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

Program: Showing of Documentary Film “Root Hog or Die”

“Root Hog or Die” DVD cover image

The Colrain Historical Society will show the 1973 documentary film “Root Hog or Die,” which portrays the vanishing way of life of dairy farmers in Western Massachusetts and southern Vermont, on Thursday, September 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House at 8 Main Road, Colrain. 

Digitally remastered by Bernardston filmmaker Rawn Fulton, his film visits “an array of elders, who reflect on farming’s deep natural patterns, share their family histories and personal memories… [manifesting] the quiet pride they take in their lives as farmers.” Fulton will show the film and stay for a question and answer period. 

The program will follow a meeting at 7 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. 

More information about the film, and a short preview may be seen here: https://store.der.org/root-hog-or-die-p485.aspx

Read this 2012 Greenfield Recorder article by Richie Davis:

http://www.der.org/resources/articles/root-hog-greenfield-recorder.pdf

Excerpt about Colrain’s Fred Call from the Ritchie Davis article.

The DVD is available at Colrain’s Griswold Memorial Library and other local public libraries.

https://bark.cwmars.org/eg/opac/record/2787150

Back cover of the DVD

Four screenshots from the film showing Fred Call at his gas station in Colrain Center.

Save the Dates for the Colrain and Hill Towns on Canvas Art Show

SEPTEMBER 23, 24, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Colrain and Hill Towns on Canvas IV

at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

Back of the 2023 Colrain Historical Society Calendar showing some of the paintings from the 2022 Art Show.

More paintings of Colrain and Hill Town scenes, and antique maps and art for sale at this benefit exhibition.