Wonderful piece on the history of trails and the construction of highways and byways in the region.
Seems like people were more at one with their environment a hundred years ago. Would be good for our young people to follow and clear parts of the Wapack Trail nowadays and desert their iPhones and TVs and virtual sense of belonging through social media.
The castor oil might have helped the valerian and hops go down the throat better re Thayer’s sleeping potion. However this foul concoction would have smelled and tasted terrible. Better to go hike the Wapack and wear oneself out with exercise and fresh air.
My father was born in Ashburnham and around 1920 my grandfather bought a farm that was mostly in New Ipswich but had one hayfield that he called the Massachusetts field, I think it was actually in Ashby. My father was an avid hunter (which I'm not) and we hunted the areas described above from the Mass border to Barrett and New Ipswich mountains and around Binney Pond. I followed some of these old trails and one occasion found myself lost deep in Massachusetts and had to hitchhike back to NH rifle in hand. I wish I had known this history then.
Wonderful piece on the history of trails and the construction of highways and byways in the region.
Seems like people were more at one with their environment a hundred years ago. Would be good for our young people to follow and clear parts of the Wapack Trail nowadays and desert their iPhones and TVs and virtual sense of belonging through social media.
The castor oil might have helped the valerian and hops go down the throat better re Thayer’s sleeping potion. However this foul concoction would have smelled and tasted terrible. Better to go hike the Wapack and wear oneself out with exercise and fresh air.
My father was born in Ashburnham and around 1920 my grandfather bought a farm that was mostly in New Ipswich but had one hayfield that he called the Massachusetts field, I think it was actually in Ashby. My father was an avid hunter (which I'm not) and we hunted the areas described above from the Mass border to Barrett and New Ipswich mountains and around Binney Pond. I followed some of these old trails and one occasion found myself lost deep in Massachusetts and had to hitchhike back to NH rifle in hand. I wish I had known this history then.