One More Time

I have been down this road before, but like any good traveler, I am willing to go there again with hopes of seeing something I may have missed before.

I have oodles of old Sturbridge stuff busting out of boxes here at this old house that needs to be in the hands of those that are willing to archive it for the future.  I have had the previous two town administrators stop by the house to check out the maps, and documents with the intention of taking them off my hands for the benefit of preserving town history.

Didn't happen.

Don't know why, but maybe it has something to do with the town  not having a place to display the empherma.  In the meantime, I rescued it from the landfill, the internet, and a lot was given to me with the purpose of preserving it.  No sense in preserving something if it can't be seen by the public.

I've had much of the collection for fifteen years.  I'm still waiting on the town to step up, but I can't wait for ever.

Currently, I am packing up a lot of accumulated stuff, and I came across the town reports, and assessors reports for the Town of Sturbridge from 1902 through 1912 pictured below.

They need to find a home.

If you are a school, or a library, a historian, or a student just interested in local old stuff, please contact me, and I will be happy to put these in you hands.  I have some doubles, and like baseball cards, that means there are a lot to go around.

As far as the other historic documents go, well, I don't know.  I contacted the curator at Old Sturbridge Village years ago, but there was little interest. The town is not interested, and the Historic Commision has passed as well.

After fifteen years of keeping the documents safe, and no interest to take over the duty, it may be time to use Ebay to get them into the hands of collectors.

Can't say they never came home again.  They just weren't wanted.

Where The Heck Have I Been? Glad You Asked

Hello. It's me.

Sorry, I've been distracted by life for the past six months.  Distracted in good ways, enough to forgo sitting in front of the Macbook, and typing.

Another reason I have been a bit scarce is that when I first started writing this blog in 2007 I had a specific purpose that was enhanced by a lot of negativity here in town.  A major source of negativity left the stage a couple of years ago.  I felt like taking a hands on my hips stance, and proclaiming , "My work here is done", but I hung on just in case there was a reincarnation, or a copycat on the horizon.

There wasn't.

I may be wrong, and I may be totally ignorant of the current pulse here in town, but I believe we are in a better place, a more positive, happy place, than we were in just a few short years ago.  No, we don't have a train station in East Brookfield, or a faster east - west route through town, an entertainment venue, a sports complex, or a fancy visitors center on I-84, but there are those that just don't care, and are moving on.  The folks at the Publick House are blowing me away.  The landscaping, that became very intense a few years ago, signaled the "All's well" on the common.  The tented function venue behind the inn, the granite curbs, and paved driveway, and now the wonderful renovation, and addition to the house beside the inn all show that no matter what the Publick House is invested, committed, and happy to still be here after 200 plus years.

They are reaping the harvest from the seeds they have sewn and cultivated over the past few years.  Sorry about that lame gardening analogy, but it fits.

I know, there may still be some gross negativity in town, but either it is petty, or I am totally oblivious, but I am happy it is not in my face constantly as it once was.  We can move on.  I did not like addressing issues of malcontent.  I have always known that no matter what, the dark side would eventually see the light, from either having an epiphany, or having a spot light pointed at their head, and life would go on.  And, it did, and it has.

Let's keep it going.

In the meantime, we have enjoyed our time along the coast of southern Maine a great deal, and are about to close up the house for the season in October.  Good times, and fun have a way of pushing one away from the computer keyboard.  Next year we will open the cottage more to others to use so that we can enjoy other places that we love.  Feel free to drop me a line if you are interested in renting a cottage in Wells, Maine.  Have I got a deal for you.  :-)

We have also been busy since the end of July searching for a new home, and we have found one here in town.  In the meantime, our house on Brookfield Road is on the market.  Lots going on, and all have a way of making the time I sit in front of the keyboard less of a priority.

Life.  Gotta love it.

If you, or someone you know are looking for a new place to call home, have I got a GREAT deal for you!

Click here to take a peak inside our home.

Summer fun, and buying a new home are wonderful life events.  We are very happy, but the best event is yet to come.  My step-daughter Christine, is getting married to a wonderful man in November.  This is the very best.  Tony is a great guy, a loving man to Christine, and her son. Mary and I could not be happier.

So, you see now that I have shared our life for the world to see on the internet, life has not so much gotten in the way over the past six months, but we have just been blessed enough to live it.

That being said, I'll see you in March.




Kidding.

An Autumn Mystery

When Mary and I moved into our home, at 60 Brookfield Road in Fiskdale in 2006, one of the small things we found was the tiny sundial pictured below.  I stumbled upon it this morning as I was packing up to move once more.  Not to worry, we are staying in town.

The sundial is made of bronze, and has a stand on the back. I imagine it would have been very comfortable sitting on someones desk years ago.

Also on the reverse is an inscription.  "Sturbridge  Lat 42D 7M - Long 72D 5M  JAN 1946".  Apparently, this sundial, and the location inscribed on the reverse held some significance for the owner.

The map below shows the exact location of the coordinates.  It falls in someones back yard.  The other map is from the towns website, and shows two properties on the corner of New Boston Road, and Preserve Way, but I don't think the mystery location falls on either parcel.  The town map shows two slivers of land running between the larger parcels, and those slivers are owned by the Town of Sturbridge.  Seems the town has had them since 2012.

What would be so important that its location was inscribed in bronze on the backside of a tiny sundial?  My imagination is telling me that it could be a lot of things.  Secret, treasure things, or just some memories buried by a veteran returning from the war.  Whatever the reason is, it is obvious that the location meant something to someone in 1946.

It's a mystery well worth some investigating, if for nothing else, so that we can all get some sleep tonight.