Upper photo - boundstone in Laurelwood at the Hopedale-Mendon line. Lower photo - boundstone on Greene Street |
Wow!!! |
American chestnuts still grow in the Parklands, but they're spindly little things like the one in the picture at the right, sprouting up from old roots, and usually dying before they're big enough to bear nuts. The 1915 article above gives a hint at what the Parklands must have been like before the blight hit and the Park Commission hired Mr. Lapham to take down the dead and the dying. |
with a better one than American chestnut. It was a huge, majestic tree, with a very straight stem. The wood was nearly ideal. As George Hepting has written, "Not only was baby's crib likely made of chestnut, but chances were, so was the old man's coffin." One of its good qualities was high durability. The heartwood could be used in situations where decay was a hazard. The tree was common. It made up about 50% of most eastern hardwood forests. It grew fast, and would regenerate itself by root sprouts vigorously. The nuts were edible, not only by wildlife but also by humans. It was an important food source for all. "The farmer's hogs were fattened on chestnuts, and, to no small degree, his children were also". Chestnut was also prized as a landscape tree. From forestpathology.org |
It's looking a lot like fall. Highway Department vacuuming leaves - November 2. |
Want to try it? There's lots of help on YouTube. Watch a few of them before you run out and buy one. |
got a better picture this time. It was in Harvard Square. |
Hopedale in November 2015 Hopedale history ezine for November 1 - The Kentuckians, Part 1 Ezine for mid-November - The Kentuckians, Part 2 Recent Pictures Menu, 2015 HOME . |
I'd say make your reservations now, but the Brae-Burn has been replaced with a parking lot. |
Vetererans' breakfast at the senior center in the Community House - November 5. Click here for more. |
Above - The corner where the restaurant (the subject of the article to the left) and another little building stood years ago. Below - The restaurant and the house that's still there. Between them is a building that had various uses over the years. It was a cobbler shop for some years and a store at other times. The doll carriage parade was one of the night- before activities connected to the annual field day. |
All ready for the Milford Regional Medical Center melange at the Draper Gym and the Community House - November 7. |
Terrible picture, but it gives a rough idea of what it looked like at the Milford Hospital Melange. And yes, that is a very rare sight at the lower right. Alcohol at the Community House. |
On several pages in this site I've referred to the structure shown above as the Third Fireplace, but I suppose it's time for me to start being numerically correct. (or NC) When I was a kid there were three picnic areas on the east side of the Parklands, and were known as the first, second and third fireplaces. In 1957, another picnic area was added. It's between the first and what had been known as the second fireplace. I have been using the old names, but now that 58 years have passed since that was done, I'll start calling the one above, the Fourth Fireplace, and promote the former Second to Third. |
Hopedale Street - November 9 |
I just saw this Draper house postcard on ebay. The Draper stack on the left should help in figuring out where it is, but I don't know yet. The way the land rises up at the right is another clue.The section of Progress Street between Soward and Freedom, maybe??? Here's a link to it on ebay. |
Hello, Friends, The holidays are upon us and we have a couple of events in the works. On Saturday, December 5 there will be 2 decorative painting on glass workshops at the Hopedale Community House. Also our annual Student Art Show will also be held on Saturday, December 5th at the Community House. This art show is open to students ages 3-18 years from Hopedale and surrounding communities. Ribbons and prizes will be awarded. Details and registration forms can be found on the Hopedale website (right side). www.hopedale-ma.gov Both of these events are being held in conjunction with other happenings (such as Santa's arrival and tree lighting) in Hopedale that day. Be watching the news from Friends of Historic Hopedale and the Community House for more information. Hopedale Cultural Council- Community Organization Billi Manning |
Hopedale Winterfest 2015 Glass Painting Workshop Saturday December 5, 2015 Hopedale Community House 43 Hope Street, Hopedale, MA 01747 Session 1 – 1:00 pm Session 2 – 2:00 pm You will leave this one-hour workshop with your own hand painted vase or glass. The workshop will be run by Laura Welch, the art teacher at Hopedale Jr/Sr High School. The cost for this workshop is $10.00 per person. This includes a glass or vase, paint, a smock and bag to transport your glass piece. You must register in advance. Please sign up at the Community House or call Tara Chambers at the Community House (508) 473-0820 |
Okay, found it, thank's to DJ's search on Google Earth. Turns out that it's 2-4 Union Street. There are a few changes such as the railing in the middle and the removal of part of the porch, but windows, dormers, chimney, and Draper stack are all the same. The house on the left is different because the Water Cure House that used to be there was razed in 1968 and replaced with the one in the picture. |
Here another Hopedale item on ebay. There are dozens, but this and the Union Street house are ones that I hadn't seen before. Click here for more on Hopedale Coal & Ice. |
It's the past few years it hasn't been unusual to see turkey's in Hopedale, but my son, DJ, took this picture in Harvard Square on November 18. |
Hopedale Pond - November 16. It was a bit breezy, but the temperature was 60. |
Thanks for this ad from the good old days, DJ. |
The old dump. Read about it in the Milford News article, Rockwell to Give Land fto Hopedale. |
The G&U Railroad yard in North Grafton, and the LNG tanks. |
Got something you'd like to give away? Looking for something someone else might be willing to give to you? Try the Freecycle site. Here's a link to the Milford area page. For those of you from other locations, here's a link to the Freecycle homepage. |
Click here to see another piece of Waldo's work in Hopedale. |
Click here for more on Buy Nothing Day. |
Click here to see more World War II posters. |
There was a skim of ice on parts of Hopedale Pond on Thanksgiving, November 26. |
They're heeere!. Winter moths. Click here for the site the suggestions below comes from. |
Photo removed because of objections of postcard purchaser. |