The Student Prince - Springfield, Massachusetts Restaurant

JT Lynch photo

The Student Prince, a nostalgic and fanciful name for a German restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts, has been a landmark in that city since 1935.  Though you may not find the characters from the Sigmund Romberg operetta  roaming about the premises, you will, at lease this month, find the Fort Street Carolers performing selections from The Sound of Music.  Surely, that is gemütlich enough for any fan of this cozy and inviting restaurant.  If that weren't enough, it is reckoned to have one of the largest collection of beer steins in the U.S.

JT Lynch photo

Ruprecht Scherff came from Germany to work here in 1949, and took ownership in 1961, and the Scherff family continued ownership until 2014.  When they announced the closing, several Springfield businessmen became involved to save the beloved restaurant, and so it remains today on Fort Street where it has stood since the Great Depression. 

Fort Street, incidentally, is so named because it was the site of Springfield founder William Pynchon's stockade fort, which withstood the attack of King Phillip's Pocumtuck warriors when they burned the young settlement of Springfield in 1675, 39 years after the settlement had begun. 

JT Lynch photo

There are stained glass windows in The Student Prince that picture Springfield historical landmarks, such as the Campanile, and Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of Springfield's founders.

JT Lynch photo

Through thick and thin, Fort Street lends its tradition of resilience and charm to Springfield.

JT Lynch photo

Have a look here at The Student Prince website.

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Also, thank you to organizer Erica Walch, and all the intrepid walkers who followed me around Springfield this past Saturday on my walking tour of Springfield's theater history sponsored by the Springfield Museums and the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association.

Miles Morgan statue, Springfield, Mass.

Miles Morgan, who braved the western Massachusetts wilderness in the 1630s, is not bothered by a little bit of snow on his rakish cocked hat.

Sculpted by Jonathan Scott Hartley, the statue stands in Springfield’s Court Square, with the Campanile piercing the big blue sky in the background on this clear, cold day.

Morgan was born in Bristol, England in 1616, and traveled as an adventurer to Boston in 1636. He married a girl named Prudence who was a fellow passenger on his ship. Settling in the new plantation of Springfield on the Connecticut River, Miles Morgan built himself a fortified blockhouse, which became the fledging community’s fortress of safety when the settlement was burned during King Phillip’s War.

Eventually, young Springfield’s young hero went back to the mother country, where he died in Wales in 1699. But here in Springfield his image stands, forever ready for action, his musket on his shoulder, fearing nothing.

The New England Confederation

Yesterday, May 19th, marks the 365th anniversary of the New England Confederation. The photo above shows one representation of the various flags designed to stand for New England, which is the pine tree and the red field. This flag was believed to have been carried during the Battle of Bunker Hill, when New Englanders resurrected their past identity to give strength to their cause and their hopes for self government at that terrible time of war. It was also used as the ensign of the Massachusetts Navy.

The small pin shows a design which is not historic and never stood for the original New England Confederation, but was established in the 1990s as a trade and tourism promotion. Both history and modern commerce play a big role in our regional identity.

The New England Confederation was formed in 1643 just after King Philip’s War by then four New England colonies (Maine was still part of Massachusetts at the time, and Vermont was still largely unknown territory).

This political union lasted over forty years, until 1684. Its roots gave birth to a nation based on the same principles of cooperative self government, and would lead to our national Constitution in a future century.

The united colonies of New England sought protection from the Indians, from the French, from the Dutch. After the Revolutionary War when these perceived threats were no longer a source of fear or resentment, what remained were our ties to each other. Our cultural ties among the six New England states are strong and our heritage is shared. The political entity has given way to a regional identity.

For a detailed history of the flags of New England of the particular importance of the pine tree as a symbol, please see this fine essay by David B. Martucci.