Subject:
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Re: Western Mass, Lego, and More
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.us.ma.spr
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Date:
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Tue, 7 Jan 2003 00:19:16 GMT
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Viewed:
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2121 times
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In lugnet.loc.us.ma.spr, John P. Henderson writes:
>
> Well it has been over a year since I posted in a .local group here on
> Lugnet. I thought I would post again to maybe entice others in my area to
> say hello. So, I just read every post ever made to this group! Heheh, well
> there have only been 9 posts since Sept 1998 in .loc.us.ma.springfield. I
> guess that makes me lucky number 10! Woo-hoo! :)
>
> Seriously though, here are a few thoughts on building Lego and Western Mass:
>
> First, to those outside of Western Massachusetts, this tiny realm that is
> part of a geographically small state might seem insignificant. The distance
> between my home and Boston (Eastern Mass) is probably less than between
> neighboring cities in large states (like Texas). But despite our proximity,
> the culture out here is somewhat different. Oh sure, we still pride
> ourselves on Yankee Ingenuity, and we enjoy four distinct seasons, all of
> which we complain about and love at the same time ?so this is still New
> England to any outsider. Yet, it seems that Western Mass is a forgotten
> little spec on the globe even to the rest of the region.
>
> Most of my family is in Central & Eastern Mass, and New Hampshire. It seems
> to them the view of the world is something like this: (from east to west)
> the Atlantic ->, Boston ->, Rte 128 ->, Rte 495 ->,
> Worcester/Leominster/Fitchburg ->, the Quabbin Reservoir ->, Umass Amherst
> ->, the Berkshires ->, New York, -> a bunch of farm states, -> California.
> They seem to think of anything west of the Quabbin yet still in Mass as
> being either in Amherst or in the hills. Any Western Mass resident can tell
> you there is more to this state than the populated eastern shores. Between
> the central Reservoir and the Berkshire hills is a strip of land shaped for
> millions of years by the Connecticut River and its tributaries: The Pioneer
> Valley. And here in this valley we have quite a diverse number of
> communities outside of the University and colleges.
>
> Conversely, long-time Western Mass residents have a similar skewed view of
> the rest of the state too. They know the difference between the Hill Towns
> and the Valley, and they understand that a stroll through downtown Holyoke
> is not a nature walk. But when they look east they can be as lost as the
> easterners looking west. They see as far as the Quabbin, and maybe
> recognize Worcester, but then often mistake everything else in the state as
> being Boston. I tell co-workers my family is in a small town in
> north-central Mass, north of Fitchburg, and they say, "Oh, you?re from
> Boston?" I guess the mentality of secluded rural villages dies hard in a
> place whose heritage goes back to colonial times.
>
> So, knowing full well that my own statesmen would never understand where I
> am from nor where I am going, I have settled comfortably into Greenfield, a
> large town (or a very small city) in Franklin County. For any outsiders,
> this is the northernmost of the Pioneer Valley counties. It is a mostly
> rural place surrounded by small wooded hills, bordered by rivers, and
> bisected by the junction of I-91 and state Rte 2. Not far to the north is
> Brattleboro, Vermont. I work in Deerfield, a short drive to the south.
> Another short drive from there are the schools of Amherst, the tobacco and
> potato farms of the central valley, and the cultural center of Northampton.
> And if one continues south through Hampshire County into Hampden County just
> south of the Holyoke Range of mountains, they find the more populated cities
> around Springfield. And of course, if we continue to follow either I-91 or
> the River south, before long we cross the border into the home of Lego
> Systems, Inc., the North American home of the Brick, Enfield, Connecticut.
> Overall, that makes my home about an hour from all the ABS I could dream of.
> But what of other AFOLs who might live between here and there? Are there so
> few fans of the brick residing in the Pioneer Valley?
>
> Well, just in case there are, and just in case they stumble onto this
> newsgroup, allow me to update my experiences regarding the Lego hobby in the
> area.
>
> Okay, below is a list of Where to Shop in or near the Pioneer Valley for
> Lego Toys. Do note though, I do not guarantee the completeness of this
> information, and I also think that shopping via Lego.com or BrickLink.com is
> best regarding selection.
>
> Area stores (in no particular order), with locations and my comments:
*snip*
Excellent synopsis, Hendo!
While not a current W. MA resident, I did live in Westminster when I came out
of my Dark Ages. We used to frequent the TRU at Searstown Mall and scope out
LEGO finds some ten years ago. My wife bought a small Outback themed buggy,
and off we went again. Our oldest son was born in Leominster as well.
Our favorite route was definitely Route 2, and your post brings back lots of
memories of the Pioneer Valley. We used to go from Westminster to Binghamton,
NY every couple of weeks via that route, and stopped often along the way,
especially near the Quabbin, North Adams, and Williams College, if I recall.
I too remember telling folks that I lived in MA, and they also inquired about
Boston. Similarly, when I travel around now telling people I'm from NY, they
ask "what's it like in the Big Apple?" Duh - ask someone that lives there.
Anyway, I have great memories of Central and Western MA, and we travel back
there every year to ramble around the old haunts with our two sons. Lat time I
was out there I shipped a Bricklink order from Ewing just for kicks.
Thanks for the post -
Ed
(Time for REAL W. MA residents to chime in now...)
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Western Mass, Lego, and More
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| Well it has been over a year since I posted in a .local group here on Lugnet. I thought I would post again to maybe entice others in my area to say hello. So, I just read every post ever made to this group! Heheh, well there have only been 9 posts (...) (22 years ago, 6-Jan-03, to lugnet.loc.us.ma.spr)
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