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.

2 Events - Trolley Talk and Bus Tour

Thurs. Oct. 13 – Talk – The Story of the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway

Opening in 1896 to carry passengers and freight, the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway changed lives and businesses in the two towns until the coming of the automobile bankrupted the line in 1927. Shirley Pelletier will tell the story at the next meeting of the Colrain Historical Society on Thursday, October 13.

Image credit: Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum screenshot.

Note the special location! The event will be held at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum, 14 Depot Street in Shelburne Falls(*). The program begins at 7:30 p.m., following the annual business meeting at 7:00. From 6:30 to 7:30 attendees can ride the renovated No. 10 trolley. The program is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

(*) The SFTM has a GPS warning on their website and provides a link to correct directions. See http://www.sftm.org/contacts.shtml


Sat. Oct. 15 – Trolley Bus Tour – Ride along the Route of the SF&C

The Colrain Historical Society will take passengers on a trolley bus ride along the route of the former Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway on Saturday, October 15, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The ride will begin at the Trolley Museum in Shelburne Falls, following the old line to Colrain and back, with commentary describing what riders would have seen 120 years ago.

Map credit: Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum

Tickets to ride cost $10, which includes ice cream, recalling the time when Shelburne Falls residents took the trolley up to “Coleraine City” to enjoy ice cream at the Colrain Inn. There are seats for only 26, so early registration is advised. Call Belden Merims at 624-3453 to reserve seats. She must have your name, phone number and check or cash, no credit cards, no later than October 10.

Colrain, 1896: A Snapshot

“Colrain, 1896: A Snapshot” will be the topic of the next Colrain Historical Society program Thursday, September 8. With old photos, anecdotes and narrative, Belden Merims will describe life in the town before the coming of the Colrain-Shelburne Falls trolley that year. This program continues the series devoted to transportation in Colrain, from the earliest paths and roads to the trolley and how it changed Colrain.

Image source: A History of Colrain, Mass. by Lois McClellan Patrie. Illustration by Ursula Russell.

The event will be held in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House at 8 Main Road in Colrain. The program begins at 7:30 p.m., following a business meeting at 7:00. It’s free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information call Belden at 624-3453.