Throwback Thursday - Hoosac Tunnel

Paul and I have been trying to take a foliage ride this Fall, with the SUN OUT.  It has yet to happen.  Whenever we have the time, it is either cloudy and/or raining.  Our plan today was to go to the Catskills.  The day started out cloudy, with 90% chance of rain later on in the day.  So, instead of taking such a long trip, we decided to take a short ride because, even with the clouds out, the trees were still pretty. 

We took a ride through Savoy Mountain State Forest, and we ended up in the vicinity of the Hoosac Tunnel.  The tunnel is almost five miles long.  It was started in 1851 and finished in 1874.

In 1993 Paul was really into researching the first attempt to drill a hole through the mountain for the Hoosac Tunnel.  This is a picture of what remains of a hole that they tried to make using a 24 foot diameter boring machine which got stuck and was unsuccessful.  Eventually they created the tunnel using nitroglycerine and pneumatic drills.

We had a mission to find the east end, the west end, the central shaft, and the west shaft of the tunnel.  The shafts were used during construction, and the central shaft is still used for ventilation of the tunnel.  We spent many Saturdays exploring all around the area.  The hardest one to find was the west shaft, as it was basically just a hole in the ground in the woods.

Today we found the central shaft again, and also the east end.  It was amazing to me that we had a hard time finding them, when we had spent so much time around them.  But....it was 19 years ago, and we are getting older, ha ha!  We ran out of time to find the other two.  That's for another ride!

Pictures from 1993


Central Shaft

East Portal

West Shaft

West Shaft with fence around it

West Portal

9/11 - We will remember

9/11/01 is a day that we will always remember. We will remember where we were and what we were doing when the World Trade Center was hit.

I remember the day; it was a clear, crisp, sunny September day, much like today. I was at work at Noble Hospital and I clearly remember one of my co-workers from another department coming into my office and saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. I remember the days, weeks, and months after, trying to sort out what had happened that day.

As I am writing this, I am listening to the TV and the victims' relatives are reading the names of those who died that day.

It is so emotional, even 11 years later.

Higgins in Blandford

Back in July 2003 Paul and I started working on Genealogy. I really wanted to find out when and where both sides of Paul's and my family came to America.

Paul's family is relatively easy. His father's people came from Germany, in fact, both of his father's parents were born in Germany. His mother's people came from England. Paul's Uncle George has been doing a lot of family Genealogy and has gone all the way back to England on Paul's mother's mother's side. As far as I know, Uncle George has not gone all the way back to England on Paul's mother's father's side, but the general consensus is that they did. Get all that?

Anyhow, back in 2003 we decided to concentrate on my family.

We have found out that:

- On my father's father's side: My grandfather's father's family came to America from England in 1638 and first settled in Malden, MA. My grandfather's mother's parents were born in Germany.

- On my father's mother's side: They came from Chateaugay, Quebec, Canada near the St. Lawrence River in the mid 1800's and settled in Malone, NY.

- On my mother's mother's side: They came from Ireland in 1767 and first settled in South Carolina.

In the last couple of weeks, starting on Memorial Day, we have been getting involved in my mother's father's family. We found out that they came from England in 1632 and first settled in Plymouth, MA.

It has been so much fun finding all of this out and then following how they eventually ended up living in this area. We have Family Tree Maker on our computer and have added all of our information there.

Today we went to the Blandford Historical Society and the Blandford Public Library and they gave me so much information.

One of the neat stories that I found out is that my great-great grandfather, William C. Higgins, (the picture of his grave is on my Memorial Day post), served in the Civil War and on his return moved from Worthington, MA to Blandford, MA and started a basket factory.

This is a picture that my mother gave me years ago of his basket factory.



Through the help of the historical society and the library we were able to find the address of the old basket factory. It has been remodeled into a private home. We left a picture of the old factory for the new owners (they were not home at the time) and they called us back to thank us. They knew their home had been a basket factory at one time but had never seen a picture of it. The man said that when he and his son were building a patio a few years ago they actually found remnants of basket making in the ground.

This is what it looks like now.



The historical society also told us there was a relative in Chesterfield who still operated a basket shop. We located it, but to my dismay, it was closed up. We found out that this had been the basket shop of Benjamin C. Higgins, and his son-in-law had been making baskets there since 1974. He is no longer able to do it and the shop is closed.

This is a picture of The Basket Shop.




I just love doing this. I like all the facts, but I like the stories the most. I am always trying to find out new stories. I guess that is why I like blogging and scrapbooking so much. Maybe some day my "descendants" will be interested in the stories too.

Big milk bottle

Today I was off from work because I have to work Saturday, and we decided to take a ride to Greenfield. I was looking for something up there and I wanted to take some pictures and play with new camera apps on my iPad. Paul decided to go a different way and all of a sudden...there it was, the big milk bottle.



A little history.... This milk bottle used to be on Rt 5. I remember it years ago when going to Greenfield with my grandfather. In fact, I'm sure I remember a picture of my father sitting on top of this (it is 16 feet tall, I can't imagine how he got up there). Anyhow, in recent years, I realized that this bottle wasn't there anymore. I always wondered if it disintegrated so badly that they just demolished it, or if they moved it somewhere. It was always a mystery.

**Update - Saturday, August 27, 2011

When we got home from our ride last Tuesday, I did some research on the Internet on the big milk bottle and found out that it was made in the late 1920s for the Quonquont Dairy Farm's dairy bar which was located on Rt 5, a few miles from the Quonquont Dairy Farm. They used to sell ice cream out of it (the back of it has a dutch door).



In 1951 it was moved across the street (which is where I was used to seeing it), and then in 1995 it was moved in front of the building which houses the Whately Historical Society. We found out that they still use it once or twice a year to give out ice cream.




So, we took another trip up there today to check out the Quonquont Farm. It is now an orchard that sells apples and peaches; you can pick your own or buy them at their farmstand. The lady working there knew about the big milk bottle. This farm used to be one of three dairy farms in town and they delivered milk all the way from West Springfield to Greenfield. We joked about the fact that the bottle has been moved around a lot. Who knows, maybe some day it will end up at the Quonquont Farm.

Space Shuttle Atlantis landing

Today marked the completion of the Space Shuttle Program with the final mission and landing of the shuttle Atlantis. History in the making and I wanted to document it.

In other news............

Mason and Marley came to visit Grandma tonight. They haven't seen each other in over two weeks because of vacations. I think they missed each other.

Bickford's

Paul is finally feeling better and tonight he had a hankering for an apple pancake at Bickford's. Bickford's is in a different location now. It used to be on Riverdale St. in West Springfield, but now it is in the old Abdow's Big Boy restaurant in Westfield. We actually go way back with both restaurants. Quite a few years ago now, before Kris and Toby moved to Ohio, we used to meet every Tuesday night at Bickford's on Riverdale St. They had buy one pancake meal, get one free. Sometimes Paul's parents would meet us there too. Mark used to come when he was around (I think he was still in college). We also used to take the kids there when they were young. Paul ALWAYS, ONLY got the big apple. He has never had anything different at Bickford's. (He's weird like that, he has only ever had tacos at Taco Bell)

As far as Abdow's goes, we used to go to the one on Riverdale St. (that is now torn down) when the kids were young, probably elementary age. Sometimes we got the soup and salad bar (it was kind of a new phenomenon then, a salad bar) and sometimes we got a Big Boy hamburger. They also had the best strawberry pie. It was always a treat to go to either place. How weird that Bickford's is now in the Abdow's building in Westfield. Actually, the new Bickford's looks a lot like the old Abdow's. There is a long cushioned seat along one side of the building. I can remember when it was so crowded and people used to sit there until their number was called (tonight there were hardly any people there). A couple of things have changed. They switched the Men's Room and the Women's Room. It seemed funny going into the old Men's Room. Also, the glass cases at the front of the restaurant that used to hold all of the Abdow's pies - cream pies and strawberry pies, just holds some decorations. We hadn't been there in a long time and tonight it brought back a lot of good memories. Just thought I'd share.

Just a little addition, I took these pictures on my way to work this morning. The sun was shining through the clouds and it just looked pretty. I guess taking a picture every day last year is still with me!

Lido's Restaurant

Tonight we went to Lido's for dinner. It has to be our favorite restaurant. We started going there on one of our first dates back in the 1960's and have been going there ever since. I love the big mural they have there. Someone painted it for them with caricatures of the owner, waitresses, people at the bar, etc. They also have an old charcoal drawing of Lido's through the years, with the first one in a house in 1951. Paul asked one of the owners (son of the original owner) where that house was and he said it was the old Silvano's restaurant up the street. He said his father started out there and then moved to where the restaurant is now. He also said that Silvano's is now closed because the building is falling apart. He said that the building has a lot of history; it used to be a speakeasy during prohibition.

So...this is probably more information than you care to know, but if you want more info on Lido's go here.

These pictures are of Silvano's restaurant where Lido's began.