The Elk on the Mohawk Trial

November 11, 2013 by Patricia Lane Evans

Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served our great nation. Thank you for your courage and dedication. Thank you for our freedom.

Today, Veteran's Day, 11/11/13, I will be remembering my Uncle, Staff Sgt. Lawrence Lane, who died in battle in Italy, during World War II. I can't think of a more fitting memorial to all Veteran's, past, present and future, than the Elk Memorial on the Mohawk Trail in Florida, Massachusetts.

"The Elk on the Trail - in honor of the brothers of the Massachusetts Elks who died in the World War. Erected in June 1923."

The clock, inset at the top of the plaque, is set at 11:00... the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the exact time and date of the moment that the armistice came into effect that ended the fighting in the First World War.
— at Whitcomb Summit, on the Mohawk Trail, Massachusetts, USA.

The Babson Boulders

Babson Boulders

November 11, 2013 by Patricia Lane Evans

"KEEP OUT OF DEBT"

This is one of 36 unusual boulders that can be found in the woods along trails in a remote section of Cape Ann, Massachusetts called "Dogtown." The Babson Boulders were commissioned by Roger Babson (of Babson College...) during the Great Depression. Roger hired unemployed stonecutters to carve inspirational inscriptions on approximately three dozen boulders in Dogtown during the Great Depression. Babson also mapped and numbered the cellar holes left from the homes of Dogtown's former residents. Other messages that were carved into the boulders... Love Your Mother, Never Try, Never Win, Kindness, Be On Time.

I haven't found all of the boulders, yet, but eventually I will!

Dogtown Common - GCC49F

The Rollstone Boulder

November 10, 2013 by Patricia Lane Evans

This one's for my sister-in-law Heidi Hewey Lane ... I told her the story of the Rollstone Boulder when we were out together a few weeks ago. When she posted a photo of her shattered cup on Flickr, I thought I'd share this photo of the poor shattered boulder! Imagine the glue it took to put this one back together? I wish it had never been touched...

The Rollstone Boulder is a glacial erratic. It sat for hundreds of years on top of Rollstone Hill, about a mile from the center of Framingham. It was considered a sacred place by the Native Americans. It was also a well-known landmark to hikers. But in 1929 it was blown to bits intentionally, so it could be moved to the center of town to adorn the town common!

Here is the unbelievable story of the Rollstone Boulder from the Earthcache "Glacial Erratic GC16HW9" description:

The history behind the boulder as a landmark is a long one. Indians and early white settlers used the boulder on top of Rollstone Hill as a landmark during their travels as far back as the early 1800s. Later, curious hikers climbed Rollstone Hill just to see the boulder. Professors and students of geology hiked the mountain to study it.(Kirkpatrick)

Rollstone Boulder weighs approximately 100 tons. It is made of porphyritic granite. It currently rests on Fitchburg’s common, but it didn’t always. In fact if you look in a westerly direction you will see where it actually was deposited by the last glacier that came through Fitchburg about 10,000 years ago. Look up to Rollstone Hill, it’s often easy to identify. It’s about one mile away. One can usually see that Fitchburg High School seniors paint their year of graduation on the hill. This is approximately where the Rollstone Boulder was deposited by the glacier. (Andrienne)

It is believed that Rollstone Boulder came from the area around central New Hampshire, perhaps Bedford or Concord, New Hampshire. This means that the last glacier moved this large rock approximately 100 miles. If one takes a close look at the boulder one will see that this granite has some oblong crystals of white feldspars, something that the granite on Rollstone Hill does not have. (Kirkpatrick, 1971).

How did the boulder get to its present day location? Well as can be imagined moving this big boulder in one piece was impractical. If the boulder was going to be moved it had to be done in pieces, this could only be done by fracturing it. This process of fracturing has an interesting story behind it and demonstrates that fracturing the boulder was not very easy to do. On September 6, 1929 the McCauliff Quarry Co. painted the boulder with red and white numbers so that after they fractured and moved the boulder they could put it back together. They then dug away and blew up the ground beneath the boulder allowing it to drop 15ft to a ledge below. The boulder did not break apart as they thought it would. They had to eventually use dynamite to blow the rock into pieces so that they could load it on to trucks. They took the pieces of the rock from the top of Rollstone Hill and transported them to the upper common. The boulder was reassembled by Mark LeBlanc at a cost of about $364.74, which was probably a fairly large sum at that time. The assembly was completed around November of 1930. A side note here is that LeBlanc was never reimbursed for his efforts and money.(Andrienne)

Earthcache - Glacial Erratic GC16HW9

About the Rollstone Boulder - not exactly the whole story!

Landing Place of the First Settlers

November 08, 2013 by Patricia Lane Evans

From a Brief History of Newbury:

The settlers of Newbury were not religious enthusiasts or pilgrims who fled from religious persecution in England. They were substantial, law abiding, loyal English tradesmen, of that staunch middle class that was the backbone of England.

Those that settled Newbury came at different times and on different ships, between the end of April, 1634 and July, 1635. In one of the first ships arriving in 1635, came Thomas Parker a minister along with a small company of settlers. They went first to Agawam (Ipswich) and later along with their countrymen, who came from Wiltshire, England, to Newbury.

The first settlers came by water from Ipswich, through Plum Island Sound, and up the Quascacunquen River, which was later renamed the Parker River. These settlers came to Newbury in May or June of 1635. Ships from England began to arrive almost immediately with cattle and more settlers. Governor Winthrop, in his history of New England under the date of June 3, 1635, records the arrival of two ships with Dutch cattle along with the ship "James", from Southampton bringing more settlers.

Newbury was, therefore, begun as a stock raising enterprise and the settlers came to engage in that business and to establish homes for themselves. In total fifteen ships came in June and one each in August, November and December bringing still more families to the settlement.

There is no record of how many families arrived in the first year. Houses were erected on both sides of the Parker River. The principal settlement was around the meeting house on the lower green. The first church in Newbury could not have been formed before June, as some of those recorded at its formation are not recorded as having arrived until June.

johnamosadams.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/landing-place-of-t...