A couple of years ago we were on vacation seeing the rural high plains of the upper west. The towns are small and far apart, tiny outposts of modern life amidst the vast and timeless prairie…. Read more

“Sir, excuse me, sir,” I called out to the older man walking past my house. Only his dog, an old, grey, whiskered yellow lab turned to look at me while keeping the slow, meditative pace of his… Read more

When I was a boy (a long time ago!) we lived on Wood Road in Westfield, and since there were ten mouths to feed we raised a lot of critters! When an animal was sick dad tried to treat it himself, and… Read more

Here is an interesting tid bit found on www.allrecipes.com. The story of the Jack o’Lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree…. Read more

That Carolina Wren must have seen me looking for him. He keeps hollering, “Teakettle teakettle teakettle!” but when I go out to find him, he stops. I never get to hear them close up at my… Read more

Two decades ago, in my rebellious youth, I discovered a darker side to Southwick’s neighbor town of Granville. At the time I was hanging around with a new friend who introduced me to a European… Read more

My old house is 209 years old and you can see how rustic it is when you see the old woodshed out back. The old barn boards and the roof, with its curled up old roofing shingles, are ready to fall… Read more

When acorns fall from trees, they slam as they reach the ground, have you ever noticed that? They plunge down from high branches. Are they angry? Anxious? Or simply excited to be free? Down they… Read more

By age 23 I had acquired a driving license, a job in the survey section of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, a 1948 Crosley sedan, and a country schoolhouse, without electricity or… Read more

Henry awoke to sounds of an ambulance, heavy footsteps, unfamiliar voices, and his mother’s cries. His grampa was wheeled out of the house on a stretcher and somehow Henry knew he’d never see… Read more

It was a gorgeous autumn day in New England when my hiking club headed to Mount Toby in Sunderland, Massachusetts. The air was dry and crisp, the sky a glaze of cobalt blue. Parking our cars, we… Read more

Many people don’t know when to quit. Look at the many sports figures who, because of the money and notoriety, have stayed beyond their primes. With no term limits for politicians, many old… Read more

Mr. Collins was headmaster of a small private boys school named Swiftwood, located near a large lake in Maine. The school was in the throes of being renovated and Mr. Collins had an idea. Why not… Read more

The beach was so hot one could see the heat rising in hazy puffs of steam. Cybil ran quickly to the waters’ edge to cool her burned feet, as her mom worked diligently to set up the beach chairs and… Read more

Traditionally, school starts the Wednesday after Labor Day, and so it was in 1927. It was the seventh of September when I started school, fourteen days before my fifth birthday. (I checked the date… Read more

My mother (nicknamed “Hester” by me) and I had acquired an old country schoolhouse from the Town of Montgomery for $800 and were remodeling it for a home. At age 23, I worked for the… Read more

Late one Southwick evening in early 1962, my parents, Bob & Claire Shiveley, happened to be out with two of their friends night hunting with flood lamps. A strange light in the sky, heading… Read more

Springfield’s Union Station, in 1936, seemed a cavernous place to an eight year old. I was there with my Dancing Classes for my first train ride, a trip to New York City. We walked through the… Read more

The beach was so hot one could see the heat rising in hazy puffs of steam. Cybil ran quickly to the waters’ edge to cool her burned feet, as her mom worked diligently to set up the beach chairs and… Read more

The weather had trouble making up its mind on what it was going to do on this Saturday in June.  Gil Bass finished his breakfast and decided he would spend the day fishing on Congamond… Read more