Our Journey Across the Country
Massachusetts visits | May & July
Mary’s Uncle Loren and his family live in western Massachusetts, just a couple hours from Thomaston. In May we were able to arrange a trip to visit them. Loren and Pam met us at Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation near Deerfield, where we had a lovely picnic they brought (thank you!) and fabulous views of the Connecticut River valley. It happened to be graduation day at UMass (Amherst) and we saw several newly minted grads up there getting photos with the university in the background. Pam shared some of the local indigenous history and Loren shared some Kramer family history of early settlers in the area. Then we explored a bit in Historic Deerfield, which has a lot of living history. We arrived just at the end of the day and so missed the activities of their annual spring event “Sheep in the Street”, showcasing the historic sheep breeds of the area and various wool and sheep activities. Looked like it would be a fun thing to do. It seems that Uncle Loren is locally famous, because each place we went someone recognized him :-) ! We then travelled north about half an hour to Greenfield where Loren and Pam live. Pam showed us some of the recent rehabilitation projects in the area, and talked about some of her work in the community. It was inspiring to see the historic buildings being re-envisioned and given new life, thus bringing up the surrounding existing neighborhood, rather than being leveled for new development. We ended up at their home and enjoyed more visiting and dinner with Pam’s son Daniel who lives with them and prepared the dinner - thanks again, Dan! Darn it- I think we failed once again to get a group photo with Dan.
Did you know that Massachusetts is the home of Yankee Candle Company? They have a massive giftshop complex along the freeway in Deerfield, and manufacturing is based in nearby Whately. We have not yet stopped in to the giftshop, but it is probably one of those must-do
Our second visit to Massachusetts came the first week of July. Loren’s daughter (Mary’s cousin) Becca Fiscal and her family were up from Atlanta to visit Loren & Pam, as well as other family in Mass., and we were invited to join them for a day. We first gathered at the house in which Becca et al were staying in Greenfield, which is sited overlooking the Deerfield River. A very dramatic setting! We swung by to pick up Loren & Pam, then traveled about 20 minutes west to scenic village of Shelburne Falls. The historic downtown is filled with beautiful boutiques and eateries, but the stunning draw to Shelburne Falls is the Bridge of Flowers, which is reflected in a mirrorlike section of the Deerfield River which has been dammed just above the Salmon Falls and its Potholes. The beautifully arched concrete bridge was constructed in 1908 for trolleys to move raw materials across the river to nearby factories. By 1927 the trolley bridge became obsolete due to the advent of motorized vehicles, but the cost to demolish the concrete bridge was prohibitively high, and the bridge supported the water pipes that serve the town of Buckland. According to the website bridgeofflowersmass.org, a woman whose home overlooked the bridge, “gazing on the weed-infested structure” had the brilliant thought “if weeds can grow on that bridge, why not flowers?” In 1929, the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club brought in 80 loads of loam and lots of fertilizer, and began planting the bridge with flowers.
Shelburne Falls is also home to the Salmon Falls Gallery as well as Lamson Knives Factory Store. After sight-seeing, we enjoyed a dinner in honor of Loren’s birthday. Another day of great visiting with family!
Pam and Mike survey the scenery
Pam and Loren
overlooking the Connecticut River valley from atop Sugarloaf Mountain in MA
Uncle Loren
love the Dogwoods blooming all over!
Apprentice's Workshop in Dwight House in Historic Deerfield.
the Deerfield Inn in Historic Deerfield, MA
historic Deerfield
Loren and Pam have displayed in their home these 2 wood carvings that Mary's grandfather Kramer (Loren's father) carved and inlaid.
Uncle Loren's dining room
Yankee Candle's massive gift store in Deerfield (photo from Google)
The village of Shelburne Falls, MA is very small and in a rural mountain setting.
McCusker's Market community coop
Pam & Loren, Becca & Chris, Kory, Olivia, Mike & Mary at the entrance to the Bridge of Flowers
Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne Falls, MA
atop the Bridge of Flowers
perfect mirror reflection! would make a great jigsaw puzzle, no?
awesome old Wisteria vine
inspiration for our new home garden
reminded me of Holland!
what a brilliant idea to plant the bridge with flowers. Not only did it improve the scenery for the locals, but now it is a tourist draw which has led to revitalization of the old downtown
so picturesque!
Shelburne Falls Potholes are uniform cylindrical holes formed in the rock by glacial activity about 14,000 years ago. Becca says she used to play around on these rocks in her youth. Now the area is blocked off for safety.
pretty boutique with beautifully curated planter boxes
Salmon Falls Gallery represents over 90 local artists. This fiber art reminded Mary of the embroidery her sister Sara used to do in her teenage years :-)
Chris, Becca, Kory, Olivia, Mary, Loren, and Dan at the river house they were staying in. It was still scenic, even in the evening rain.