USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Picturesque Hampden : 1500 illustrations > Part 10
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PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN.
and a scattering of mossy hummocks furnishes first-rate seats. The land slopes gently away to the river whose shin- ing strand divides the western landscape, and a little south- erly you catch the smoke- dimmed outlines of Holyoke.
On the way back to the village we note the Carew house amidst the shrubs and trees of its low terrace. It is an ordinary, commodious, white-painted village-house. and its interest lies in the fact of its having been the home of Joseph Carew, a man whose generous public spirit and kindly helpfulness endeared him to the whole community. The street soon begins a steep descent to the wide valley below, which is well filled with the cottages of the villagers until you get over to the clay hills which for miles form its eastern boundary. These hills are gashed with diggings where
SOUTH HADLEY FALLS-THE OLD TAVERN.
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
the various brickyards have located. Some of the yards are mammoth estab- lishments, which in the summer are full of life and interest. Lines of carts are continually coming and going between the ragged hills which furnish clay and sand and the machines which grind this crude material and stamp it into bricks. Trucks are plying about the level acres of yard where the bricks are dried, and the oblong blocks of clay are everywhere. Within the great sheds a kiln is building, one is burning, and another of well-baked, red bricks is being torn down and carted off to the Holyoke market. These clay hills rise into a high plain spreading away to the east for many miles- a sandy, scrubbily wooded upland, intermitting with
WINTER.
sparsely grassed opens. Nar- row roadways, with lines of turf between the wheel tracks, criss-cross irregu- larly about, and every now and then you come upon a little house with a bit of gar- den at its door, and, close by, a patch of corn and a field of potatoes. In one place there is quite a village of these little homes, and in the midst a mite of a church. One of the features of the region is a real log house. But it is not one of the backwoods variety with a board roof and a rusty stovepipe reaching up through for a chimney, and walls rudely chinked with chips and plaster so that each passing zephyr finds entrance at unstopped cracks. No, it is quite neat and modern, has several L's and a wide veranda, while a fountain plays in the front yard, very much after the manner of those in the lawns of a city
HIGH WATER.
SWEEPING THE PORCH.
villa. This log house is what you might call civilized, but any kind of log building is scarce enough in our region, so there is plenty of excuse for our turning aside to gaze upon it. Any of the several roads back to the Falls give one fine views of the valley when you come to the verge of the bluff, which, at the south end, almost overhangs the river; and of Holyoke, just across the stream, you get one of the most comprehensive views to be had. The city hall looms up prominently in the midst of the acres and acres of brick mills, and seems to rival Mt. Tom itself, whose massive headland is clearly outlined in the northwest, as guardian of the valley. The views are far reaching and interesting, whichever ravine of the bluff you go
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PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN.
THE CHURCHES AND ENGINE HOUSE.
down. The "Soap-hill" road is the most direct to the village center. The chief street of the Falls makes a long swinging curve of a mile or so along the line of the river which its residences front, and over which they have a fine outlook, as there are no houses on the water side. A long, gently sloping beach grades down from the road to the water's edge, dotted here and there with a well-grown tree, and in places starting up to patches of bushes. This affords a good playground for the village children and is a resort in times of flood for those whose wood-piles need replenishing. Whatever can be snatched from the drift- ing rubbish of the stream is so much gained, and great is the rejoicing if a well-grown log is secured. Between the bridge and the mills above is an acre or two of lowland, where grows a fine grove of tall trees, with smooth, grassy meadow beneath. This is a very pretty place, and on days of mellow haze a look through the tree trunks at the big mills makes one think of the great, looming castles, thickset with gables and turrets, of the world across the Atlantic.
A PICTURE, AND A PROTEST.
The air quivered with the heat across the ploughed fields ; a light wind, which blew so softly that it scarcely stirred the leaves of the near trees, carried with it the subtle odors of lush meadow grass from the "mowing-lot " beyond, and of the freshly-turned earth from where the cultivator was being dragged over the ground by a pair of horses driven
THE GLASGOW BLOCK.
by a young farmer. His red shirt made a brilliant flick of color in the broad June sunlight that lay hot upon all things. He moved easily, and the horses obeyed his voice and rein, as though their intelligence, as well as his, was bent upon keeping the line straight between the rows of young plants; he did not
WINTER ON NORTH MAIN STREET.
need a whip, though, probably from force of habit, he carried one. Presently the even creak of the harness, the regular halt and start at the end of the field ceased, and these three working members of society, out there in the hot sun, were still. It was not yet noon, but the farmer had forgotten both task and time, for there in the shadow of a big maple sat a young girl; her broad hat lay in her lap, her fingers twisted the ribbons and she hung her curly head as the young man flung himself beside her. A bunch of daisies gave an excuse for the maid's presence, though now they drooped their neglected heads, and a little white-aproned sister, who discreetly came and went, added an appearance of chance to the encounter. The group was as charming to the eye as one could wish, and who would think of the cultivator standing idle, of the unstirred clods of sun-baked earth, or of the approaching dinner hour,-where youth and love are, are not time and space as nothing ?
To man or maiden there came no thought of these, or of the patient fellow workers, who all the time were left to stand in the open fields where the sun's hottest rays fell full upon their unpro- tected heads-heads that held brains as sensitive to the effect of heat, as liable to sunstroke, as their masters'; there they stood, un- occupied within a few yards of shade and grass, left checked up with leathern straps so they had not even the freedom to lower their heads. The flies bit them : one horse had too short a tail to brush them away. They stood there in dumb submission, quiet in their tracks, never moving the machine from the spot where their driver had bade them halt; while he, cool, and stretched at his ease on the pleasant turf, forgot them entirely. If they had kicked over one of the traces with vexation, called aloud for relief, or
A VIEW ON "BRICKBAT AVENUE. "
72
PICTURESQUE
HAMPDEN.
A CORNER NEAR THE MILLS.
THE CAREW HOUSE.
dared to drag aside the cultivator to the injury of the plants, their master would have remembered to chastise such unreasonable impa- tience. Were not they beasts, and his property? Of course he could easily have driven a few steps farther with these creatures who were to the man so great a help in saving time and strength (and money too, for it was tobacco he was cultivating, and tobacco is a valuable crop). It would have taken but a moment to lower their check-reins, and to let them share the shade he enjoyed, -but why should he take thought for a horse ? The horse is intelligent enough to do man's work, to learn obedience, patience, gentleness under ill-usage, and to exert himself to the utmost to serve his master, but he is not intelligent enough to scream or to groan, to revenge himself upon the owner that abuses him ; and, above all, he cannot appeal to the law for protection. Although he suffers, he is dumb. Like the slave, he is man's property ; and man respects the rights of others only when the law obliges him.
We human beings so seldom take the trouble to justify our dealings with animals,
BRIDGE STREET.
GLASGOW BLOCK DOORWAYS.
that most of us would be shocked and perhaps we would all resent the word that describes the real reason we are so thoughtless, so careless, and oftentimes so cruel to the horse, the dog, the dumb creatures in our possession. And yet, at bottom we must know it is due to cowardice. If the animals replied to illtreat ment with fangs or claws like the snake or bear, a man might slay, but he would hardly abuse or underfeed so dangerous a creature. It is only when man feels safe from harm he ceases to control his passions. While he knows his horse will not trample underfoot, his dog will not tear him limb from limb; in short, so long as man is not personally afraid, he feels free to treat his animals according to his disposition and degree of enlightenment. If he regards his horse as a machine that he has bought and owns, he will waste no thought on the com- fort of the beast, he will check his head so high that the beau-
SOUTH HADLEY FALLS-OLD FISH TAVERNS.
tiful, natural arch of the neck is stretched to an ugly straight line, till the nose sticks out like a pointer dog's (when there is no game to point at, except his master, who prudently sits behind him !); he will not bother to water him, "because it is too much trouble" to get out and lower that same foolish strap ; he will forget to corn him in winter ; he will fasten him on a windy corner in cold weather, or a sunny one in warm, to save himself the exertion of looking
73
PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN.
LAMB'S GROVE.
SOUTH HADLEY FALLS -CATHOLIC"CHURCH. Il- r-den
out for a suitable place, as he would for a fellow mortal; he will jerk him and saw his mouth viciously when the horse is frightened (frequently by a noise, whose cause he cannot see, because his master has put black shutters over half his eyes); he will overload, and overdrive; and while forgetting to praise his horse for welldoing, will always remember to punish him for stupidity or laziness (his master being a pattern of quickness and industry).
All this he will do from a mixture of petty cowardice and thoughtless- ness. The bully can only be taught through public opinion, and this is too seldom expressed ; for the same small fear of consequences closes the mouths of many men and women who regret wrongs done, but lack the courage to protest against them. As to the habit of thoughtlessness, the excuse, "I didn't think," is nothing but an ironic self-accusa- tion; only the underwitted are incapable of taking thought. So long as man is able to realize his own sensations of cold, heat, hunger, fatigue, pain, and grief, he is equally able to understand the fact that all living creatures, in greater or less degree, suffer in like man- ner. There is no excuse for thoughtlessness, nor for coward- ice.
MARGARET C. WHITING.
ART IN HOLYOKE.
A person living in Holyoke without a love for the beautiful must be blind indeed, seeing as he does from almost every street the mountains or the picturesque val- ley of the Connecticut. But "Art in Holyoke " has a strange sound to many who think of the city as a great
BURNING A KILN OF BRICK.
THE RIVER FROM NEAR THE OLD FERRY LANDING.
ยท
AT THE OLD FISHING PLACE.
manufacturing center. For a num- ber of years, a quiet but grow- ing interest in the Fine Arts was shown by the valuable paintings and pieces of statuary that were steadily added to the different col- lections in the city, and a need was felt for some permanent organiza- tion that would increase this inter- est and, if possible, lead to the development of local talent. To meet this want there was organ- ized in February, 1891, the " Hol- yoke Society of Fine Arts." The constitution of the society was drawn up on a conservative basis, but one broad enough for a city of any size, and it seems destined to extend and enlarge the scope of its work with the development of the city. Its objects are: The en- couragement of the love for the Fine Arts, the preservation and permanent exhibition of works of art, the making and exhibiting of temporary collections of such works, and the affording of
74
PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN.
SOUTH HADLEY FALLS- A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.
instruction in the Fine Arts to such an extent as the trustees may decide feasible and desirable. In addition to this, it is proposed to start an Art Library, and arrange courses of lectures on Art, to be given from time to time. The great aim of the society is the building of an Art Museum, and although this is yet in the future, many of the members are confident that it will become a reality, and when we consider the liberality and public spirit which have been so often shown in Holyoke, it does not seem visionary to expect it. The society is in a flourishing condition, its member- ship includes all who are interested in its objects, which are so plainly deserving that it readily wins the sympathy and hearty support of the community.
In the fall of 1891, preparations were made for an Art exhibi- tion. The owners of paintings generously offered to loan them, and as a result the first Loan Exhibition was held at Unity Chapel, the following January. This marks a most important step in Hol- yoke Art, and the fine collection brought together here was a source of surprise and pleasure, for in a quiet way many of Hol- yoke's citizens have come into the possession of paintings unsur- passed in merit by any in the Connecticut valley. Owing to the lack of room, but eighty-four pictures were shown, chosen by a competent committee from the best in the city ; a large number of fine water colors could have been secured, but it was decided from the first that the collection should consist of oils only. Among the sixty-three artists represented were such well-known names as Ridgeway Knight, Lerolle, Hart, Moran, Parton, Satterlee,
become a permanent feature in the life of the city. While Holyoke has an organization to foster a love of Art, it has also places where practical instruction is given and artistic taste developed. At the annual exhibition of drawing given at the High School this year, work was shown by the scholars of the different schools, that attracted much attention, visitors even coming from other states, and the draw- ing, in some of its branches, was pronounced to be the finest of its kind in Massachusetts. In all the public schools, instruction is given in drawing to a large number of scholars, and those who desire it may continue their study after graduation. Under the efficient leadership of Mrs. I. E. Ferry the standard is being constantly raised, and better work is done each year by the pupils.
There is also a very flourishing studio art class which has been in existence for two years under the care of Miss Adelaide Moffatt. Painting, both in oils and water colors, is taught, as well as charcoal drawing and wood carving. The number of students has steadily increased and much interest is shown by the different classes. A most successful and enthusiastic class has also been formed of employes in some of our mills. Each year Miss Moffatt has had a Christmas sale, at which the work of the fall is shown, and this year it was supple-
WATCHING FOR FLOOD-TRASH.
A SPRING STREET TEAM.
Schreyer, DeHaas and J. G. Brown. As an Art Exhibition, it was a decided success, and one in which a much larger and older city could take great pride. Many visitors were attracted from the surrounding cities and towns, and its effect was seen in the number of pictures purchased by Holyokers since the exhibition. In fact, so many fine ones have since been bought by different members of the society, that an equally good exhibition of entirely new pictures might soon be given. This project of affording the people an opportunity of viewing works of art is to be highly commended, and it is hoped that these exhibitions, which are of such a practical value, will
mented by a summer exhibit, showing that very creditable work was being done in all the different branches of instruction.
In passing the mills, the attention is often arrested by the green vines which in some cases have nearly covered the walls, making the buildings "things of beauty." So Holyoke Art, adorning the city, will exert a growing influence as time goes on and make itself felt far beyond the city limits.
EDWARD B. REED.
A PLAINVILLE LANDSCAPE.
75
PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN
A YANKEE IN TOWN.
The following incident occurred on the banks of the river one afternoon not long ago. A lot of idlers were standing, seeing which could throw stones the farthest into the stream. A tall, raw- boned, slab-sided Yankee, and no mistake, came up and looked on. For a while he said nothing till the leader of the party, a conceited fellow in a green jacket, began to try his wit on Jonathan.
"You can't come that," said he, and he hurled a stone away out into the river.
"Maybe not," said Jona- than, " but up in our country we've a purty big river, con- siderin', and tother day I hove a man clear across it, and he came down fair and square on the other side."
" Ha, ha, ha!" yelled his auditors.
" Wal, now, yew may laff, but I can do it agin."
"Do what?" said the green jacket quickly.
"I can take and heave you across that river yonder, just like open and shet."
" Bet you ten dollars on it." " Done," said the Yankee, and drawing forth an X he covered the bragger's shin- plaster.
SMOOTH POND.
Across the distance, where the trees Seem fain to shield it from the breeze, A lakelet lies : So smooth and still its waters seem, Perchance they silent sleep, to dream Of Paradise.
The close shut gentians backward shrink, And open not their lips to drink Along the strand ;
The tall reeds never bend to see Their forms in that transparency, But silent stand.
And though without, on either hand There stretch the wastes of scorching sand With tropic heat- Within that sylvan circle's round The air steals through the hush profound. All cool and sweet.
The drifting clouds come down and float In shallows, where the lily's boat At anchor rides :
And here, through ev'ry year's extent, The summer solstice of content Fore'er abides. LAURA SANDERSON.
advancing rapidly to the stakeholder. "You took us for greenhorns, eh? We'u show you how we do things down here in the city," and the fellow claimed the twenty dollars.
"Wal, I reck'n yeou won't take no ten spots jis' yit, captin."
"Why? you've lost the bet."
"Not exactly. I didn't calkilate on dewin' it the first time; but I tell you I kin dew it," and in spite of the loafer's utmost efforts to escape him, he seized him by the back of the neck and the seat of his overalls, and pitched him three yards further into the river than on the first trial.
Again the bully returned amidst the shouts of his mates who enjoyed the sport immensely.
" Third time never fails," said the Yankee, stripping off his coat. " I kin dew it, I tell ye."
" Hold on!" said the almost petrified victim. "And 1 will dew if I try till to-morrow mornin'."
"I give it up!" shouted the sufferer between his teeth which now chattered like a mad badger's; "take the money."
SOUTH HADLEY FALLS -LOOKING DOWN THE SOAP HILL ROAD.
WEST FARMS-WESTFIELD.
"Kin you swim, feller ? "
" Like a duck," said green jacket: and without further parley the Yankee seized his knowing opponent stoutly by the nape of the neck and the base- ment of his pants, jerked him from his foothold, and with an almost super- human effort dashed the bully heels over head from the bank, some ten yards into the stream.
A terrible shout ran through the crowd as he floundered into the water, and amidst the jeers and screams of his companions the ducked bully put back to the shore and scrambled up the bank, half frozen by this sudden and involuntary cold bath.
"I'll take that ten spot, if you please," said the shivering loafer,
EAST FARMS.
The Yankee very cooly pocketed the cash, and as he turned away re- marked :
"We ain't much acquainted with your smart folks daoun here in the city, but we sometimes take the starch out of 'em up our way ; and p'rhaps yeou wunt try it ontu strangers agin : I reck'n yeou wunt," he continued, and putting on a broad grin of good-humor, he left the company to their reflections.
SURE OF A PREMIUM .- An illiter- ate farmer, wishing to enter some animals at an agricultural exhibition, wrote to the secretary as follows: " Also enter me for the best jackass; I am sure of taking the premium."
76
PICTUREQUES HAMPDEN.
THE NEW NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING.
THE BOARDING HOUSE.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, WESTFIELD, MASS.
The State Normal School, now occupying its new and beautiful build- ing in Westfield, was founded in 1839, in accordance with a vote passed by the Board of Education of Massachu- setts, in December, 1838, establishing the first normal school in the state and in America.
This school was opened at Barre, September 4, 1839, but was transferred to Westfield in 1844. During its first sixteen years, diplomas were not con- ferred. The records of the school will soon contain the names of fifteen hundred, who have, since 1855, re- ceived diplomas. It is believed that no other normal school in the United States has exerted a wider or more beneficial influence in improving the public schools, by means of enthu- siastic and well-trained teachers pro- fessionally prepared for their work.
This school seems to have been the first in the United States to fully develop and apply the method of teaching once termed the nat- ural method, afterwards the objective method, and now known as the analytic objective method. This method had been outlined and partially applied by Pestalozzi, Froebel and others in primary teaching. Other normal schools had made use of it in exercises illustrative of the work of primary schools. In the Westfield Normal School the philosophy of teaching has been studied, its principles for- mulated, and in every depart- ment of study and teaching, the analytic objective method has been applied. This method is now widely used in other nor- mal schools, the principles upon which it rests are acknowledged, and, to its skilful use by teachers trained in our normal schools, the evident improvement in public instruction during recent years is largely due.
The new school building, completed in 1892, is located on one of the finest streets of the town. In finish and attractive- ness, in adaptation to the work of a normal school, it is said to be
THE OLD STATE NORMAL BUILDING.
unsurpassed by any normal school building in our whole land. In the school as now organized one can fit himself by the two-years' course to teach in the grammar schools of the state, and by the four-years' course teach in the high schools. Those who graduate from the school have little difficulty in obtaining those posi- tions for which their talents and their training in the normal school have fitted them. Among the alumni are found teachers holding very prominent positions in our own and other states. It may be questioned whether there is a city or town in the commonwealth in which a former student of the West- field Normal School has not taught.
Young men and young women, at a very moderate outlay can, in the nor- mal school, fit themselves for a very useful and honorable work, and they may be reasonably sure of finding employment in it.
The school year is divided into two terms of twenty weeks each. There is a recess of a few days near
HRANCHES
24
AN INTERIOR-THE BIOLOGY ROOM.
77
PICTURESQUE HAMPDEN.
changes have been made in the course of study, the standard of scholarship has been raised, a Kin- dergarten and a Training School of several grades have been added, and a new school building costing, including the site, $150,000 has been erected. Hon. M. B. Whit- ney, A. P. Stone, LL. D., and
WESTFIELD-SOLDIER'S MONUMENT.
the middle of each term. The fall term begins on Tues- day, the second week in September. The second term begins about the first of February.
The first principal of the school was Samuel P. New -- > man, professor of rhetoric in Bowdoin College, and for several years its acting president. Emerson Davis, D. D., was principal for two years; David S. Rowe for
AN ENTRANCE TO THE NEW NORMAL BUILDING.
THE OBSERVATION SCHOOL.
Hon. J. W. Dickinson, secretary of the Board of Education, constitute the visiting committee on the part of the State Board of Education. Under their direction as building com- mittee, the improvements in the Boarding Hall have been made and the New Normal School building has been erected.
WESTFIELD SKETCHES.
Westfield, cradled between the hills of the Green Mountain range, gem of the Woronoco valley, is one of the most charm-
THE HOLLAND HOUSE.
METHODIST CHURCH.
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
nearly eight years; William H. Wells for two years; J. W. Dick- inson, now secretary of the State Board of Education, twenty- one years, and J. G. Scott nearly ten years.
James C. Greenough, first assistant in the school for fourteen years and afterwards principal of the Rhode Island Normal School at Providence, entered upon his duties as principal of the Westfield school early in 1887. During his administration the commodious Boarding Hall has been much improved, important
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