dad, "Doc" Leland,who brought at least half of us kids into the world; and I had a flashback to the dvd that Barbara's daughter created from "Doc"'s old l6mms. It is a town treasure, and I hope it is still available for viewing in the Falls Library. Priceless shots of the '36 Flood. "Doc" always had to have the latest gadget on the market. So now we have that dvd.

Bob, how about some blogs from folks recalling the medical doctors we had in town. There must be a slew of anecdotes out there. I know I alone could go on for pages about "Doc" Leland. Besides being our family doctor he was a close family friend. I can still smell his office!

When we think back to those "town doctors" we sure have a rather startling contrast to the medical care today. Here in Florida we...are lucky to see them for fifteen minutes...

Hope the bloggers stay up late polishing their gems for us.

Bill Cary

From Bill Cary, South Hadley High School Class of 1939.

2009-08-11T17:51:00.005-04:00

Date: 8/4/2009 3:14:55 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time

From: Bill Cary

To: Bob Judge, John Zebryk

Hi Guys,

Well it sure breaks the summer heat when another geyser erupts from SHF days of yore. The Dudleys! My head is swimming. I didn't realize there were so many hiding in the old burg. Connie Dudley went through school with me. Sweet person. I think her brother was John.

I am not going to get into the storage of genaeological tidbits. If everyone in SHF did a geneo. chart I suspect we would an go back to a common ancestor somewhere in Lichtenstein. And be sure that all would prove to have a Superman Nobleman at their roots who dropped his seed far and wide.

Now listen to this: In a book, The Uncommon People, the author reveals that a certain George or Edward Villiers, way, way back in like the Middle Ages, was a genetic sport who sired six sons and a daughter all with his remarkable characteristics. The descendants of this one man could be regarded as the saviors of Britain. They include Churchill, Eden, the Huxleys, Darwin,Virginia Woolf, Duke of Wellington, on and on. Truly amazing.

As you guys do your geneaologies you may find a "Villiers" in there somewhere. South Hadley owed its prominence to a fine gentleman, possibly, a certain...who lived on the site of the old fire station before it was built.

...getting that biographical directory for the Class of 1939. I want to see if my batting average is in there.

You guys have become dear friends, and I appreciate this wealth. Stay loose at all times!

Bill Cary

100 Morgan Street, South Hadley - Click here

2009-08-11T14:49:00.003-04:00

The stencil kit of Ruth S. Williams

2009-08-10T15:39:00.003-04:00

Hi,

I have a "Little Artist" stencil kit that was, I believe, the property of Ruth S. Williams. There is a little envelope inside that has her name. It looks like it is from the 1850's to 1880s. I do have it on sale on Ebay, but that is not why I'm contacting you. I'm always curious about personal history mysteries. Do you have any information about any Ruth S. Williams in the dates listed above. If it helps the dating - there is one stencil of baseball uniforms from the early years of the game.

Many thanks,

Randy Jansen
P-508-487-4252
C-774-216-9094
------------------------------
August 10, 2009

Dear Mr. Jansen:

I will forward your question within the South Hadley Historical Society.

Sincerely,

Bob Judge
Member
South Hadley Historical Society

Oral History Event in Hatfield - Click here - Could we do this in South Hadley?

2009-08-10T10:31:00.006-04:00

From: Kathie Gow <kagow@comcast.net>
Subject: Oral History Event in Hatfield
To: kate@wistariahurst.org
Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 2:53 PM

Kate, hi. We met last spring at UMass, where I so enjoyed your presentation to the oral history group. I had hoped to make it to your May event on digital storytelling at the museum...I'd love to exchange stories sometime of how our grants went, or how yours is going (if it's continuing), and what we each learned. But before that might happen, I just wanted to let you know that next Thursday (Aug. 13) at 5:30, I will be hosting an oral history event in Hatfield, sponsored by the town's Council on Aging and the Hatfield Historical Society (see attached flyer). I will be playing edited clips of some of the great stories told by the four octogenarians I interviewed for my Hatfield Cultural Council grant on growing up and working in Hatfield. I expect the event to last about an hour, though the clips themselves only last about 30 minutes (17 clips in all)...I will introduce you and mention the Holyoke Memory Book project...

Best,
Kathie Gow kagow@comcast.net,
www.wordspicturesstories.com
-----
From: kate@wistariahurst.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:30 PM
To: Kathie Gow
Subject: Re: Holyoke Memory Book

Hi Kathie!

I would love to meet and discuss Oral History with you. I am giving a presentation on Wednesday, March 25th on the 25th floor of the UMass Library in Amherst. Its a group of people who are trying to create an oral history center for the valley and have been meeting for 4-5 months about it...Let me know
>
> Kate Thibodeau

Art Purcell - Falls Garage, 2 Bridge St., S. Hadley

2009-08-09T17:37:00.004-04:00

From his son Donald, August 9, 2009 at the Old Firehouse Museum:

"Date of Photo unknown, probably between 1920 and 1928. The gun is a German Howitzer. Any comments, please call contact Don F. Purcell, Sr., 15 Joffre Ave., #2, S. Hadley, 413-313-4354."

Images of Hillside Beach/Lake?

2009-08-09T17:03:00.003-04:00

Do you know where I can find images of Hillside Beach/Lake (currently the small lake/pond at Hillcrest Park Condominiums)?

David Ansaldi

RSM

at&t Mobility

Corporate Retail Store

359 Russell St / Rte 9

Hadley, Ma 01035

Cell: 413-626-2440

email: david.ansaldi@att.com

More Photos of South Hadley - Click here

2009-08-05T15:27:00.003-04:00

"Connecticut River Summertime" - Click here

2009-08-05T15:00:00.002-04:00

Peter Bain, 1,999

2009-08-04T09:59:00.007-04:00

By Judy Van Handle

1,999.

The number sits atop the list of scoring leaders in South Hadley High basketball history on a banner that hangs at one end of Landers gymnasium.

Equal parts phenomenal and tantalizing, the number is a visible reminder of the legacy of the Tigers' most prolific male player ever.

Yet paradoxically, it's also symbolic of individual brilliance and of opportunities missed.

Forty years ago, Peter Bain was completing a high school career during which he became a certifiable legend, in just three seasons pouring in more points than any Western Massachusetts player to set a record that would stand for nearly 30 seasons.

But in his final game, with three chances to become only the second player in state history to crack the 2,000-point barrier, Bain was unable to complete the feat -- sinking a shot -- that had come so easily for three seasons.

Even more remarkably, it didn't then, or now, matter to Bain.

"It never bothered me," he said recently from his home in Frederick, Colorado, where he serves as the general manager of the Bella Rosa Municipal Golf Club. "I never think about it at all. I was just glad I had a part in it [South Hadley's success].

"I loved basketball, but it wasn't my life."

Now, his life is now far removed from his high school days. Whether as a club pro, course designer, administrator or player, golf is his sport and livelihood, though basketball has remained an important part thanks to a second-generation star.

Bain's son, Jack, was the nation's leading Division 2 rebounder during the 2003-04 season for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and still holds several school records.

"He wasn't like me; he had to work hard at it," said Bain.

That's just how former teammates remember Peter Bain -- as a basketball natural, a supremely gifted athlete with transcendent skills. Bain, a 6-foot-4-inch forward, shot the lights out from everywhere on the court and also mixed it up underneath the boards. And his offensive explosions came without the benefit of today's 3-point line, which would have enabled him to pile up even more points.

"He could shoot so well, he would have scored about a gazillion points [with the 3-point rule]," said Peter Gazda, who played alongside Bain in the Tigers' frontcourt. "He was the best pure high school shooter I was ever associated with and he played to win."

The roots of Bain's success were planted early, when the late Clem (Stum) Garbacik, a youth coach, would "leave the lights on," in Bain's words, at St. Patrick's Social Center to allow the 9-year-old a chance to shoot by himself after practice. "I spent all my time there," said Bain.

By the time he got to high school, Bain was a star in waiting. In the 1960s, freshmen weren't allowed to play on the varsity, but when Bain's chance came in the 1966-67 season, he immediately stepped into the starting lineup and made South Hadley into a feared team.

"He was pretty special," said guard Russ Marion. "I've never seen or played with anyone with his shooting ability. We were a good team, but Peter was a super player and made us that much better."

That was never more evident than on cold winter nights in 1969, when the hottest place to be in South Hadley was the high school gym to watch the Tigers roar to another Hampshire League championship during Bain's senior season.

"They used to shut the doors at halftime of the junior varsity game and wouldn't let anyone else in," said Marion.

The packed gym sometimes made play difficult.

"On out of bounds plays, we had to look out for the people sitting along the sidelines," said Bain.

Coming off a 1967-68 campaign in which he became the first junior in Western Massachusetts to reach 1,000 points in 12 years, 30- and 40-point outputs were the rule for Bain in 1968-69 as the Tigers sailed through the league schedule with an 18-0 league record and awaited postseason play.

Before the MIAA took over the administration of high school sports, basketball teams could compete in either the now-defunct large or small schools tournaments. South Hadley usually chose the smaller tourney, but the previous season, the Tigers had bowed out in the first round (Bain was unable to play due to a broken hand). This time, South Hadley voted to play with the big schools.

Bain was at his best in the first two games, pouring in 42 points in a quarterfinal win over Drury and then breaking a tie with a basket with six seconds to play to beat Chicopee Comp. But Bain was "held" to 23 points as the Tigers couldn't overcome top-seeded Commerce and fell in the final. South Hadley still earned a berth in the state tournament and a game at the Boston Garden against undefeated Catholic Memorial, which featured two future Division 1 college stars.

Bain needed 30 points to join former CM star Ron Teixeira as the state's second 2,000-point scorer, but that was part of the problem. "CM double- and triple-teamed Peter because they were trying to protect Teixiera's record," said Marion.

With South Hadley losing by 20 points in the fourth quarter, "Bain's teammates went all out for their star scorer, even by committing intentional fouls so they could regain possession," according to reporter Dick Osgood's account in the next day's Springfield Union.

With under a minute left, Bain needed just one point for 2,000, but misfired on two free throws, then tried on an off-balance jumper that hit the rim and fell off as time elapsed.

Bain was recruited by several top Division 1 programs, paying a campus visit to Oklahoma, but poor grades directed him instead to Tyler (Texas) Junior College. Once more, academic issues ended his stint in college.

"That's something I regret, having grades so bad that it limited my prospects," said Bain.

Back home, he tried a number of jobs, including construction, while working out with local players (including members of the 1974 Western Mass. champions, who were led by Ed Garbacik, the son of his youth coach).

He eventually moved to Colorado with his future wife, Lisa, a native of Sharon, Mass., who attended college in the area and can claim at least partial credit for his life in golf.

"My wife said she wouldn't marry me unless I had a career," said Bain.

He was the head pro at Ute Creek Golf Course in Longmont, then moved on to Bella Rosa and also designed its nine-hole course, which opened in 2006.

But basketball hasn't strayed far from his consciousness thanks to both his son's exploits and those of his daughter Chelsea, who followed Jack as a high school standout when the family lived in Longmont. He still visits South Hadley on an average of once a year, stays with Marion and his
family and "plays a little golf."

Judy Van Handle is a member of the South Hadley Historical Society.

RE: Dudley and Zebryk families

2009-08-04T09:51:00.005-04:00

John:

Last week, I received my copy of the South Hadley High School 2009 Directory. You are listed, which tells me that you ordered one too, and I assume that you received yours last week. I took a quick look at the last names and I noticed a Robert Dudley, Class of 1951. Because I am related to the Dudley family that lived on Lathrop St., I wondered if he might be a distant relative about whom I was unaware. So, I sent him an email, which set off a genealogical exchange between us over the past several days. Like Liz Winslow, Bill, and you, Bob provided some S. Hadley memories, and below is an excerpt of his email to me. Bob gave me permission to put it on the blog, which I will do, along with your August 3 email.

- Bob Judge

...

----------------------------------------------------------

From: Robert Dudley

Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 1:49 PM

To: Bob Judge

Subject: Re: Are you related to the Dudley family that lived on Lathrop Street?

Bob,

…I lived at the corner of Taylor St. and Canal St. with the front of our house facing Taylor, thus 2 Taylor. James Dudley lived on Lathrop Street in a fairly big house… His wife was Anna… They had a daughter Mary and a son James. Also living in an apartment on the cut thru that went behind the old Fire Station was a brother. His name was John (more known as Jack). He spent a lot of time in the little restaurant on Main St. (in my time it was Conti and Veto to be followed by Caproni's (?).) There were two more brothers who lived in Holyoke. One was Lawrence but I can't think of the other one.

SIDE NOTE: Ernie Allen was my best friend and lived on Lathrop St. so I spent a lot of time up at his house (He was the only one who had a basketball hoop tacked up on the front of his garage.) On school days I would walk up Taylor St. to the top, and he would walk to the corner of Lathrop and No. Main and then we'd walk to school.

My father was brought up by his maiden Aunt Elizabeth Dudley who lived on School St. She lived in a duplex directly across from the Methodist Church. My father was George Dudley, and he had a brother John who lived with Aunt Lizzie his whole life. She lived well into her nineties. From some of the papers of my great Aunt Lizzie I have some of the family tree starting with Charles (?) (would have been my father's grandfather and my father was born in 1892…).

- Bob Dudley

From: John Zebryk
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 2:03 PM
To: BobJudge
Cc: Bill Cary
Subject: South Hadley History

Bob,

Thank you so much for directing me on 7/29 to the blog re 52 No. Main Street started by Eliz. Winslow Johnson.

The exchange of communications there provided a wonderful trip down memory lane. These were some of the people and locations that I too grew up with and it was great to hear from a contemporary describe some of her personal recollections and you contributing information as to current status.

On a different subject, I noticed at the SH site a notice of a 7/14 meeting at the library on the subject of Preserving and Organizing Family Records. Wish I could have attended inasmuch as I have been working on such a project for quite some time. The question I have is this:

The library obviously cannot be the repository for the bulk of materials families might collect. However, does the library have any sort of compact reference file? For example, I have a Zebryk Family History File which can be easily copied to a single compact disk. Alternately, this same file (without attachments or photos) could be printed out on hard copy (8 1/2 x 11) paper on approx. 40 sheets.

Any information you may have on this question would be appreciated, or, information as to whom this question might be better directed.

...our 'ol hometown is very much appreciated.

John R. Zebryk

Irene Cronin, Historian - Click here

2009-08-03T15:06:00.000-04:00

"The Fountain # 1 - The Pride of South Hadley Falls" - Click here

2009-08-02T09:45:00.001-04:00

The Springfield Republican newspaper, July 30, 1905

A Hadley Sampler: An Anniversary Celebration at Historic Deerfield

2009-08-01T19:21:00.003-04:00

New Exhibition Celebrates Historic Pioneer Valley Town
Hadley Sampler: An Anniversary Celebration Opens Aug. 22

The town of Hadley, Massachusetts is celebrating its 350th Anniversary and to help observe this occasion, Historic Deerfield will showcase objects from the town.Beginning Saturday, August 22nd, Hadley Sampler: An Anniversary Celebration will be open to the public at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life.

"The idea for an exhibition of museum objects from Hadley came out of a conversation about a dress," said Claire Carlson, Education Program Coordinator at Historic Deerfield and co-chair of the Hadley Historical Commission. "The Hadley Historical Commission and the Hadley 350th Anniversary Committee are thrilled that that dress, as well as more than 15 other Hadley objects, will be on display in Deerfield."

A wide variety of objects will be on view in the exhibition including a Chinese porcelain punch bowl owned by Charles Phelps, Jr. and Elizabeth Porter Phelps of Forty Acres; a watercolor family register made by Ebenezer W. Kellogg in 1826 when he was just 11 years old; and a tall case clock with the works made by silversmith and clockmaker Elijah Yeomans of Hadley.

"Hadley families like the Porters, Phelpses, and Kelloggs pursued a genteel lifestyle with the furnishings that supported it," said Amanda Lange, Curatorial Department Chair and Curator of Historic Interiors at Historic Deerfield. "This is a great opportunity to give a glimpse into the history of the town of Hadley, and the talents and stories of those who have lived there."

Smith College praxis intern Alison Tebaldi has worked extensively as the guest curator in the creation of this new show. Her role was to locate and select appropriate objects from the collection, prepare them for exhibition, research the specific objects and their history in Hadley, write interesting and compelling labels, and design and install the objects within the Lobby cases of the Flynt Center. Alison is an American History major and rising Senior at Smith College, and will study abroad in Italy for the next year.

"This was an excellent opportunity for someone interested in a museum career to experience the entire process of an exhibition - from soup to nuts," said Amanda Lange. "We really appreciate Alison's work on this project, and the Praxis Internship Program at Smith College for making this collaboration possible."

Hadley Sampler: An Anniversary Celebration opens Aug. 22, 2009 at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life and is included with general admission. For more information, please call (413) 775-7214.

About Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield (www.historic-deerfield.org) is a nationally recognized museum offering tours of period houses and the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Now featuring exhibitions:
• Hadley Sampler: An Anniversary Celebration on view through January 1, 2010.
• Into the Woods: Crafting Early American Furniture, a long-term furniture exhibition on view through 2013.
• Engraved Powder Horns from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution: The William H. Guthman Collection, permanent.
• Celebrating the Fiber Arts: The Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery, a permanent exhibition with changing elements.
Historic Deerfield also offers relaxed fine dining at Champney's Restaurant and Tavern at the Deerfield Inn, lodging at the 1884 Deerfield Inn (www.deerfieldinn.com), and shopping at the Museum Store (www.deerfieldstore.com). Please call 413-775-7214 for museum information and program schedule.

Historic Deerfield is a member of Museums10, a partnership of ten outstanding museums - Amherst College Museum of Natural History, Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and The Evergreens, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Hampshire College Art Gallery, Historic Deerfield, Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, National Yiddish Book Center, Smith College Museum of Art, and the University Gallery at UMass Amherst - in one gorgeous place: the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. For more information about Museums10, please visit www.museums10.org.

Historic Deerfield
www.historic-deerfield.org
80 Old Main Street, P.O. Box 321
Deerfield, Massachusetts 01342
T: 413-775-7175
F: 413-775-7220

Amherst puts history online

2009-08-01T15:52:00.001-04:00

Amherst puts history online
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
By DIANE LEDERMAN
dlederman@repub.com

AMHERST - One January day in 1875, Emily Dickinson's brother Austin bought a dozen eggs for 42 cents, six oranges for 18 cents and some codfish (amount not specified) for 50 cents from the George Cutler & Co. Dry Goods store.

Anyone wanting to see the rest of that shopping list can visit Digital Amherst, an on-line repository of the town's history created in collaboration with the town's 250th anniversary celebration this year. It's an exhibit that continues to grow each month and will continue growing even after the celebration is finished.

Visitors can see and read the clipping of the obituary of Emily Dickinson written by Austin's wife, Susan Dickinson, and published in the Springfield Republican (May 18, 1886) and the Amherst Record (May 19, 1886).

Visitors can see hundreds of photographs as well, including the North City Primary School circa 1888. There are thousands of photographs in the special collection.

The site features essays, sermons, letters and links to other Web sites about a myriad facets of the town's history. It is organized by topic, time period and collection, among other options.

"This is a long-term project," said Tevis Kimball, curator of special collections and project manager. "The challenge is organizing" the immense collection "in a cost-effective way."

She said she was working on an internal digital archive, but with the town's anniversary they decided to make the archive available. "What Digital Amherst (does), it allows us to create an online digital library."

With the help of Kirstin M. Kay, of Hadley, who had been organizing and cataloging the Clifton Johnson archive a few years ago, and Kate Boyle, metadata specialist, they have been slowly able to build the site at relatively low cost.

Kay found free software and a free hosting site; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to do it, Kimball said. Whatever money is needed comes from donations, Kimball said. "It was definitely a labor of love."

The online archive is not meant to replace an actual visit to the collection. "It supports what we're doing here," she said. "It helps people see what's here in this great collection. There are so many marvelous things."

The possibilities are endless for topics or information to post. Currently, the site offers 12 online exhibits that are highlights of the town's anniversary celebration. There are all kinds of documents to read such as the agreement between Peletiah Smith and seven others to build, and to share equally the cost of a gristmill to be situated on the Fort River in the Second Precinct of Hadley (Amherst was still part of Hadley then) on Jan. 28, 1756.

In addition to Dickinson, special collections is a repository for material connected to poets Robert Frost and Robert Francis and dictionary creator Noah Webster, to name just a few.

Springfield resident Charles M. Johnson, meanwhile, is working on a digital archive of his grandfather's Clifton Johnson's work to be part of the on-line archive.

Born in 1865 in what's called the Hockanum section of Hadley, Clifton Johnson was a writer, artist, photographer and "Renaissance Man," according to Charles Johnson.

He is hoping that the digital access will help people learn about his grandfather, a man he feels never got the recognition he deserved. Kimball said she's unsure when the exhibit will be available online. To see what's there, visit http://www.digitalamherst.org/

Holyoke postcards, thanks to Laura O'Donnell - Click here

2009-08-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

Good Holyoke images - Click here

2009-08-01T11:25:00.000-04:00

Passport to Pioneer Valley History - Click here

2009-07-29T20:44:00.003-04:00

Well, at long last, it's here!

Download your 2009 Passport to Pioneer Valley History from our home page:(www.pioneervalleyhistorynetwork.org).

The passport contains relevant information about our member locations and it should guide your summertime visits to the Valley's historical sites and museums. As you tour each location, be sure to ask your host to sign and date the appropriate page in your passport! Have fun!

Over the next few weeks, we will be distributing a limited number of printed copies to historical and tourist locations throughout the Valley. Please let us know if you need more. Thanks.

Cliff McCarthy
Chair, PVHN Steering Committee

Project to Demolish the Former Texon Mill Building

2009-07-28T18:01:00.007-04:00

date Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 4:04 PM mailed-by cwmars.org

Just checking to ensure the Historical Society knew the City of Holyoke Gas and Electric Department put an announcement in the Central Register (dated July 29, page 23) for Demolition of the former Texon Mill Building in South Hadley and site clean up. I know there were statements earlier this month that indicated there might still be a developer for the building, but looks like that fell through.

They estimate the cost to take the building down and clean up the site at $664,000. That should be quite a sight.

Two mandatory pre-bid meetings at 9 Carew Street, on August 11 and August 18 at 11 a.m. (bidders only have to attend one).

General bid deadline is 8/26/09 at 2 p.m.

Thought you might like to know.

Cheers,

Bob Williford
Reference Librarian
South Hadley Public Library
South Hadley, MA 01075
(413) 538-5045
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"Electric Cars Collide on the South Hadley Falls Bridge"

2009-07-25T14:18:00.011-04:00

From the Springfield Republican, July 27, 1896:

On the South Hadley Falls Bridge - Turners Falls and Holyoke Men injured, the Former Quite Seriously.

There was quite a serious collision on the Holyoke bridge at South Hadley Falls late yesterday afternoon, one electric crashing into the rear of another with considerable force. Two men were injured and both cars were quite badly damaged. The cars were going toward South Hadley Falls, the being No. 60 in charge of Conductor Bess and Motorman Cameron. Car No. 15 with Conductor Welch and Motorman Ritchie was a short distance behind, when a horse became frightened at the first car and the motorman brought it to a sudden stop. Motorman Cameron was unable to stop his car soon enough to avoid a collision.

Both cars were well filled with passengers and the crash caused considerable confusion. John Herre of Holyoke and Martin Kneip of Turners Falls, who were riding on the rear platform of the front care, were the only ones injured. Mr. Heere was struck with the brake handle, injuring his thigh quite badly and Mr. Kneip was injured internally. He was taken to the Elm house, and Dr. Franz attended him. He was suffering considerably and peritonitis is feared. Mr. Kneip is grand master of the Cheruskee German order, which is holding a convention at South Hadley Falls.

"For Holyoke natives, the relationship between Holyoke and South Hadley is hardly newsworthy."

2009-07-22T10:33:00.014-04:00

Click here for the story and more. Thanks to Laurel O'Donnell!

For Holyoke natives, the relationship between Holyoke and South Hadley is hardly newsworthy. Though they are located in two different counties — Hampden and Hampshire — there long has been a connection between the two places. Precious Blood Church, for example, was located in Holyoke while their burying ground is in South Hadley. Another interesting example is John S. Mackenzie, the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery during WWI. Though Mackenzie was born in Bridgeport, CT, he later resided in South Hadley and then in Holyoke. After the receipt of the Medal of Honor, there was some apparent competition between Holyoke and South Hadley in terms of bragging rights of Mackenzie being their “native son,” a clear source of pride to both towns.

My own family research has revealed countless instances of migration back and forth between Holyoke and South Hadley. This may have been — in part — housing- or work-related. But for whatever reason, as my research of Holyoke-based families continues, I never forget to look at South Hadley data.

So why mention this? Given this intrinsic connection between both towns, today I learned of a good history and genealogy related blog with a South Hadley focus. Bob Judge’s The South Hadley Historical Society blog is well worth a serious look for both South Hadley and Holyoke area history and genealogy researchers. It is filled with photos, links, and much more. Adding the link to my blog role.