Tavern Table Raffle

Among the many documents and objects in the Colrain Historical Society’s collection which explain our local history is an 18th century Connecticut River Valley type tavern table with turned legs separated by box stretchers. Its plain skirt has a center drawer and the original top with “bread board” ends has never been turned --unusual to find in a table of its age. A replica of this table is being newly created by well-known furniture maker, Kenneth Noyes of Colrain. The table top of Noyes’ table is made from a single piece of old growth pine.

The original 18th century tavern table in the collection of the Colrain Historical Society.

Raffle Tickets

Raffle tickets for the replica table are priced $10.00 each or three for $25.00. They are available at Boswell's Books and Sawyer’s News on Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls. Tickets will also be available during the Crafts of Colrain Tour, November 10 and 11, at Pine Hill Orchards and at Ken Noyes’ workshop on Jacksonville Road. They can also be bought on Bridge Street at Moonlight Magic in Shelburne Falls on Friday, November 23, 4 pm - 9 pm. The winning ticket will be drawn at the close of Moonlight Magic.

Background of Colrain's Historic Tavern Table

Taverns, simple or elaborate, dotted early America in the days before trains and motorcars. They tended to be located close enough to each other on the network of dirt roads where travelers, whether by horses, oxen, or by foot could find rest and refreshment. They also served as gathering places for a community’s locals. The men and women who managed these establishments required licenses for selling liquor and providing services.

In Colrain, one such tavern was the Fox and Goose on Call Road, run by Thomas Fox. His wife, Patience Cannon, who was previously a widow on Catamount Hill, joined him in this enterprise upon their marriage in 1791.

Furniture used in taverns needed to be suitable for the constant use of serving meals, playing cards and activities common in taverns, and a style of table evolved with a broad top referred to as a “tavern table”. When the top of a tavern table became worn and scarred from use it would be turned over and the fresh underside became the new table top.

Ikeys Crossing Benefit Concert

Ikeys Crossing, a duo composed of Colrain native Martha Hollister Aschmann and her husband Jamie, will offer a rollicking evening of Irish Music to benefit the Colrain Historical Society Saturday, October 20, at 7 p.m. at the Community Center in Shelburne Falls. Sponsoring the event will be Colrain’s Stoneman Brewery, West County Cider and Catamount Country Store, whose beverages will be available. Emcee for the event will be the irrepressible Kevin Hollister, Martha’s brother.

After retiring from farming in upstate New York in 2011, the Aschmanns were able to devote more time to music and art, founding Ikeys Crossing in 2015. James had been performing for some 30 years with a colleague around the North Country, most prominently at the Irish Fest in Watertown, NY. The son of a classically trained pianist and a professional singer in Broadway shows, he comes naturally to the musical stage. Martha grew up in a similarly musical family. Her father played piano and organ, and her parents got her first guitar with Green Stamps. “We get great joy making music together and feel the momentum building,” she says.

For information about the event call 624-8800.

Tickets are available at:

• Hager's Farm Market
• Catamount Country Store
• Boswell's Books
• Nancy Dole Books & Ephemera

Historical Marker to Honor William Apess

On Saturday October 13, 2018 at 11:00am an Historical Marker will be unveiled on the lawn of the Griswold Memorial Library in Colrain commemorating the birth of William Apess, Pequot author, activist and Methodist minister born in Colrain in 1798. The event is open to the public and all are welcome to come learn about Apess’ life and contributions.

William Apess is an important American literary/historical figure--the first Native of North America to write and publish his own book-length memoir, the 1829 A Son of the Forest, alongside four other major works narrating his experiences as a tireless advocate for Native rights. Apess first launched his ministry in Colrain in the 1820’s and by the 1830’s was packing churches, meeting houses, and auditoriums throughout the Northeast as people flocked to see the fiery “Indian Preacher.”

Native Scholars Lisa Brooks (Amherst College) and Margaret Bruchac (University of Pennsylvania) will be on hand to present a brief overview of Apess’ life and significance, as well as Apess biographer Drew Lopenzina (Old Dominion University), author of the 2017 Through an Indian’s Looking-Glass. There will be an opening ceremony and guest speakers, followed by the unveiling of the marker itself. Placing an Historical Marker to honor Apess’ life and contributions is a small but significant step towards locating Native presence on our local landscapes, in a manner respectful of the complexity and purpose of those indigenous lives that history, up until this point, has mostly relegated to its shadows.

The event begins at 11:00 on the lawn of the Griswold Memorial Library, Rt 112 Colrain. Refreshments will be available along with books and commemorative t-shirts for sale.

See the article in the Greenfield Recorder for more information.
https://www.recorder.com/Colrain-to-celebrate-historic-resident-20607946
Celebrating a native son — Pequot, soldier, writer 
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
Staff Writer
Monday, October 08, 2018
COLRAIN — Born in Colrain in 1798, William Apess was a Pequot Indian, an American soldier in the War of 1812, a Methodist minister and the first Native American to publish a book-length narrative about his life. He also fought for tribal rights and was jailed for an act of civil disobedience, on behalf of the Mashpee Wampanoags.

Potluck and Show & Tell

The Colrain Historical Society will hold its last meeting of 2018 following a potluck supper at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road, Thursday, October 11, at 7 p.m. This important meeting will include an update on the Pitt House property and information on our upcoming fundraising concert October 20.

Following the meeting and annual election of officers, the usual October Show-and-Tell will be a little different. Since we are still unable to access the collection until we have legal ownership of the Pitt House, we cannot show and discuss items from the collection. So we’re asking everyone to bring an item from Colrain’s past in your possession to identify — or to ask the audience to identify.

An antique toy truck rests on an antique loom in the attic of an antique farmhouse high atop the hills of Colrain.
Photo credit j.h.p.

For the potluck at 6 p.m. members and guests are asked to bring a main course, salad or dessert to share, along with place setting and beverage, if you like. Cider will be provided. The public is welcome. For information call Belden at 624-3453.