Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Bridgewater State...University
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
1000 Places to visit in Massachusetts includes two Bridgewater sites
Many were nominated, many were chosen...
Bridgewater State College and Bridgewater Historic District are listed among the 1000 Great Places to Visit in Massachusetts by the State Tourism Agency.
“The commission sought a geographically diverse tally of places that are important for their cultural or historic significance, or simply their natural beauty.”
Of course, any good tourist destination needs a cafe, and these two sites -- which abut each other -- have a selection that is good and likely to improve. In the Bridgewater Historic District, the Rockin' K Cafe offers fair-trade, organic coffee and family-style service at 14 Summer St (new location) every day of the week, 8-5. Also in the historic district, on the historic town common, is the Better Bean, which is open in the evenings (closed Sunday).
On the campus of Bridgewater State College are the usual assortment of campus coffee outlets, but with the possibility of a truly world-class cafe opening on campus upon completion of the new Science & Mathematics Center. If approved, the Benjamin Linder Cafe will feature fair-trade, organic coffee and a variety of educational projects around coffee, sustainability, and justice.
Bridgewater State College and Bridgewater Historic District are listed among the 1000 Great Places to Visit in Massachusetts by the State Tourism Agency.
“The commission sought a geographically diverse tally of places that are important for their cultural or historic significance, or simply their natural beauty.”
Of course, any good tourist destination needs a cafe, and these two sites -- which abut each other -- have a selection that is good and likely to improve. In the Bridgewater Historic District, the Rockin' K Cafe offers fair-trade, organic coffee and family-style service at 14 Summer St (new location) every day of the week, 8-5. Also in the historic district, on the historic town common, is the Better Bean, which is open in the evenings (closed Sunday).
On the campus of Bridgewater State College are the usual assortment of campus coffee outlets, but with the possibility of a truly world-class cafe opening on campus upon completion of the new Science & Mathematics Center. If approved, the Benjamin Linder Cafe will feature fair-trade, organic coffee and a variety of educational projects around coffee, sustainability, and justice.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Village of Bridgewater, New York July 4, 2010
As we were driving our daughter to camp in upstate New York yesterday, James asked "is there a Bridgewater, New York?" I thought probably there was, so I checked the atlas, and there it was, due south of the camp. We decided to take a different route home than usual and stop in our town's New York "xará" (xará is a Portuguese word meaning one who has the same name).
The Village of Bridgewater is located at the junction of routes 8 and 20, just south of Utica. It is quite a small town with under 600 residents. Nevertheless the town has a library (with hours comparable to our own), a municpal building, a park, and a highway department.
Blogger and librarian, Pam, poses in front of the Bridgewater (NY) Free Library
As we took in the driving tour, which took about 3 minutes, we noticed the Bridgewater School. No longer a school, it now houses an antique store, indoor skateboard park, and the cleverly named Cafe'Teria - all run by Ron and Linda Inger. We had a wonderful experience meeting Ron, who was happy to show us around the school, chat, and make his signature iced espresso drink - his secret is to put half the ice directly in the cup, and the other half into the blender.
Cafe'Teria logo
Indoor Skateboard park in what had once been the gymnasium/auditorium. Ron points out that while the Bridgewater, New Jersey skateboard park allows bikes, his does not!
Interior shot of Cafe'Teria
Blogger James (aka Dr. Java) poses with his new coffee friend, Ron.
We took Ron up on his suggestion to eat at Dominick's Italian Bistro, right next to the old Bridgewater, New York train station. Our waitress, Pam (my xará!) was attentive and friendly, and the food was quite flavorful. James had chicken lightly breaded with a delightful mushroom sauce over fettuccini, and Pam had the baked lasagna. Normally we do not get appetizers, unless jalapeño poppers are offered, in this case they were, so we had plenty of leftovers of our main course to enjoy after we returned home.
Old Train Depot -- with a milk-crate basketball court
Good Unitarian Universalists that we are, we stopped for a photo op at the Bridgewater Universalist Cemetery, the print at the bottom of the sign reads "Site of the Universalist Church." Little did we know it was the 200th attainment day of famous Universalist P.T. Barnum.
On leaving Bridgewater, we decided to follow U.S. 20, a delightful transect which we describe in more detail on our Celebrating the States blog.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Bridgewater, Virginia
Bloggers pose in front of entrance to Bridgewater College
One unfortunate connection we made between Bridgewater State College and Bridgewater College is the proclivity to keep large screen televisions on in various lounge areas even when no one is around to watch them. These use a lot of energy, and BSC has been installing them in quite a few places, even as they build a Sustainability Center on campus. During the last winter break James and I noticed one on in one of the dorm lounges every time we walked by, even though the dorm appeared to be closed otherwise.
Pam poses with large screen television in an otherwise empty room at Bridgewater College
We did notice some cool sculptures on campus including this one:
We did not stay long in Bridgewater, but what we saw reminded us of our former home in Oxford, Ohio - home to Miami University. We also noted the following businesses or organizations that used the name Bridgewater:
(it was good to see an independent pharmacy going in this age of CVS and Walgreens)
Bridgewater Coin Laundry
Bridgewater Exxon
(possibly the only time I've seen this company with a separate franchise name)
Bridgewater Town Center
Bridgewater Car Wash
Additionally we noticed the Dayton Mennonite Church, just after we saw a woman in traditional Mennonite dress ride her bike by us
Marshall's Distribution Center is located in Bridgewater, Virginia
The Library is called the North River Library.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sacco & Vanzetti
For years I've heard of Sacco and Vanzetti, often as a punch line in a bit of dark humor about injustices of one kind or another. I had heard that they were political prisoners who were executed solely for their points of view. I had never heard anything terribly specific, though, and had no idea how close to home -- literally -- their story would eventually become.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed on August 23, 1927 for a crime that took place on December 24, 1919 in Bridgewater, a half-mile north of what would eventually become our home. On Valentine's Day this year, in fact, we took a walk -- in an icy wind -- to the scene of the crime. Thanks to the research of local historian Christopher Daley, we know that the armored-car robbery of which they were convicted took place at the corner of Hale Street and Broad Street, where today one can find a barber and a Friendly's restaurant. Hale Street runs parallel to the tracks in what was the industrial heart of this once heavily industrial town. Remnants of the old factories can still be found along both sides of what is now primarily a commuter rail line. The L.Q. White shoe factory at which the truck was delivering payroll is long gone, however, its remnants buried beneath a parking lot for Bridgewater State College commuters.
For me, what is most fascinating about the case is what it reveals about a Bridgewater that is fading quickly from memory. Today it is known for its college -- on almost half a square mile in the center of town, with over 10,000 students and over 1,000 employees (including both authors of this blog) -- and as a bedroom community for thousands who commute to white-collar jobs in Boston on the revived train line or the straight, dangerous shot up Route 24. A third major factor is the state prison complex on the south edge of town (old "State Farm"), but I lived here for a decade before I met anybody who works there, and it only comes up in conversation if there is a prison break or someone is remembering the 1967 Titicut Follies movie.
For many who have lived in the town for decades -- or generations -- the town has a different identity: a working-class, industrial town. At least three of the town's major park sites, for example, were once home to industries ranging from bricks to iron to ship-building. Where newcomers such as myself see second-growth forest, older neighbors remember their fathers working at furnaces. Where we see empty lots today, some neighbors remember active freight yards.
My brief research into the case has raised more questions than it has answered. Even the locations of many of the factories extant at the time are difficult to determine despite the availability of very detailed Sanborn maps. (Sanborn insurance maps are a great resource for historic and environmental research; they show industrial and commercial buildings at 1:1200 scale for almost every town in the United States between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Bridgewater State College has a subscription to the Massachusetts maps; most public libraries have copies of maps for their own towns.)
For example, the 1921 Sanborn map shows the White shoe factory between Spring Street and the rail lines, but almost everything on that part of the map has now changed, as a current satellite image of the same area shows. The robbery itself was just off the edge of this map, where Hale Street meets Broad Street, which is a main road toward Boston.
View Larger Map
Police were first led to Sacco and Vanzetti as suspects in the murder because a witness indicated that the perpetrators appeared to be Italian. The entire area to the northwest of the crime scene was a tight-knit Italian community, focused around the mills. In fact, the neighborhood surrounding Wall and High Streets, about 2000 feet away, remains something of an enclave to this day, surrounding the old Stanley Iron Works site, at which iron was forged for centuries. The satellite image below is centered on the old mill pond, and immediately to east and west are private clubs that continue to operate -- each sporting its own bocci court!
View Larger Map
To this day, the case of Sacco and Vanzetti stirs debate. From the hundreds of thousands of people who protested their sentence at the time, to the governor who pardoned them decades later, to books and articles that are still being published, their guilt or innocence remains uncertain. A Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society meets twice each month in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An article by Robert D'Attilio at the University of Pennsylvania summarizes some of the legal debate, as does an article on the web site of Torremaggiore, Sacco's hometown in Italy.
It is unclear whether Sacco or Vanzetti ever even visited Bridgewater -- a gang who were holed up in a shack in nearby West Bridgewater eventually confessed to the crime -- but their association with the town reminds us of several important aspects of its identity and history.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed on August 23, 1927 for a crime that took place on December 24, 1919 in Bridgewater, a half-mile north of what would eventually become our home. On Valentine's Day this year, in fact, we took a walk -- in an icy wind -- to the scene of the crime. Thanks to the research of local historian Christopher Daley, we know that the armored-car robbery of which they were convicted took place at the corner of Hale Street and Broad Street, where today one can find a barber and a Friendly's restaurant. Hale Street runs parallel to the tracks in what was the industrial heart of this once heavily industrial town. Remnants of the old factories can still be found along both sides of what is now primarily a commuter rail line. The L.Q. White shoe factory at which the truck was delivering payroll is long gone, however, its remnants buried beneath a parking lot for Bridgewater State College commuters.
For me, what is most fascinating about the case is what it reveals about a Bridgewater that is fading quickly from memory. Today it is known for its college -- on almost half a square mile in the center of town, with over 10,000 students and over 1,000 employees (including both authors of this blog) -- and as a bedroom community for thousands who commute to white-collar jobs in Boston on the revived train line or the straight, dangerous shot up Route 24. A third major factor is the state prison complex on the south edge of town (old "State Farm"), but I lived here for a decade before I met anybody who works there, and it only comes up in conversation if there is a prison break or someone is remembering the 1967 Titicut Follies movie.
For many who have lived in the town for decades -- or generations -- the town has a different identity: a working-class, industrial town. At least three of the town's major park sites, for example, were once home to industries ranging from bricks to iron to ship-building. Where newcomers such as myself see second-growth forest, older neighbors remember their fathers working at furnaces. Where we see empty lots today, some neighbors remember active freight yards.
My brief research into the case has raised more questions than it has answered. Even the locations of many of the factories extant at the time are difficult to determine despite the availability of very detailed Sanborn maps. (Sanborn insurance maps are a great resource for historic and environmental research; they show industrial and commercial buildings at 1:1200 scale for almost every town in the United States between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Bridgewater State College has a subscription to the Massachusetts maps; most public libraries have copies of maps for their own towns.)
For example, the 1921 Sanborn map shows the White shoe factory between Spring Street and the rail lines, but almost everything on that part of the map has now changed, as a current satellite image of the same area shows. The robbery itself was just off the edge of this map, where Hale Street meets Broad Street, which is a main road toward Boston.
View Larger Map
Police were first led to Sacco and Vanzetti as suspects in the murder because a witness indicated that the perpetrators appeared to be Italian. The entire area to the northwest of the crime scene was a tight-knit Italian community, focused around the mills. In fact, the neighborhood surrounding Wall and High Streets, about 2000 feet away, remains something of an enclave to this day, surrounding the old Stanley Iron Works site, at which iron was forged for centuries. The satellite image below is centered on the old mill pond, and immediately to east and west are private clubs that continue to operate -- each sporting its own bocci court!
View Larger Map
To this day, the case of Sacco and Vanzetti stirs debate. From the hundreds of thousands of people who protested their sentence at the time, to the governor who pardoned them decades later, to books and articles that are still being published, their guilt or innocence remains uncertain. A Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society meets twice each month in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An article by Robert D'Attilio at the University of Pennsylvania summarizes some of the legal debate, as does an article on the web site of Torremaggiore, Sacco's hometown in Italy.
It is unclear whether Sacco or Vanzetti ever even visited Bridgewater -- a gang who were holed up in a shack in nearby West Bridgewater eventually confessed to the crime -- but their association with the town reminds us of several important aspects of its identity and history.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Update
The inmate who walked away from the Bridgewater State Hospital (mentioned in the December 4 post) was captured in Georgia. He was recognized after being featured on the television program America's Most Wanted.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bridgewater, New Hampshire
Yesterday we took our first trip to a Bridgewater outside of Massachusetts. After checking distances for the Bridgewaters in Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, we determined that New Hampshire was the closest and took a drive north.
Bridgewater, New Hampshire is on Newfound lake and the drive along 3A was gorgeous. The road goes right along the lake with mountains on the other side. There was an abundance of cute cottages, as well as bigger homes along the road. The town itself is rather small and appeared to be more of a summer place, although clearly skiing and snowmobiling were important to its wintertime economy.
We found three places to have lunch, The Pasquaney Restaurant, The Bridgewater Inn, and The Newfound Grocery. It was this last place where we eventually decided to eat. The restaurant at the Bridgewater Inn was only open on weekends. The Pasquaney Restaurant appeared to be open, but the Grocery looked more our speed.
The restaurant inside the grocery was homey and had a Harley-Davidson theme. There were about a half dozen tables with mismatched chairs, plus a counter with stools. The menu was typical sandwich fare. Pam had a tuna melt, James enjoyed an open-faced turkey and our vegetarian daughter ordered the grilled cheese. I believe there was one other vegetarian option (a veggie wrap) on the menu. The meals were filling and came with delicious salt and pepper chips that were made on the premises.
While we waited for our food, Pam, the librarian, checked out (no pun intended) the free book exchange shelf and selected a book for each of us. After our meal we did a little shopping. The "Grocery" included local crafters works and a local wines, so we purchased a handmade corner shelf for our daughter's bedroom, and a bottle of Diamond wine from Candia Vineyards, plus we bought a homemade biscuit for our dog, Clover, who waited for us in the car.
Newfound Grocery boasts free Wi-Fi. We didn't try it ourselves, so we will take it on faith. We also filled our gas tank there. All in all a fun day trip. During the drive home, however, we encountered absolutely the worst Boston traffic we have ever experienced! It took us 2 hours to go 10 miles. All Pam could think while snaking through the tunnel was that this is what we have come up with after spending $14 billion on traffic improvement in the city.
(James adds: We have decided that we will do what we could to support local business in the "Bridgewaters" we visit. For example, I looked online ahead of time for places to eat and find coffee in the area, but we determined to set those search results aside until we explored the local businesses on-site. I love Yelp!, but "windshield surveys" are still often better. I was glad that we were able to make our local purchases in cash, given the destructive impact of credit-card fees on small businesses, particularly independent gas stations.)
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