Railroad Hobby Show - West Springfield, Massachusetts

 

photo by JT Lynch

All tracks lead to the Railroad Hobby Show this weekend on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.  The nation's largest model train show is hosted by the Amherst Railway Society.  Learn more here at their website.

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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, essays from New England Travels

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.  

Most of her books can be purchased at Bookshop.org here, as well as most online shops.

TO JOIN HER MAILING LIST - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Dickinson Library - Northfield, Mass.

Architecture of the nineteenth century, in public buildings--as well as in many of the private homes of the wealthier class, represented more than practical form and function.  There were monuments.  Most of them were quite beautiful and such structures that remain today grace their communities with a sense of history, heritage, and art.

Even in small towns they remain impressive, and were usually the gift of benefactors.  Above is a postcard published by A.R. Levering of East Northfield dating from about 1903 of the Dickinson Library in Northfield, Massachusetts.  It was gift of  Fitchburg shoe manufacturer Elijah Marsh Dickinson (1816-1902), who was born in West Northfield, left the farm as young man to make his way in the burgeoning Industrial Revolution of nineteenth-century Massachusetts, eventually found success with his E.M. Dickinson Shoe Co., and was able to support his old hometown with this excellent gift.

The Romanesque style was built of granite and limestone, and was dedicated in 1898.  It allowed space for museum rooms, and as with most libraries, became a focal point of the community and a source of pride.

It still serves the community of Northfield.

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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, essays from New England Travels

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.  

Most of her books can be purchased at Bookshop.org here, as well as most online shops.

TO JOIN HER MAILING LIST - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

5th Anniversary of Treason and a Failed Coup

Never forget January 6th.  Hold it in the same vein of warning, mourning, and determination to right the wrong as we do with September 11th or December 7th.  It might even be more important, as the enemy within is more dangerous to our democracy.

The morons who were whipped to a frenzy to attack the Capitol, assault police, threaten to kill the Vice President and several in our government, and as if to punctuate their disgusting nature, to defecate in the halls of that hallowed building that President Abraham Lincoln was determined to finish even during the Civil War as a symbol of our survival as a nation -- they have been pardoned by the Felon, the lead traitor.

Now it's time to pursue him and the others who orchestrated the conspiracy, the ones who engineered the attack.  Be a patriot and watch Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's testimony.  Push your government to prosecute the traitors.

Books on New England history for your holiday shopping!

Here is a selection of my books that tell stories of New England history.  Please consider them when shopping for your book lover/history fan!

BESIDE THE STILL WATERS - a novel on the "lost towns" of the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts.  Four towns…dismantled as an entire valley is prepared to be flooded. The past is being wiped clean, the present threatens, the future belongs to the fearless.

Three generations weave a tapestry of isolation and stubborn independence, battling the forces of nature, the Commonwealth, and each other in this family saga. A courageous girl becomes the guardian of her family’s heritage, and ultimately, the one to determine what happens next.

Beside the Still Waters is based on actual events that displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts in the 1920s and 1930s for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir. Families are torn apart, divided between those who protest the construction, those who give up and leave while they can, and those who help to build the dam that will flood the towns.

Return to the Swift River Valley, its charm and its pain, its mysteries and its lessons—to a community, a family, and a young woman in a race against time.

A TRAGIC TOAST TO CHRISTMAS - The Infamous 1919 Wood Alcohol Deaths in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  Non-fiction.  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.

COMEDY AND TRAGEDY ON THE MOUNTAIN - 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts.  Non-fiction.  The book covers the history of summer theatre on Mt. Tom from1895 to 1965.  For some seventy years the playhouse created magic on the mountain above the city; from vaudeville, operetta, WPA-sponsored shows in the Great Depression, and its heyday from 1941 to 1962 with a resident repertory company called The Valley Players.  In the early 1960s, two new incarnations: The Casino-in-the-Park, and finally, the Mt. Tom Playhouse with touring packaged shows featuring well-known stars from television and movies.  Many stars of stage and screen, and many newcomers who would one day become stars, performed over several decades on Mt. Tom.  Through interviews, newspaper reviews, and nearly 250 photographs, relive their performances, and go backstage for personal experiences that were both comic and tragic, and enjoy again the excitement of opening night.

THE AMES MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War.  Non-fiction.  The three articles that comprise this book tell different stories about the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, which played an important role as an arms manufacturer during the American Civil War.  Together, they make up a kind of composite of the Northern Civil War experience in the small, but dynamic, universe of a factory town.  We meet Nathan P. Ames and James T. Ames, brothers who founded the firm, the younger burdened with the responsibility after the tragic and grisly death of the older.

We meet two workers in the factory, one of whom, Charles Tracy, was a machinist who left his position to join the army, and came home without a leg—and was awarded the Medal of Honor.  He was cared for by Clara Barton--and comforted by President Abraham Lincoln on a visit to his hospital ward. The other man, Melzar Mosman, just a boy of nineteen, worked in the foundry department forging canon.  He also left to join the army, but after the war would become celebrated for forging bronze statuary, including a number of Civil War monuments.

We meet the townspeople of Chicopee, the minister who hid slaves on the local Underground Railroad, and the high school principal, who purchased a military substitute to fight in his place.  Later, he would become Governor of Massachusetts and the successful defense lawyer of the infamous Lizzie Borden.

 

And for mystery buffs, the Double V Mysteries Series set in New England in the late 1940s through the early 1950s (so far).

CADMIUM YELLOW, BLOOD RED - an heiress and an ex-con team up to solve a murder and discover much more.  Hartford, Connecticut, spring 1949.

SPEAK OUT BEFORE YOU DIE - the couple reunite to solve a mystery during a New Year's Eve house party in Hartford, 1949.

DISMOUNT AND MURDER - the now dynamic duo are involved in a scandal at a horse show in Litchfield, Connecticut, and Bar Harbor, Maine, summer 1950.

WHITEWASH IN THE BERKSHIRES - kidnapping and communist witch hunts lead to a discovery of murder in western Massachusetts, winter 1951.

MURDER AT THE SUMMER THEATER - a cast member goes missing at a playhouse on the Connecticut shore, summer 1951.

THE IRON LUNG MYSTERY - they are called to the Boston area to solve two mysterious deaths and find a family saga of treachery and treason,  summer 1951.

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT KILLED - our sleuthing duo is brought to Chicopee, Massachusetts to investigate an old crime of embezzlement and scramble to prevent a murder. Christmas 1951.

All these books are available in eBook or print and can be found online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon,  Apple, and many other online shops.

Bookshop.org is "An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community."  A portion of your online purchase will be donated to a fund supporting independent booksellers, and you can even request that the portion donated from your purchase will go to a specific, favorite local bookstore.  They also have a database on their site that will help you to find local independent bookstores in your area.

I'm very pleased to note that my print books are available from my page here at Bookshop.org 

For eBooks, please see my Shopify store page here.

For another option to purchase my print books, please see my Walmart page.

For more information and links to purchase, please visit my website:  JacquelineTLynch.com.

Thank you!

EBook Sale - Beside the Still Waters - a novel of the Quabbin Reservoir

 

This weekend, you can download my Beside the Still Waters, a novel of the "lost towns" of the Quabbin Reservoir which usually sells for $5.99 for $1.99!

Purchase the eBook SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd or SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd here at my Shopify store...

or at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo and a variety of other online shops at this link.

Or at Amazon here.

Here's some info about the book:

Four towns…dismantled as an entire valley is prepared to be flooded. The past is being wiped clean, the present threatens, the future belongs to the fearless.

Three generations weave a tapestry of isolation and stubborn independence, battling the forces of nature, the Commonwealth, and each other in this family saga. A courageous girl becomes the guardian of her family’s heritage, and ultimately, the one to determine what happens next.

Beside the Still Waters is based on actual events that displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts in the 1920s and 1930s for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir. Families are torn apart, divided between those who protest the construction, those who give up and leave while they can, and those who help to build the dam that will flood the towns.

Return to the Swift River Valley, its charm and its pain, its mysteries and its lessons—to a community, a family, and a young woman in a race against time.

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In an age where many readers are, for one reason or another, trying to avoid shopping at Amazon or other large online shops for print books, and yet don't have very good access to a local bookstore, there is another option...

Bookshop.org is "An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community."  A portion of your online purchase will be donated to a fund supporting independent booksellers, and you can even request that the portion donated from your purchase will go to a specific, favorite local bookstore.  They also have a database on their site that will help you to find local independent bookstores in your area.

I'm very pleased to note that my print books are available from my page here at Bookshop.org 

For eBooks, please see my Shopify store page here.

Thank you for reading!   

Children's Wartime Adventure Novels now at Broadside Bookshop - Northampton, Mass.

My book, Children’s Wartime Adventure Novels, is now available in paperback at the Broadside Bookshop in Northampton.  A non-fiction study of teen and pre-teen novels published during World War II, includes two stories with settings local to western Massachusetts.

During World War II, Smith College in Northampton was a training camp for WAVES.  The story of female midshipmen is recounted by one of its graduates, Lieutenant (J.G.) Helen Hull Jacobs in By Your Leave, Sir – The Story of a Wave.  A troubled young woman seeks a place in the war effort, and we follow her and her classmates through locations throughout  Northampton.  They attend classes at Faunce Hall, are billeted at Capen House and the Hotel Northampton, and Wiggins Tavern is frequented in their off hours.  The novel is an interesting look at the life of women in Navy training at this time, and also for a glimpse at Northampton as it served this unique position in America’s war effort.

A similar experience awaited another young woman in South Hadley, where Mount Holyoke College was the site of training for WAVES as well as for Women Marines. Lady Leatherneck, written by First Lieutenant Barbara A. White, MCWR is similar to By Your Leave, Sir, in that the author is herself a woman in the service, in this case, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and also is based on the author’s own real-life experiences.  Both stories show a surprising, for the era, feminist streak in the books for girls. 

From a BookLife review in Publishers Weekly: "Lynch illuminates a fascinating, little-studied chapter of publishing history…protagonists in their late teens and early 20s set aside the anxieties of youth to do their part to stomp out fascism. In title after title, pilots and soldiers (the men, mostly) and nurses, reporters, WACs, WASPS, WAVES, and more (the women) evince courage, endurance, dedication to the cause, and a savvy sense for identifying fifth columnists. Lynch celebrates the novels' sense of ‘spirited adventure’ and ethos of ‘patriotic self-sacrifice’ while digging into thorny questions of propaganda and indoctrination, including racial and ethnic stereotyping…”  

Children’s Wartime Adventure Novels is available in print and eBook online, and now in paperback at the Broadside Bookshop, 247 Main Street, Northampton.  

It is also available online from Bookshop.org (Children’s Wartime Adventure Novels – hardcover - https://bookshop.org/a/116354/9798330314133

Children’s Wartime Adventure Novels  – paperback - https://bookshop.org/a/116354/9798330314942)

It is also available from IngramSpark (hardcover), and in paperback.

And from Amazon in both paperback and hardcover.

It's also in eBook at Amazon, and from a variety of online shops.

Back to school in Springfield and Holyoke, Mass.

Here's two schools from the past to celebrate the opening of the new school year...Forest Park School in Springfield, Massachusetts, in a postcard image from 1909.  The school was built in the 1890s, with the original third floor removed in the 1930s.  It is now Forest Park Middle School.

The Highland Grammar School in Holyoke was built in 1900, closed in the 1980s, and the location is now a public park.  This postcard image also dates from around the turn of the twentieth century.

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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.