|
 Mysteries
of Belchertown's History by Cliff
McCarthy
This book is for the curious. Indeed, it's like an
old-time curiosity cabinet filled with interesting
objects, photographs and documents each with a tale
to tell about the people who have populated
Belchertown over two centuries and a half. From the
Red Bridge to the Desilets' farm, from Luther
Holland's Fire Tub to Bardwell's Votometer, you will
encounter tinkerers and tradesmen, merchants and
murderers, soldiers and celebrities, who will help
you to see with new eyes the town around you -- to
know the place where you live.
Price = $20.00 order from:
info@stonehousemuseum.org
 1600
— 2012 Tales from the Trail: Four Centuries of Travels
Along the Mohawk Trail
A documentary film created by students from Gabriel Abbott
Memorial School, Florida, Massachusetts
 Great momento of
Belchertown's 250th Anniversary!
Cat's Meow figures of the Belchertown Historical
Association's stage coach are now available
at Rannsaka (115
North Main Street) and Swift
River Crafts (51 South Main Street - on the
common) for $15.00.
Typical of stage coaches that ran through
Belchertown in the 19th Century, this coach was
built in Concord New Hampshire in 1869, and
purchased by the Belchertown Historical
Association in 1929. The coach is now housed at
the Ford Annex on the grounds of the Stone House
Museum.
IN REVIEW!
Seventh
Annual Mystery Dinner - February 2, 2013 at the Villa Rose in Ludlow.
"Peace, Love and Murder!" presented by by
BUCC's Playhouse was a smash!
10/28 Halloween Event 6—8 pm Old Town Hall
Archeology event Graveyard
tours!
 11/3 Yuletide Fundraiser 9—4 at the StoneHouse
handcrafted items
baked goods
silent auction chinese auction
12/1 Bus Trip to New York City Call
Marnie 323-5211 for details
Opening Day at the StoneHouse ~ May 12 9-2 on the
grounds
Plants, Crafts and “Old Bags”
Members Cocktail Party
June
29th -
My Adventures on eBay Thursday, June 14th at
7:00pm
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple Street, Belchertown
Join Belchertown native Brian Campbell as he gives a
visual presentation of some of his more memorable flea
market and thrift shop finds which he’s sold on eBay.
Learn how you, too, can turn those seemingly worthless
objects from your attic or garage into cold hard cash.
As the old adage goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s
treasure”
DOGS AT THE STONE HOUSE
 Ana
and Kiltie II, Canine Members of the Belchertown
Historical Association, model wool /fleece dog coats
that were sold at the November 12th
Yuletide event. Coats made by Florine Neggers can
be ordered by contacting Florine at
fneggers@gmail.com.
Models are owned by
Members Becki Smith and Nancy Pratt.
Yuletide 2011 - a little late but a
great success!
Belchertown Fair
2011
=
Congratulations to Eric Scudere-Weiss
Eric was awarded this year’s scholarship from the
Belchertown Historical Association. Best of luck as you
continue your studies!
Living History Days 2011:
Farm Tours of
Belchertown
Austin
Brothers Valley Farm;
Gray Craig Farm;
Green Diamond Tree Farm;
Greene
Acres Equestrian Center; NESFI:
New England Small Farm Institute (including
Stone Soup Farm,
Farmacy Gardens,
White Oak
Organic Farm);Sentinel
Farm;
Woodcock Farm;
Stone House
Museum.
On
Saturday, August 13th, the Belchertown Historical
Association hosted this year’s Living History Days.
Read all about
it!
 250th
Anniversary - A chance to honor Doris Dickinson
BHA President, on behalf of the Board of Trustees,
presents a plaque to our
Archivist Emerita Doris Dickinson, who was in town for this historic
occasion.
Member Cocktail Party
Friday, June 24 6-8 pm On the Grounds of
the Museum
Annual Meeting & Potluck Supper 2011
Sunday, May 1 6pm home of Denise and Dan Smith
32 South Main Street, Belchertown
Opening Day Event 2011
Saturday, May 7 9-2 Plant Sale /
Old Bags / Crafters On the Grounds of the Museum
Just in time for Mother's Day! Please come and
please donate plants and bags!
Click here:
PICTURES 250th
celebration gala Ball 2011 held at the
Belchertown High School on April 2. The Association
had two tables of attendees, and several of us came
in historic costumes. (We had two hoopskirts, a
19th century gentleman, a flapper and an elegant
lady from the 40s!) The food was fabulous and the
Heritage Pops Orchestra was a lot of fun to listen
and dance to!
 Murder
Mystery Dinner February 5, 2011
Thanks to all who supported our sixth annual Murder
Mystery Dinner in February. Instead of hiring
actors from outside of town, the Historical
Association again entered into an agreement with
BUCC’S PLAYHOUSE,
from the Belchertown Congregational Church, so the
dinner theater served jointly both as a much-needed
fundraiser for the Historical Association and also
as a fundraiser for the Congregational Church. The
actors performed Paula Hilton’s
Fatal Football Fever,
a high-energy comedy/mystery about a professional
football team coming to town. Someone was murdered
(or course) and bedlam ensued, resulting in an
evening of entertainment that delighted the
audience.
More than 100 people came to the Villa Rose to support
this much-needed fundraiser. The food was wonderful, the
staff was very attentive and, of course, the actors from
BUCC’s Playhouse did a wonderful job. Everyone seemed to
have a great time, so many thanks to the actors from
BUCC’s Playhouse, the management and staff of the
Grapevine Grille, and all who attended this fun,
mid-winter event.
 250th Celebration Friday, December 31
Stone House Museum
New Year’s Eve
found us playing Victorian Parlor Games in the Stone House
as part of the “Celebrate Belchertown” event. We were
thrilled to be part of the kick-off event for our town’s
250th Anniversary, and hope that you will all avail
yourselves of the upcoming events planned by the town’s
250th committee. I know that a banquet dinner is planned
during the month of April—let’s get some Stone House
tables together and celebrate our town’s big birthday.
New York City Bus Trip Saturday,
December 4
This fundraiser has been very successful for us,
and it’s lots of fun, too. The driver made several stops to
drop people off near their destination
(Rockefeller Center, the Met. Museum of Art, etc).
After a day of site-seeing, shopping,
theatre-going or visiting with friends, everyone
met back at the bus and we arrived back home
around 11PM.
Click
here for update and photos:
Yuletide at the
Stone House Saturday, November 6
Stone House Museum
Read all about it!
Calling all Bakers
and Basketmakers! |
Yuletide
Cash Raffle | Log Cabin Quilt Raffle
 Archeology
Day Saturday, October 9, 10-12
Stone House Museum grounds
For the 10th
year, the Stone House Museum was the site of a
dig celebrating Archaeology Week in Massachusetts.
Inside the museum will be a display of Native
American artifacts from the museum’s collection
and the results of previous years’ digs.
Salem Bus Trip Saturday,
October 16, 8-8  
Many thanks to
Peg Louraine and
Mary Avery who helped
organize this wonderful event. Many people
commented that this was a wonderful outing for the
whole family and hope that we will repeat the trip
this year. We saw the festive,
historical and bewitching sights in SALEM MA, and
shopped and visited popular destinations like the
House of Seven Gables, The Witch Museum, and the
Peabody Essex Museum.
 October 2, 2010 -
Annual "Bottle & Can" Drive
Thank you! If you missed
us, we are happy to take a donation.
Belchertown Fair!
We enjoyed seeing many old friends
and making some new ones at the Belchertown Fair,
where many visitors came to the Belchertown
Historic District Commission’s booth—and our
decorations won the Fair Booth Theme Prize! It was
a great opportunity for us to advertise our
mission and upcoming events
Member Cocktail Party pictures
June 25, 2010 6—8 pm
Living History
Days
pictures
July 10 and 11
Boston
Flower Show 2010 Travelers from the
Historical Association spent a fun day on Wednesday,
March 24 travelling to the Boston Flower Show. This
 annual fundraiser was not held in 2009 because there
was no Flower Show that year, but this year it—and
we—were back in Boston!
After leaving Belchertown a few minutes early
(everyone was on time!) we arrived in Boston around
9:30 and were treated to a tour through the city by
our thoughtful Bus Driver. Three hours were spent
at the Flower Show admiring blooms, birds,
landscaping and gardening supplies for sale, and
then we went to historic Quincy Market for lunch,
shopping, and sight-seeing. In Faneuil Hall some of
us heard employees of the National Park Service
describe the hall’s history and on the top floor saw
the display of historic weapons and paintings shown
by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of
Massachusetts. Due to the earlier switch to
Daylight Savings Time we arrived back in bright
cheery sunshine after a fun day.
 Murder
Mystery Dinner—Great success!!
Thanks to all who supported our fifth annual Murder
Mystery Dinner in February! Instead of hiring
actors from outside of town, this year the
Historical Association entered into an agreement
with BUCC’S PLAYHOUSE, from the Belchertown
Congregational Church, so the dinner theater served
jointly both as a much-needed fundraiser for the
Historical Association and also as a fundraiser for
the Congregational Church.
The actors performed Paula Hilton’s Bedlam in Cabin
B, a high-energy comedy/mystery about a cruise boat
captain who throws a party to prove that his ship is
not haunted. Someone was murdered (or course) and
bedlam ensued, resulting in an evening of
entertainment that delighted the audience. We sold
out of all of our tickets and more than 100 people
came to the Grapevine Grille to support this
much-needed fundraiser. The food was wonderful, the
staff was very attentive and, of course, the actors
from BUCC’s Playhouse did a wonderful job.
Everyone seemed to have a great time, so many thanks
to the actors from BUCC’s Playhouse, the management
and staff of the Grapevine Grille, and all who
attended this fun, mid-winter event.
Our
dearly loved Archivist and longtime mainstay of our
Association,
Doris Dickinson,
has decided to move to South Carolina to be nearer
her many family members down there.
Enjoy the pictures from her going away party!
The Bridgmans of Belchertown: 
An American Family Click on this
link to visit a site that traces the history and
influence of a prominent Belchertown family in the
19th and early 20th century. It was a
project of the Belchertown High School Social
Studies Department in collaboration with the
Belchertown Historical Association/Stone House
Museum and the Hampshire Educational Collaborative,
and funded by U.S. Dept. of Education Teaching
American History Program
From the Archives
- interesting stories of historical significance
Questions and Answers - Submit a question or see what others are asking.
Need a tent for a special event?
We have two good size tents for BHA member's
use. Contact Owen at 413 323-5974 or Diane at 413
283-6334.
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