Historical Notes 2017

The Spring 2017 edition of Historical Notes, the newsletter of the Colrain Historical Society, was mailed in late March. Click here for a PDF version. Click on the photos below to view a larger image.

December 3 - Auction and Dinner

Come join us for the Home for the Holidays fundraising auction and dinner for Colrain's Griswold Memorial Library and Historical Society this Saturday, Dec 3 at the Colrain Community Church!

Start with the pork roast dinner by Sharon Call (reserve tickets at 624-8818) and the silent auction from 5-7 pm, then stay for the live auction starting at 7 pm.

With over 100 items, there's something for everyone -- local services, hand-crafted items from local artisans, antiques and collectibles, home baked goodies, and lots more! It promises to be a lively evening with auctioneer Doug Wilkins. Spread the word, and bring a friend. Thanks!

[UPDATE 4/3/2017] From the Spring 2017 Newsletter:

Home for the Holidays Update

Metal sculpture by
John Sendelbach
auctioned at
Home for the Holidays

It was a festive evening in early December and the Community Church was redolent with the aroma of roast pork and apple crisp. which nearly 90 diners enjoyed, casting their bids between courses for the 100-odd items on the tables of silent auction choices.

Co-sponsored by the Historical Society and Friends of the Griswold Memorial Library, the bi-annual benefit dinner and auction raised $1,994 for each. Doug Wilkins ably presided over the live auction of some 30 artifacts and services.

We are grateful to the 70 individuals and businesses who donated 134 items and services as well as cash donations to defray expenses. As always, we are especially grateful to Sharon Call, who single-handedly worked her magic in the kitchen.

Home for the Holidays Fundraising Dinner and Auction

Auction item: creative re-use of cast-offs which find new life as a stylish table lamp. One of a kind by Kevin French of Colrain.

The Colrain Historical Society joins the Friends of the Griswold Memorial Library in this bi-annual benefit dinner and auction.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Pork Dinner

7:00 p.m.: Auction

Colrain Community Church, 306 Main Road, Colrain

Sharon Call will preside over the kitchen, producing her delectable pork dinner, with squash, mashed potatoes, apple crisp and trimmings. Reservations for the dinner, which costs $12, can be made until December 1 by calling Joan McQuade at 413-624-3453.

During dinner, items for both silent and main auction may be viewed, and bids may be cast for silent auction items. Auctioneer Doug Wilkins will preside over the floor auction, beginning at 7 p.m.

Donations to both auctions are being sought now: antiques in good condition,vintage clothing, crafts by local artisans, paintings by local artists, goods and services from local providers. If you find something in the attic someone might treasure, contact Belden Merims, belden37@verizon.net, 624-3453, or Ellen Weeks, weeks@umass.edu, 624-5137. No electronics or plastic, please.

Come for the food, for the fun and surprises. And come to support these important institutions in our community.

Auction item: one of a kind piece made from found objects by John Sendelbach, Metal and Stone Arts in Shelburne Falls.

Auction item: antique inkwell

 Also to be auctioned are:
   Paintings and prints
   Crafted items by local artisans, including items by some of the Crafts of Colrain artists
   Catered dinner party for four by Tim Slowinski
   Certificates for local services
   Cherished antiques and collectibles
   Ever popular home-baked goods (including Robin Hartnett's famous pecan rolls)
   Other tasty edible, such as honey, maple syrup, and hard cider
   And lots more too numerous to mention!

HEADS UP… …

for the return of the bi-annual holiday dinner and Home for the Holidays Auction, which we will co-sponsor as a benefit for CHS and the Griswold Memorial Library on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at the Colrain Community Church.

We’re looking for donated items for the auction and for the silent auction: Grandma’s antique rocker, the Bennington crock in your attic, a flat of sticky buns, a delivered cord of dry wood, and of course that Rembrandt you don’t know what to do with.

If you’ve got something. or an idea, call Ellen Weeks at 624-5137 or email her at eweeks@umext.umass.edu or call Joan McQuade at 624-8818.

The raven statue pictured above was donated to the 2013 HFTH Auction by JH Sherburne's Serious Whimzy Gallery.

Trolley bus sightings in Colrain on October 15

The trolley bus tour was seen Saturday afternoon at two sites in Colrain that were stops on the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway route in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Trolley bus tour departing the former site of the Hillside Park, a popular recreation destination in Shattucksville for riders of the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway. The park fell into disuse after the trolley stopped running in 1927, then was used as a gravel pit, then a town landfill, and currently as the town transfer station for trash and recyclables.

Description of Hillside Park in Lois Patrie's book, "A History of Colrain, Mass.," page 166. Click on the image to enlarge for easier reading.

Trolley bus tour arriving at a parking lot opposite the site of the former Griswold Manufacturing Co. in Griswoldville, currently Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. Griswold Manufacturing was one of the largest employers in the area. Raw materials and finished products were transported to and from the railway station in Shelburne Falls, and many workers commuted from Shelburne Falls via the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway.