November 2019 Update and Membership Drive

Dear Members and Friends,

As we await approval from the state Attorney General for the transfer of the Pitt House property to the Colrain Historical Society, we have embarked on a robust fundraising campaign. Transfer of the property - closed to us since 2018 - must also be approved by the county Probate Court.

Meanwhile, we are busy planning a romantic Valentine's Day dinner prepared by chef Kevin Hollister and a "Colrain on Canvas II" art exhibition May 22 and 23, 2020. Calendars with reproductions from the wildly successful exhibition this year are available for purchase at Marty's Repair, Catamount Country Store, the town office, Hager's Farm Market, the Colrain Post Office and Pine Hill Orchard in Colrain, as well as Sawyer Newsroom Co. and Boswell's Books in Shelburne Falls.. Think Christmas.

Temporarily displaced from our former meeting place in the Stacy Barn, we have continued to present popular programs in Joan McQuade's barn, April through October, exploring Colrain's history though the collection, as well as the broader history of the area. Among this year's programs:

• Fischlein's Store in Shattuckville
• Colrain's one- and two-room schools
• Native peoples in the valley
• Dustup at the Methodist parsonage 

Your continued support helps to fund these programs, which sustain our status as a historic presence and a bright spot of activity in the town. More significantly now, it will help us to reach our goals in the heavy lifting we are facing in restoring the Pitt House property to its function as museum, meeting place, and repository of the material history of Colrain.

We are grateful for gifts or bequests of any size for the support and encouragement they represent.

Like most small-town historical societies, we rely on a small cadre of active members to plan programs, raise funds, and maintain the collection. Pitch in with us, and bring friends who enjoy history and social interaction with a purpose. For this, also, we ask your help.

Thank you,

CHS Board of Directors
Belden, Joan, Ken N., Ken S., Debby, Janet, Phil, Casey, and Bill

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I support the efforts of the Colrain Historical Society!
     * *Non-member friends who contribute $50 or more will become life members.**

Name ___________________________

Address __________________________

Email ____________________________

Phone ____________________________

Please accept my donation of  (  )$50  (  )$100  (  )$250  (  )$500   Other: $___________

Please make check payable to The Colrain Historical Society. Thank you!

Note: The CHS is a 501 (c) (3) Charitable organization, so all your donations are deductible to the extent of State and Federal tax regulations.

Colrain Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 45
Colrain, MA 01340

“Colrain on Canvas” 2020 Calendar

The Colrain Historical Society has captured 12 of the vivid paintings from the “Colrain on Canvas” exhibition last spring in a 2020 calendar which is now available for $15. The calendar will make a great holiday gift!

Available at the following locations:

• Marty’s Repair, Main Road, Colrain
• Catamount Country Store, Main Road, Colrain
• Pine Hill Orchards, Greenfield Road, Colrain
• Colrain Town office
• Colrain Post Office
• Hager’s Farm Market, Rt 2, Shelburne
• Sawyer Newsroom Co., Bridge St, Shelburne Falls
• Boswell’s Books, Bridge St. Shelburne Falls

The calendar size when open is 17” x 11”.

• January - High St. Griswoldville - Jack Braudis 
• February - Call Rd. Lusty Farm - Ida Waslake
• March - Willis Block Place - Evelyn Pennegar
• April - Wilson Hill - A. Hale Johnson
• May - Pasture Vacationers - Alice Gammell
• June - Colrain Center - Unknown, ca. 1850
• July - Colrain Center - William Lester Stevens
• August - Colrain Center - James Lister
• September - River St. Covered Bridge - Althea Brigham
• October - Roberts Farm - Myrtle Fish Purington
• November - Colrain Center - Nord Bowlen 
• December - West Branch Adamsville - Raymond Ewing

Also, save the date for “Colrain on Canvas II” on the weekend of May 23 & 24, 2020, at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, 53 Main Street, Shelburne Falls.

Potluck and Last Program of 2019

The Colrain Historical Society will hold its final meeting of 2019 on Thursday, October 10, at 7 p.m., following a potluck supper at 6 p.m. at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road, Colrain.

Election of officers and Board members will be on the agenda, along with an update on the status of the Pitt House, plans for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner cooked by chef Kevin Hollister, “Colrain on Canvas” calendars for Christmas giving, and plans for “Colrain on Canvas 2,” in the spring.

The meeting will be followed by a brief program,”Dustup at the Methodist Parsonage.”

Colrain’s Methodist Church shown on an old postcard.

Those participating in the potluck supper are asked to bring an entree, salad or dessert to share, wine if you like, as well as a place setting. Cider will be available.

 For information call Joan McQuade, 624-8818.

A Visit to Old Greenfield Village

Old Greenfield Village Museum sign beside Rt. 2 at the bottom of Greenfield Mountain.

A visit to Old Greenfield Village, at the foot of the Mohawk Trail in Greenfield, will offer Colrain children ages 8 to 12 an authentic glimpse of  village life around 1895. Sponsored by the Colrain Historical Society and Griswold Memorial Library, this time-traveling excursion Sunday, September 22. from 2 to 4 p.m. will be free. Ten buildings, including a general store, print shop, drugstore (apothecary), a builder's shop, and a candy store, among others, offer a vivid picture of village life over 100 years ago. Young historians must be accompanied by an adult, up to a total of 40 registered in advance by calling Belden Merims at 624-3453.

Program: School Days - Our Many One and Two Room Schools

The one-room Four Corners School.

“School Days” will take the Colrain Historical Society back to the town’s one and two-room schools Thursday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the former East Colrain Chapel on West Leyden Road. [NOTE this change of venue.] A business meeting at 7 p.m. will precede the program.

 In addition, and not to be missed, the one-room Four Corners School uphill from the church on West Leyden Road will be open from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This school was restored to its original state dating from the mid-1800s by Ellen Miller. In its day it was one of 19 mostly one-room schools in Colrain.

 Built in 1872 and known then as Four Corners Church, the East Colrain Chapel was restored to service as the River Valley Christian Church in 2016. It’s a little gem.

The former East Colrain Chapel on West Leyden Road.

 West Leyden Road begins at the top of Colrain mountain by the old Chandler Hill Cemetery. Four Corners School is about four miles down that road on the right, followed on the right by the East Colrain Chapel. As there is little room to park at the school, park at the church and walk up to the school.

Wilson Hill Schoolhouse.
An undated photo of one of the early one-room schools in Colrain.

Program: A Photographic Tour of Western Massachusetts Libraries

A photographic tour of hill town libraries in western Massachusetts, including Colrain’s Griswold Memorial Library, and histories of some will be the topic of a program following the August meeting of the Colrain Historical Society Thursday, August 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Joan McQuade’s barn, 7 Main Road, across from the Pitt House.

 Residents of Rowe, Carlos and Kathy Heiligmann spent five years driving their 1947 Desoto over the highways and byways of western Massachusetts in search of its eclectic collection of public libraries. Carlos, who worked for ten years as an industrial engineer at Kendall Mills in Colrain, created a photographic record of libraries in 112 towns and cities from the Berkshires to Worcester, while Kathy compiled little-known historical facts related to many local libraries.They will share their photographs and personal observations from this unique journey of discovery.

 A meeting of the historical society will precede the program at 7:00 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For information call Belden at 624-3453.

The Heiligmann’s book, Public Libraries in Western Massachusetts: A Photographic Essay, is available to borrow or read at some Western Massachusetts public libraries: http://bark.cwmars.org/eg/opac/record/4314979

Colrain’s Griswoldville Memorial Library photographs in the Heiligmann’s book.

Program: Fischlein’s Store in Shattuckville

Ray’s Market sign on the south end of the building, April 2019.

For 40 years, beginning in 1953, if you lived in Shattuckville, perhaps you picked up your mail at Ray’s Market and bought an excellent steak he had butchered, some bread, maybe some candy for your daughter, and chatted with neighbors in the store that stood on the west bank of the North River by the old iron bridge. If you lived, say, on Wilson Hill, you might have regular deliveries from the store by a Fischlein son or high school student. Before Ray and Irene Fischlein bought that store it had had a succession of owners stretching back to the original Shattuck and had served a population that for decades perhaps depended on it because they had no cars.

 The Colrain Historical Society will focus on Fischlein’s store and the community it served in a program Thursday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m., in Joan McQuade’s barn at 7 Main Road, Colrain.

 The program, which is free and open to the public, will follow a meeting at 7:00 p.m. when we’ll have an update on the Pitt House property and the Arthur Smith Covered Bridge.

 For further information call Belden at 624-3453

Early July 2019. The sign has been removed from the end of the building and donated to the Colrain Historical Society by the Fischlein family.

Ray and Irene Fischlein pose near the store entrance, late 1980s or early 1990s.

Ray Fischlein trims a steak at the store’s butcher counter.

Program: A Clock With Wooden Works

“A Clock With Wooden Works” will be the subject of a program following the Thursday, June 13 meeting of the Colrain Historical Society in Joan McQuade’s barn at 7 Main Road.

A mantel clock in the collection of the Society raises questions about the history of wooden works, when they became metal, and about clockmaking in New England in the 19th Century and earlier. Conway clockmaker Marc Desrosiers will lead this exploration, and attendees may want to bring curious clocks for him to examine.

The program at 7:30 p.m. will follow a 7 p.m. business meeting. At the meeting we’ll have the latest on the Pitt House property and results of the wonderful “Colrain On Canvas” Art Show. Meeting and program are open to the public, and refreshments will be served. For information call Belden at 624-3453.

Program: The Native Peoples of Southern New England

Map of southern New England indicating approximate ranges of Native American tribes c. 1600.
Image source: Wikipedia.

 

“The Native Peoples of Southern New England: the folks who met the Puritan settlers of the Pioneer Valley” will be the topic of the program following our May meeting on Thursday, May 9, in Joan McQuade’s barn, across from the Pitt House, 7 Main Road in Colrain Center.

Presenter George Ashley is a retired Professor of History and Cultural Anthropology at Holyoke Community College and a resident of Hatfield.

Come for the meeting at 7 p.m. if you can, and stay for the program at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments, of course, and it’s free to the public.

Historical Notes 2019

The Spring 2019 edition of Historical Notes, the newsletter of the Colrain Historical Society, was mailed in late April. Click here for a PDF version. Click on the photos of the pages below to view a larger image.

First Potluck/Meeting/Program of the Season

The Colrain Historical Society will hold its first meeting of the 2019 season at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road, Colrain, on Thursday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m.

There will be a potluck supper at 6:00 p.m. before the meeting. Bring a main course, salad, veggie or dessert to share; cider will be available.

Following the meeting, at 7:30 p.m. a short “Show and Tell” program will be a narrative drawn from “Our Trip West,” the diary of the Donelson family (of two generations) auto trip west to California, Canada, and back in 1939, written by one of the passengers, Winnifred Lincoln, mother of Ruth Donelson. This seven-week odyssey in a new car holding two men and three women and their luggage during the Depression was “the trip of a lifetime.” The detailed diary tells as much about these five New Englanders as it does about United States at that time. It’s something of a social history.

 You can come for part or all of the evening, but we hope you’ll be there for the meeting to find out about our successful Painting Exhibit last weekend, what’s happening with the Pitt House property, and what to expect this coming summer.

Art Exhibition Brochure

Buckland-Shelburne Community Center, 53 Main Street, Shelburne Falls

Art Exhibit Brochure (top of page 1)

Click this link for a PDF copy of the Art Exhibit Brochure available to everyone who attends the show.

"Colrain on Canvas" 

Sat. and Sun., April 13 and 14, 2019

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Guided tours at 11 am and 2 pm

Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

53 Main Street

Shelburne Falls, MA

Suggested contribution is $10 for adults, children under 12 free. 

 For more information call (413) 624-8800.

Don't Miss It! "Colrain on Canvas" Painting Exhibition

"Colrain on Canvas" 

Sat. and Sun., April 13 and 14, 2019

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Guided tours at 11 am and 2 pm

Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

53 Main Street

Shelburne Falls, MA

Suggested contribution is $10 for adults, children under 12 free. 

 For more information call (413) 624-8800.

April Potluck, Meeting, and Show and Tell

Pitt House, 8 Main Road, Colrain

The Colrain Historical Society will hold its first meeting of the 2019 season at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road, Colrain, on Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m.

There will be a potluck supper at 6:00 p.m. before the meeting. Bring a main course, salad, veggie or dessert to share; cider will be available.

Following the meeting, at 7:30 p.m. a short “Show and Tell” program will be a narrative drawn from “Our Trip West,” the diary of the Donelson family (of two generations) auto trip west to California, Canada, and back in 1939, written by one of the passengers, Winnifred Lincoln, mother of Ruth Donelson. This seven-week odyssey in a new car holding two men and three women and their luggage during the Depression was “the trip of a lifetime.” The detailed diary tells as much about these five New Englanders as it does about United States at that time. It’s something of a social history.

 You can come for part or all of the evening, but we hope you’ll be there for the meeting to find out what’s happening with the Pitt House property, and what to expect this coming summer.

And don’t forget "Colrain On Canvas," the not-to-miss exhibition of 60 paintings of Colrain villages, farms, and landscapes by 40 artists from Colrain, nearby and visitors such as George Gardner Symons--- professionals and talented amateur painters.You’ll find it Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center in Shelburne Falls.

George Gardner Symons, one of the many artists whose works will be exhibited.
Photo credit: Wikipedia

If you haven’t volunteered to make cookies/bars for the art exhibition or to help out as a docent and you would like to, call (625-2003).

Scenes of Colrain Painting Exhibit

"Colrain on Canvas" 

Sat. and Sun., April 13 and 14, 2019

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Guided tours at 11 am and 2 pm

Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

53 Main Street

Shelburne Falls, MA

Suggested contribution is $10 for adults, children under 12 free. 

 For more information call (413) 624-8800.

Artists:

E.Russell Alexander
Martha Hollister Aschmann
Joseph Baker
Minnie Barnes
Bertha Bates

Joan Boryta
Nord Bowlen
John Braudis
Marion Bray
Althea Brigham

David Brewster
Lois Buell
Fred Burrington
Francis Coburn
Prentice Crosier

Raymond Ewing
Alice Gammell
Donald Greason
Pauline Howard
Carl Ennis

Hale Johnson
Antoinette Kendrick
James Lister
Marshall Looman
Steve Maniatty

Ellen Miller
M. H. Morse
Robert Olson
Pacifico Palumbo
Evelyn Coombs Pennegar

Myrtle Fish Purington
Fred Romberg
Laurie Seamans
JoAnne Sherburne
Eugenia W. Snow

W. Lester Stevens
George Gardner Symons
Ida Waslaske

Colrain on Canvas: A Pictorial Portrait

April 13 and 14, 2019

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

53 Main Street

Shelburne Falls, MA

The Colrain Historical Society will present “Colrain on Canvas: A Pictorial Portrait,” an exhibition of some 40 oils and watercolors by 24 artists from early 19th Century to the present at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center.

Regionalist artists such as W. Lester Stevens, Gardner Symons, Stephen Maniatty and A. Hale Johnson, along with talented local painters, all found inspiration in the landscape and villages of this picturesque town in the hills of western Massachusetts. These paintings, almost all from private collections, are rarely (if ever) seen.

W. Lester Stevens (1888-1969), Colrain Center, late 1940s, oil on canvas, 32” x 26”

A prolific painter, W. Lester Stevens founded the Rockport Art Association in 1921, and painted Vinalhaven, Lubec and Campobello Island, as well as Grand Manan Island. In 1944 he moved to Conway, MA, where he continued to explore his view of New England until almost the final day of his life.

The Shelburne-Buckland Community Center is located at 53 Main Street in Shelburne Falls. Exhibit hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Suggested contribution is $10 for adults, children under 12 free. For more information call (413) 624-8800.