A ride to Massasoit Spring -- West Springfield, Massachusetts

We salute the Town of West Springfield on its 250th anniversary with a postcard of bygone days, likely the turn of the twentieth century.  The reverse side describes the "primeval forest country" of West Springfield, about an hour from Springfield--and one can see that in a horse and carriage--or even a Model T Ford on rutted, dirt country roads such as this it could have very well taken an hour.

We don't know the name of the route in the picture, and in those days, it might not have had a formal name, but it could have been present-day Bear Hole Road or Great Plains Road.  The Massasoit Springs was a small, rustic enterprise, typical of nineteenth-century tourist sites, that provided a spot for lunch, hiking, and perhaps even the restoration of health by drinking the pure spring water.  If you weren't interested in the restaurant, perhaps the nearby cage in which a bear was kept could prompt you to make the drive.  From around the 1870s to just about the turn of the century, this was enough to bring at least a few tourists any lovely summer day.

In 1906, the area was taken over and turned into the Bearhole Reservoir, and still provides a nice place for hiking.  Any bears seen are likely not to be in cages, however.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;   

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts;

 States of Mind: New England, 

A Tragic Toast to Christmas -- The Infamous Wood Alcohol Deaths of 1919 in Chicopee, Mass.; as well as books on classic films and several novels.  Her Double V Mysteries series is set in New England in the early 1950s.  

TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

American International College - Springfield, Mass.

According to this 1930s-era postcard, American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, a private, four-year coeducational school, was first established in Lowell, Mass., in 1885 under the name of French Protestant College.  It moved to Springfield three years later in 1888 and afterward took the current name.  A striking feature of the college is the Georgian Colonial red brick buildings.  The postcard was published by the Springfield News Company and printed by Tichnor Bros. in Boston.

Below, in a postcard from a similar era, but postmarked 1950, shows the library in the top photo, and the D.A.R. building and Owen Street Hall on the bottom.  The postcard was published by Bonneville Card & Paper in Springfield and printed by Curteich in Chicago.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;   

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts;

 States of Mind: New England, 

A Tragic Toast to Christmas -- The Infamous Wood Alcohol Deaths of 1919 in Chicopee, Mass.; as well as books on classic films and several novels.  Her Double V Mysteries series is set in New England in the early 1950s.  TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

A Tragic Toast to Christmas - wood alcohol deaths of 1919 in Chicopee, Mass.

More than 100 people died of a companionable drink in several towns and cities in New England on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1919, nearly half of them in the city of Chicopee, Massachusetts. How this came to happen, and even how it came to be forgotten are both intriguing aspects to the tragedy.

The story of the grisly incident of unknowingly ingesting poisonous wood alcohol and how it played out in one New England city might stand as a microcosm of the conflict created between the legal production and sale of alcohol, those who would prohibit it, and those who would do anything to profit from it, not only in the years up to 1919, but in the tumultuous decade that followed.

Have a look at my new book, A Tragic Toast to Christmas -- The Infamous Wood Alcohol Deaths of 1919 in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;   

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts;

 States of Mind: New England, 

A Tragic Toast to Christmas -- The Infamous Wood Alcohol Deaths of 1919 in Chicopee, Mass.; as well as books on classic films and several novels.  Her Double V Mysteries series is set in New England in the early 1950s.  TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Poet Jack Hayes' new work -- PRAYER WIND

Jack Hayes' recent volume of poetry, one of an ambitious three-volume project, is being published by Askance Publishing.  Prayer Wind is the first title, and is available at the Askance website, and also at Amazon and Kobo.

Here's the lovely description on the Askance website:

"Written through four difficult years, the poems reflect not only Jack’s personal journey but the hugely challenging times in which we all found ourselves. His words also reflect the cycle of the year and the pulse of nature with their inevitable highs and lows. Playful, deeply reflective, sad and joyful – Prayer Wind is all these and more.

"These are poems not to be hurried but to be read at leisure, to be savoured." 

Two earlier collections of poetry were featured on this blog previously, called The Spring Ghazals here, and The Days of Wine and Roses here.  Jack is a native Vermonter, now living in Oregon.  Read more about his journey here.  His voice is original, authentic, spiritual, contemplative, and bold.  Please have a look at the links here to get your copy of Prayer Wind.

Amherst Railway Society annual Railroad Hobby Show

photo by J.T. Lynch

This coming weekend, Saturday, January 27th and Sunday, January 28th, the annual Railroad Hobby Show hosted by the Amherst Railway Society comes to the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.  

It is the largest model railroad trade show in the United States, and a very enjoyable event not only for model railroad enthusiasts, but for anyone with a nostalgic bent of mind.  There's four buildings of train layouts, miniature worlds of exquisite detail.  Come have a look.

 

Learn more about the show here.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;   

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom,  Holyoke, Massachusetts;

 States of Mind: New England; as well as books on classic films and several novels.  Her Double V Mysteries series is set in New England in the early 1950s.  TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Chicopee Falls mystery novel - THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT KILLED

 

I'm very pleased to announce my newest book -- the seventh in my Double V Mysteries series:  The Little Engine That Killed.

On this adventure, Juliet and Elmer take on a case tracking an about-to-be-released prisoner to recover the money he stole and hid years before -- but as usual, nothing is as it seems, there are more questions than answers, and danger increases with every twist and turn.  It's the Christmas season, 1951, and our intrepid duo, unlike Santa Claus, have a little trouble determining for sure who is naughty and who is nice.

Writing this book has been a special treat for me, because I chose the setting for this story in my own hometown -- Chicopee, Massachusetts.  But there's a twist to that as well.  The particular part of town where the story takes place is Chicopee Falls.  In 1951, that village was completely different than it is now, because in the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of it was demolished in an urban renewal project.  To write this book, I had to recreate not only a time, but a place that no longer exists.  All of the books in this series are a form of time-travel.  This one, The Little Engine That Killed, is especially so.

As you can tell from the cover, trains figure prominently in the story.  Coal does, too, but not just for the Christmas stocking.

Grab your copy in print or eBook here at Amazon, or a variety of other online sources including Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo and others!

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;   

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom,  Holyoke, Massachusetts;

 States of Mind: New England; as well as books on classic films and several novels.  Her Double V Mysteries series is set in New England in the early 1950s.  TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Reminder - Zoom talk on CHRISTMAS IN CLASSIC FILMS one week away!

 

Next week...A Zoom discussion on CHRISTMAS IN CLASSIC FILMS! My Zoom presentation on my book Christmas in Classic Films is one week away! The talk is being hosted online by Sal St. George and the St. George Living History Productions.  I'll be discussing several examples of how Christmas becomes the climax and resolution in several classic films, which are not really "Christmas movies."   Mr. St. George is an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer presenting programs across the U.S.A. specializing in Old Hollywood, and Motion Picture & Television history.  St. George Living History Productions has presented Zoom programs to thousands of viewers worldwide. Mr. St. George initiated Virtual Road Trips to Celebrity Museums and so far, those Zoom Road Trips have taken his audience to: The Will Rogers Museum, The Red Skelton Museum, The John Wayne Museum, The P.T. Barnum Museum, The Mary Pickford Exhibition, The Lizzie Borden Museum, The Rosemary Clooney Museum, The It's a Wonderful Life Museum, The Clark Gable Museum, The Phil Silvers Museum, The Laurel and Hardy Museum, The Buffalo Bill Cody Center, The Ginger Rogers Museum, James Dean Museum, The Patti Page Exhibition, Edward Hopper Museum, The Yogi Berra, The Donna Reed Museum, and much more. The event is scheduled for Monday, November 20th at 10:00 a.m. ET.  Please join us for a fun discussion on some of your favorites -- and perhaps a few you would not have considered to be Christmas classics.  Here's the login info below: Time: November 20, 2023, 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82238652855?pwd=dWV4OGdERWIzQy9KKzROY0wvSWRiZz09 Meeting ID: 822 3865 2855 Passcode: 731986 One tap mobile +19294362866,,82238652855#,,,,*731986# US (New York) +16469313860,,82238652855#,,,,*731986# US Dial by your location • +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) • +1 646 931 3860 US • +1 305 224 1968 US • +1 309 205 3325 US • +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) • +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) • +1 386 347 5053 US • +1 507 473 4847 US • +1 564 217 2000 US • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) • +1 689 278 1000 US • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) • +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) • +1 360 209 5623 US Meeting ID: 822 3865 2855 Passcode: 731986 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/khK5PZZgT  ****************** Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War;    Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom,  Holyoke, Massachusetts;  States of Mind: New England; as well as books on classic films and several novels. Her latest book is Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.