The small town of big practical jokes - MEET ME IN NUTHATCH

Here's a bit about my novel, Meet Me in Nuthatch:

A whimsical, poignant tale about a practical joke-turned publicity stunt that fires up the small town of Nuthatch, Massachusetts, in a desperate attempt to attract tourists.

Christmas tree farmer Everett Campbell proposes turning the clock back to 1904 and reviving the town’s cozy past, an idea he gets from watching his young daughter’s favorite classic movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. She is thrilled at being allowed to dress up and pretend, but not everyone in town is enchanted with the nostalgic promotion—including Everett’s moody teenage son.

The media, and the tourists, do come, but the scheme also attracts a large theme park corporation that wants to buy Nuthatch 1904.

Everett now stands to lose his town in a way he never imagined, and his neighbors are divided on which alternate future to choose.

A local drug dealer, Everett’s boyhood enemy, may hold the future of the entire town in his hands unless Everett can pull off one of his most spectacular, and dangerous, practical jokes.

Get your copy here at Amazon in print and eBook, or from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and a variety of other online shops.
 

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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 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.

View of Mt. Holyoke from the Connecticut River railroad bridge

 

A vew of Mt. Holyoke in South Hadley, Massachusetts, from the Connecticut River on this postcard "New England Views on Boston & Maine R.R."  The photo was probably taken from the Willimansett truss railroad bridge across the river from Chicopee to Holyoke, pictured in the postcard below.

The railroad truss bridge is on the left, and was later replaced by a deck plate girder bridge.

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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 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.

Travelogue film of New England - 1940s

Have a look at a nostalgic view of New England in this travelogue film from the 1940s.  Summer in New England is something eternal.

Or watch on YouTube here.

A Celebration of Mt. Tom - at the MAP Gallery, Easthampton, Massachusetts

Join me in Easthampton at the MAP (Mill Arts Project) Gallery this Saturday, July 14th for a celebration of Mt. Tom in art, natural history, theatre...and ice cream.

I'll be there to meet and greet with my book on theatre on the mountain - Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Join us for --

“The Mountain and Mother Nature”

A father and son exhibit of oil pastels by Ken Gagne and sculptures by Matt Gagne creating an entertaining and thought provoking experience traveling over Mt. Tom witnessing Mother Nature’s power to create, destroy and preserve the beauty of this local resource. 

Opening Reception

Saturday, July 14^th 2018

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

@

The MAP Gallery

in

 The Eastworks Building in Easthampton

Also featuring:

·              Arcadia Sanctuary

·              Jacqueline T. Lynch – local author of  “Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain”

·              Mt. Tom Ice Cream

MAP Gallery in the Eastworks building, 116 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Easthampton City Arts / Easthampton Cultural Council

Talk on my book on Mt. Tom Summer Theatre - South Hadley, Massachusetts

I will be giving on a talk on my book, Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts, at the South Hadley Public Library, Wednesday, June 27th at 6:30 p.m.  A slide presentation of several photos from the book will accompany the talk.

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.

Save the Date! - Celebration of Mt. Tom in art, literature, science, and ice cream! - Easthampton, Massachusetts

Save the Date

The MAP Gallery shines a spotlight

on:

“The Mountain and Mother Nature”

A father and son exhibit of oil pastels by Ken Gagne and sculptures by Matt Gagne creating an entertaining and thought provoking experience traveling over Mt. Tom witnessing Mother Nature’s power to create, destroy and preserve the beauty of this local resource. 

Opening Reception

Saturday, July 14^th 2018

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

@

The MAP Gallery

in

 The Eastworks Building in Easthampton

Also featuring:

·              Arcadia Sanctuary

·              Jacqueline T. Lynch – local author of  “Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain”

·              Mt. Tom Ice Cream

Easthampton City Arts / Easthampton Cultural Council

Upcoming talk on my book about Mt. Tom (Holyoke) summer theatre

I'll be speaking on my new book, Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain - 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts - on Wednesday, April 19th for the Chicopee (Mass.) Historical Society.  The event takes place at the Chicopee Public Library on Front Street at 7 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

The book is sold online at Amazon, at CreateSpace, and also from my Etsy site LynchTwinsPublishing.

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain - 70 Years of Summer Theatre - Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass.

This is to announce the publication of my latest book:

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain:

70 years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts

It is non-fiction, about a once vibrant summer theatre playhouse in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, how it reflected its eras and its location - in an amusement park, on a mountain, on the edge of a New England factory town.  It was unique, and its story is fascinating.

I'll be giving a talk on the book at the Holyoke (Massachusetts) Public Library, Monday, January 23^rd at 6 p.m.  Springfield Republican columnist Barbara Bernard, who wrote the foreword for the book and was interviewed for the project, will introduce the event and will take part in the discussion.

The book covers the history of live theatre on Mt. Tom from 1895 to 1965.  For some seventy years live theatre 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 book is currently available in paperback from the printer, CreateSpace here, and from Amazon in paperback and eBook.  You can also contact me by email or my website to obtain a paperback copy. 

Theatre on Mt. Tom - Holyoke, Massachusetts

I've begun the research in earnest now on a new book about theatre on Mt. Tom in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The above photo is the playbill for the show Mary, Mary, when Hollywood stars Craig Stevens (whom you may remember TV's Peter Gunn), and his wife Alexis Smith, who appeared with a string handsome leading men -- Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Paul Newman among them -- and who would later earn a Tony Award on Broadway, came to the mountain in this romantic comedy. The Mt. Tom Playhouse was a smashing finale to the years of theatre on Mt. Tom, but it wasn't the only incarnation.

Before there was the Mt. Tom Playhouse, there was the beloved Valley Players, a stock company that rigorously produced show after show of a summer and featured some local, and some national Equity players -- including famed writer Madeleine L'Engle (who wrote A Wrinkle in Time), and most especially, actor Hal Holbrook, who played with the company in the early 1950s, and later in the decade brought his most famous character to town in his one-act show Mark Twain Tonight!

Before the 1940s and '50s, however, the mountain saw other performances, a wide and wonderful array of theatre, including WPA performers in the Great Depression, and before that, operetta and vaudeville.

There has been theatre on the mountain since the 1890s when Mountain Park first opened to the city dwellers bellow it's cool, green heights, where with egalitarian sociability, the factory workers mingled with the mansion dwellers and factory owners, all escaping the summer heat of the city.

A playhouse in the middle of an amusement park, up on a mountain, in a New England factory town.  Never has there been a more unusual setting for live theatre.

If you know anyone connected with any phase of theatre on Mt. Tom -- whether they be actors, technical and support staff, or audience members -- especially audience members -- who would like to share their memories of the stage shows on Mt. Tom, please have them get in touch with me.  I will do interviews by email, by regular mail, by phone, or in person.

Thanks.

Jacqueline T. Lynch

JacquelineTLynch@gmail.com

PO Box 1394, Chicopee, MA  01021

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"Lynch’s book is organized and well-written – and has plenty of amusing observations – but when it comes to describing Blyth’s movies, Lynch’s writing sparkles." - Ruth Kerr, Silver Screenings

"Jacqueline T. Lynch creates a poignant and thoroughly-researched mosaic of memories of a fine, upstanding human being who also happens to be a legendary entertainer." - Deborah Thomas, Java's Journey

"One of the great strengths of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is that Lynch not only gives an excellent overview of Blyth's career -- she offers detailed analyses of each of Blyth's roles -- but she puts them in the context of the larger issues of the day."- Amanda Garrett, Old Hollywood Films

"Jacqueline's book will hopefully cause many more people to take a look at this multitalented woman whose career encompassed just about every possible aspect of 20th Century entertainment." - Laura Grieve, Laura's Miscellaneous Musings''

"Jacqueline T. Lynch’s Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is an extremely well researched undertaking that is a must for all Blyth fans." - Annette Bochenek, Hometowns to Hollywood

Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. 
by Jacqueline T. Lynch

The first book on the career of actress Ann Blyth. Multitalented and remarkably versatile, Blyth began on radio as a child, appeared on Broadway at the age of twelve in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, and enjoyed a long and diverse career in films, theatre, television, and concerts. A sensitive dramatic actress, the youngest at the time to be nominated for her role in Mildred Pierce (1945), she also displayed a gift for comedy, and was especially endeared to fans for her expressive and exquisite lyric soprano, which was showcased in many film and stage musicals. Still a popular guest at film festivals, lovely Ms. Blyth remains a treasure of the Hollywood's golden age.

The eBook and paperback are available from Amazon and CreateSpace, which is the printer.  You can also order it from my Etsy shop. It is also available at the Broadside Bookshop, 247 Main Street, Northampton, Massachusetts.

If you wish a signed copy, then email me at JacquelineTLynch@gmail.com and I'll get back to you with the details.

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My new syndicated column on classic film is up at http://go60.us/advice-and-more/item/2047-everybody-comes-to-rick-s, or check with your local paper.

Mount Sugarloaf - Deerfield, Massachusetts

You are standing on the back of a dead giant man-eating beaver.  According to Native American legend.  Maybe so.  This is the view from Mount Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.  It's only just over 650 feet high, but it's placement on a wide valley floor lends the view a strangely spectacular sense of drama.  Especially at peak foliage season.

We're looking south in the above photo; that's Mt. Tom in Holyoke on the horizon.  Here below is looking eastward.

Across the Connecticut River you can see Mt. Toby in Sunderland.  No dead giant man-eating beaver over there.  And the volanic energy that created it is long since dormant.  So, it's safe to bring a lunch and go for a hike.  Our only sense of urgency comes from missing what's left of the fleeting peak season.

Third Blog Anniversary

View from Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts.

Tomorrow marks the 3rd anniversary of New England Travels. Thank you for the pleasure of your company on the journey.

For at least the near future, this blog will post only once per week on Tuesdays. See you next week.

More Postcard Scenes of Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts

In this previous post we visited a couple of turn-of the-twentieth century postcard scenes of Mt. Tom in western Massachusetts. In this other post on my Tragedy and Comedy in New England blog, we discussed the Valley Players summer stock theater on Mt. Tom.
Here are a few more postcard views from the early 1900s of summertime fun on the summit of Mt. Tom.

 

 

 

Vintage Mt. Tom

The above photo shows us a snowy Easthampton, Massachusetts looking down from Mt. Tom.

Mt. Tom, is supposedly named for the surveyor Rowland Thomas, who named the tree-shaggy basalt mountain after himself in the 1600s. You can drive up Mountain Road now, unless bad weather makes it impassible, but the summit wasn’t really easily assessable until 1897 when the Mt. Tom Railroad hauled adventurous passengers up to the Mt. Tom Hotel at the summit on the cable electric trolley. The hotel burned down, for the second time, in 1929 and was never rebuilt. In the vintage postcard below, we see one of the cars was named the “Rowland Thomas” for Mt. Tom’s namesake.


Still further below is another vintage postcard of the mountain from Hendrick Street on the Easthampton side. Both these two postcards were produced by Raphael Tuck & Sons, publishers in Great Britain from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. They were granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria in 1893. The following year, they began to publish picture postcards, and 1900, opened an office in New York City. Most of their postcards of American scenes, including these two, were actually printed in Germany, then brought back to the US for sale. Both these cards are likely turn of the century.


This website posts an interesting history of Raphael & Tuck, and notes that all the original records and postcards of this company were destroyed in the bombing of London during World War II.

For more vintage photos of Mt. Tom and the railway, have a look at this website.

Season of Anticipation

Here's the Mt. Tom Range across the river in Holyoke as we travel north through the Connecticut River town of South Hadley in western Massachusetts. It's late November, some years ago, and we're in that season of anticipation like we are now. Not anticipation over the holidays, but over when and how much it will snow. The gray naked trees need covering, and the bare ground is unseemly, and even if the sky is blue, those gray and purple clouds that streak over us this time of year make us New Englanders wonder when the other shoe is going to drop. The shoe that brings a foot or more.

It's a deceptively pretty scene. There's more to it you can't see, and we know that. Any minute now. Yes, sir, any minute now. Can't fool us.

Cadillac Mountain - Maine

Here the morning mist shrouds the top of Cadillac Mountain. Watch your step on the bare granite face, and watch everything around you. There is a serene stillness.

Part of the Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, Cadillac Mountain at just over 1,530 feet is the highest point on the US Atlantic coastline.

Here you stand not only on a rugged rocky crest, but on the topmost part of an island on which there are 16 other hilltops to explore, and ocean all around. An auto road built in the 1930s will take you to the top. The weather will grow quite inhospitable soon. If you want to be one of the first in the US to see the sunrise, better do it while you can.

For more on Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain, have a look at these websites.

Been there? Done that? Let us know.

Mt. Greylock Reservation

Here is the Veterans War Memorial Tower atop Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. Photos below of Bascom Lodge, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and of the view from Mt. Greylock will have to suffice until the reservation auto road, and these structures, are once again open to the public.


Hikers are still permitted on the reservation, which spreads across six towns in Berkshire County, but the road system is under repair for 2007 and 2008. Next year, 2009, the roads to the summit will once again be open for autos, bikes, and walkers.

For more information on Mt. Greylock State Reservation, established in 1898, have a look at this website.

Been there? Done that? Stayed overnight at Bascom Lodge, or know a CCC fellow who helped build it? Let us know.

Mt. Holyoke World War II Memorial

Just a few minutes out of Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts, a B-24 Liberator on a training mission slammed into the tree tops and rock cliff face of nearby Mt. Holyoke. It was May, 1944. The crew of ten on Army Air Corps flight training were killed instantly in the explosion.

In 1989 this granite monument was dedicated to their memory. Unlike many World War II memorials in the US, this monument does not merely commemorate these fallen men, it marks their place of death.

Most of the flight crew were not New Englanders. The radio operator was from Massachusetts. The wives of a couple of the crew members took apartments in South Hadley, and could have heard the crash that night, and the wail of sirens that followed. South Hadley fire fighters, as well as the fire departments of surrounding towns arrived to help put out the fireball on top of the mountain, and many civilians tried to claw their way up the mountain to reach the men, but it was too late for any rescue attempt. World War II was over for those men, and nothing would be the same for their families. It was a terrible accident that brought the war home to an otherwise quiet part of the world.

Been there? Tell us, or share your experiences at other New England war memorials.

Mt. Washington

Another mountain we’re looking at this week brings us to New Hampshire. Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeast at over 6,000 ft. It holds the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, at 231 mph recorded on April 12, 1934. The Indians called the mountain, Agiocochook, or “The Home of the Great Spirit.”

Mt. Washington was first climbed in the 1640s, but not much else happened here until the middle of the 19th century, when tourism was lured here with the construction of bridle paths and different summit hotels. The Tip Top House still stands, recently renovated. A stagecoach road was built, now called the Mount Washington Auto Road, and it is a breathtaking journey. It first opened in 1861, and is the oldest man-made tourist attraction in the US. If you receive the badge of honor, that bumper sticker that says “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” your car, its 2nd gear, and its brakes, have earned it.


For those less inclined to brave the winding vertical journey to the clouds, there is the less taxing Mount Washington Cog Railway, first constructed in 1869, which gives an enjoyable ride to the top. It is the oldest mountain climbing cog railway in the world. (It’s first proposal was ridiculed by the New Hamphsire State Legislature as a “railway to the moon.” Half-way to the moon, maybe.)

The top is something to behold, where the bald rock is exposed, the winds are fierce, and trees do not grow. On a clear day you can see Europe. Well, no, I’m kidding. On a clear day you can see the Atlantic Ocean, but clear days are not something one should count on. The mountain mist rolls in so suddenly, that if walking about the grounds around the summit observatory, it is best to stand still in your tracks until the cloud passes.

Snowstorms can occur at the summit in any month of the year. If you visit even in July, be prepared for a temperature drop of at least 30 degrees by the time you reach the top.

The summit building was designed to withstand 300 mph winds, and other buildings here are chained to the mountain. The mountain is the site of a non-profit scientific observatory reporting the weather and other elements of the sub-arctic climate.

Hiking is a favorite activity, but several avalances occur each year and many hikers have died for a variety of reasons. It is best to tackle the mountain only if you are prepared for its unique challenges. Above the tree line, it is a different and treacherous world, but a place of stunning beauty.

Auto races and bicycle races also take place up the mountain. However you choose to get to the top, take a good, long, look. It’s worth the effort.

Want to go? Have a look at this website. Also check out information on the Auto Road and on the Cog Railway .

Been there? Done that? Bought the T-Shirt? Let us know.

Mt. Holyoke Summit House

Many of New England’s historic sites and attractions are seasonal, and this time of year traditionally brings them to close. One such venue is the Mt. Holyoke Summit House atop Mt. Holyoke in Hadley, Massachusetts.

It is a small mountain, only just over 900 feet, but overlooking the broad terrain of the Pioneer Valley, the perspective is panoramic. This month the Summit House will close for another year.

A summit house was first built in the 1820s, and went through various owners and renovations to become by the 1850s, quite the stop for well-to-do tourists. An early visitor in 1823 was Ralph Waldo Emerson. A tram was built up the mountain to bring visitors, along with stage coaches up the winding road. Eventually the Summit House boasted upper levels, extensions, elegant dining rooms, and such architectural embellishment that even President William McKinley could not resist its charms, and visited in June of 1898, whereupon he headed down the mountain to attend the graduation of his niece from Mount Holyoke College.

The Hurricane of 1938 tore up a chunk of the building, (Was there nothing that mammoth storm did not touch?) and the Summit House entered its declining years. Deteriorating over the next several decades, supporters kept the building from being demolished and a restoration project in the 1970s and early 1980s gave the Summit House back to Western Massachusetts. From its cozy height, you can see the patchwork farms and the winding Connecticut River, and other companionable mountain ranges that makes the view from the Summit House veranda one of the most easily accessible of lofty inspirations.

Want to go? Now part of the Joseph A. Skinner State Park, have a look at this website for more info.

Been there? Done that? Bought the T-Shirt? Let us know.