Program: “Those Colrain Girls”

“Those Colrain Girls” will relate the hi-jinks of a variety of women who grew up in various villages of town during the 1950s and 1960s at the October meeting of the Colrain Historical Society on Thursday, October 12, at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road. 

The evening will begin with a potluck supper at 6 p.m., followed by a business meeting at 7 and the election of officers. The program will begin at 7:30.

Attendees are asked to bring an entree, vegetables or dessert to share, along with a table setting. There will be cider to drink. The program is free and open to the public. 

Four Colrain girls and their brother in 1953.

Industries and Occupations of Colrain by Katherine Holton Cram - 2023 Edition

The Colrain Historical Society is excited to offer a new booklet for sale. It is a reprint of “Industries and Occupations of Colrain” by Katherine Holton Cram, originally published in 1941, with 72 added photographs and maps and new text.

Cram’s original 30-page history appeared in the 1941 Annual Report of the Pioneer Valley Memorial Association and has not been printed since then. In a 1936 newspaper article Katherine Cram reports that she spent many years researching the genealogy and history of Colrain families, and said “You see, there is a real need for a history of Colrain, for the past of this town is scattered through many volumes.” 

The original 1941 text is courtesy of the PVMA Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts. The new edition is © 2023 by the Colrain Historical Society, Inc.

Click on the images below to enlarge. The front cover image (page 1) is at the top of this post.

Page 2

Page 3

Page 5

Page 34

Page 35

Back cover

Colrain and the Hilltowns on Canvas - Sept 23rd and 24th

 

The Colrain Historical Society will sponsor its fourth annual fundraising art show on Sept 23 and 24, 9 am - 4 pm,  at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, 53 Main Street in Shelburne Falls. Admission: $10.

There will be over 75 paintings by 48 different artists, all paintings not seen in previous years. Most are works on loan from private collections and homes in the hilltowns. The artists are contemporary or deceased, famous and not so famous, as well as self-taught. It is intentionally a non-curated show. The mixed media, skill of the artist, and their prospective is part of the magic.

Please join us again this year for this rare opportunity to see a slice of hill town art and history. Regionally famous painters will include George Gardner Symons, Steve Maniatty, Robert Strong Woodward, Edwin Lorenzo Elmer and A. Hale Johnson among others. A special feature will be paintings by Judith Russell, a longtime Shelburne Falls folk artist.

We will also have prints and reprints of some items in the Historical Society’s collection and reprints of old maps for sale as well.

The Historical Society will also have a new booklet for sale, based on the Industries and Occupations of Colrain done by Katherine Cram in the late 1930s.

Front cover

Back cover