PFF - American Patriot postcard

Early postcard of the Statue of Capt. Parker, Lexington Mass.  Mid April is the anniversary of "the shot heard around the world," as some people refer to it.  The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War, fought on April 19, 1775.  John Parker captained the Lexington militia  on that day.  There is no known likeness of him however, so a bit of artistic license is involved in this statue.

I'm joining Beth for Postcard Friendship Friday.
Remember: My meme Sunday Stamps opens again late Saturday night (USA time). Theme: Poets and Poetry.  You must post by midnight Sunday, USA time.

Viridian

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Postcard Friendship Friday: A church in Springfield MA

Trinity M.E. Church, Springfield Mass.  A lovely linen postcard, used.
Now known as Trinity United Methodist Church.  Looking at their website, a congregation very active in their community.

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!




I am also linking to Gemma's Weekend Mailbox meme.



Viridian, still very busy AND suffering from a major cold.

Postcard Friendship Friday: Good Harbor Beach

Good Harbor Beach and Thatchers Lights, Gloucester, Mass.

I picked this card today because it's warm enough here (and in November!) to actually think about going to the beach.  And I like the different colors in the sky in this postcard.  I am pretty busy this week so I don't have time to add much - except that these folks look a tad overdressed for the beach!

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!

I am also linking to Gemma's Weekend Mailbox meme.

viridian

happy PFF: General view of Athol Mass.

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!


Athol Massachusetts is located in the north-central part of the state, on the Millers river.
The area was first settled in the early 1700's.  It was named by an early settler who thought the hills reminded him of his  ancestral home of Blair Atholl, Scotland.  (If one can believe Wikipedia).

Mills of all sort were set up along the river. According to Wikipedia, "The Athol Machine Company was established in 1868 in order to manufacture a chopping machine invented by Laroy S. Starrett. In 1881, Mr. Starrett established the L. S. Starrett Company, known for making quality precision tools. The company remains the town’s largest employer to this day, and thus does Athol live up to the nickname “Tool Town.”

The town website is http://www.athol-ma.gov/.  Athol has had some hard times but seems to be rebounding.  Population has increased some, and they were designated a green community. In the late summer and fall there is a series of concerts called "Tool Town Live."

PFF: Brockton, MA

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!

These two postcards are vintage views of Brockton Massachusetts.  I previously showed another postcard of Brockton, the Snow Memorial Fountain.

These are typical and average views of a Northeast city.  I doubt such postcards would be made today however.  Is an arch a tourist attraction?  It's not like the Snow Memorial Fountain.

viridian

Postcard Friendship Friday: A fountain

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!


This is a postcard of the Snow Memorial Fountain in Brockton Massachusetts.  Clearly an old postcard, and clearly a public fountain.  It is on the National Register of Historic places and even has a web page!  According to the web page:

"The clock which occupies a triangular island at North & East Main streets  in Winthrop Square, was given to the city in 1902 by shoe manufacturer & philanthropist George G. Snow. Mr. Snow built the clock and the granite fountain base so that no one in Brockton would go thirsty. It has a horse trough, a bubbler & at the left & right feet of the clock there are little brass effigies of a dog & a cat, with a bowl at foot level for each.  The clock was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978."

How wonderful that animals were considered in the building of this fountain.
Happy Postcard Friendship Friday!

Viridian

Happy PFF: A pleasant drive

"As the trail winds along Cold River near Charlemont, Mohawk Trail, Mass."

The Mohawk Trail is also known as Route 2, and winds through northern Massachusetts.  It is a beautiful drive in foliage time, late September and October.

Charlemont is currently a town of 1300 citizens.  It was settled in the 1750's, during the Seven Year's War.

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!

Happy Postcard Friendship Friday!

Viridian

Weekend mailbox

"For Students and Children"

the post office in Chesterfield Massachusetts.

Gemma at Greyscale Territory is the hostess of Weekend Mailbox, join in by posting anything connected with mail.

Viridian

Happy PFF: Night view

Linen postcard, of the Municipal Group, Springfield Mass.  Unused.

Night scenes are pretty cool, and seem to be rare.

This group of building was opened in 1913.  From Wikipedia: "The Municipal Group of Springfield, Massachusetts is a collection of three prominent municipal buildings in the city's downtown. Consisting of a concert hall, City Hall, and a 300-foot (91 m) clocktower, the Group is a center of government and culture in the city. ... Over the years, the Municipal Group came to represent the city itself as its most identifiable landmark. ...

Over time, as the city's fortunes deteriorated, so did the Municipal Group. Their age made them notoriously expensive to heat and cool. However, City Hall and especially the Campanile languished. Sporadic renovations barely would keep City Hall operable. The aging electrical system in the clocktower silenced the bells and structural instability closed it off. The time on each of the clock's faces was rarely correct. Falling debris required officials to constantly widen the area off-limits to passers-by."

from this website: " In 2007, the cost to properly repair the exterior limestone shaft was estimated at $5.7 million dollars. Funds to begin this important and historical project are currently not available. So, in May, 2008, the City installed steel netting on the Campanile as an additional safety measure. The netting was installed at three of the four corners, in the areas that contain cracks in the limestone."

And there seems to be no update to this information.  Repairing the Campanile is still a future project.  Given the economy lately, I bet this project has been put off indefinitely.

A sad story of a prominent landmark.

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!



Viridian

Postcard Friendship Friday: Annisquam, Mass.

Specifically, The Bridge at Annisquam.

Annisquam is a small town on the North shore of Massachusetts (meaning north of Boston). On the map below, see the position of the little house.

Not much has changed since the time of this linen postcard.  There is much less fishing, and much more summer tourism.  As this town was a backwater, many of its older buildings have survived.

The other place of note is the Annisquam lighthouse.

According to this Coast guard webpage,

"* 1801: Annisquam is the oldest of four lighthouses to guard Gloucester peninsula. The keeper’s house, built in 1801 continues to house Coast Guard families. Rudyard Kipling lived there while writing "Captain’s Courageous" – a great literary tribute to American sailors.

* 1974: The 4th order Fresnel lens and foghorn were automated. "


I like this linen postcard because it reminds me of lazy days at the beach in Massachusetts.  Warm sun, the smell of flowers, but always a cool breeze from the ocean.

Viridian

Happy PFF: Ocean House, Swampscott, MA

Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!

This card of the Ocean House, Swampscott, MA was sent June 23, 1949 to Mrs. A.W. Barlett of Milford NH.  It functions in the way an email or a tweet on Twitter would today.

"Dear Folks,
Will see you Sat. Pm. for the wedding.  Everyone O.K.  Love, Grace."

Swampscott is a town in Massachusetts, north of Boston. This website on town history says: "The hotel and boarding house business flourished to serve the influx of summer visitors with the Ocean House, the Hotel Preston, the Lincoln House Hotel, the Hotel Bellevue and the New Ocean House Hotel. Notable summer guests, including President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, and Woolworth heiress Ethel Donahue frequented our lavish accommodations.

None of the large hotels remain standing today, most having been destroyed by fire or savage coastal storms, and most of the large estates have been subdivided into single family homes."

The Ocean House was lost in a huge fire in 1969.

I also found out that a similar card is available from CardCow, if you are interested.

Today Beth is celebrating the all-American hot dog and baseball.  Also in summer Americans like to go to the beach.  Ocean House represents the way this used to be done.  Happy Postcard Friendship Friday!

Viridian

Happy PFF: Plymouth Rock

We are all linking in at Beth's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

An older postcard (around 1900?) showing people viewing Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA, under its ornate temple, as befits an American icon. This is the old structure. A newer, bigger one was built in 1920 (according to Wikipedia).

I have visited here myself - it is fenced off so you can't climb all over it, or chip off a piece (as they used to do!). It is still a major tourist attraction, and I am sure there are modern postcards of the rock.

Viridian61

Postcard Friendship Friday - MA post office

With our lovely hostess Marie, at Vintage Postcards.

I was traveling last week and was sure to stop at this brightly painted building, that I had noticed on a previous trip to western Massachusetts.

This is the West Chesterfield MA (Massachusetts) post office at 627 Main Road (also know as State Route 143), 01084-9998. "For students and children?" Is it a museum? No it is an honest-to-goodness US Post Office. I checked on line.

Too chicken to go in (and running later for meeting a friend for lunch!) The population of West Chesterfield is 147 people.

This post office should NOT be confused with the Chesterfield MA post office, less than 2 miles away on route 143, with the zip code of 01012-9998.

Chesterfield MA has a population of 523 people.

Both these towns (I use the word loosely) reached their peak of population over 100 years ago, double (or more) what it is now. West Chesterfield is more of a hamlet. Chesterfield has two general stores, a town meeting hall, the library, a bed-and-breakfast, several churches, the ambulance/fire station garage (volunteer of course), and maybe other businesses that are not on the main road. It was founded in 1752, has few to no modern houses, no gift stores or boutiques. In other words, an untouched New England town.

Chesterfield town website.

Hampshire county website.

Viridian

P.S. When they called this place New England, they meant it! Other counties in Massachusetts are Berkshire, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bristol, and Plymouth.

Massachusetts geology

Standard sized postcard. Promotional giveaway for the State Survey. A view of bedrock geology - what is under the surface dirt and gravel. Lots of metamorphic (changed by heat and pressure) rocks in MA! Even the blue and green areas are metamorphic rocks. The bright reds are granite or granite-like rocks. Cape Cod and the islands are in purple. That means they are made of unconsolidated glacial sediments. Given 20 000+ years, they will probably wash away.

I am away for about 8 days so this will be it until I come back. Enjoy.

viridian

Postcard scavenger hunt

Sent to Mr. Atwood, of Arlington MA, postmarked June 26, 1945.

"Dear Wexie, how would you like to catch all the fish in the picture on the other side? You know of course, that the famous fish company here is the Gorton Co. I suppose us Gortons are all distantly related. What are you doing now that school is over? Oceans of love, Grammy A."

I am participating in Postcardy's Scavenger Hunt #3. I had to search to find a fishy card!

Viridian61