Montague Bookmill

The Obligatory Post.

Not much time to blog today, so we'll skip the politics. I can use a break anyway, even I got tired sometimes of my own cynicism.

This afternoon I paid a visit to the Montague Mill. I think every blogger in the Valley except me has posted about it at one time or another, so I'll spare you a rerun of the obvious.

To get there you have to go past the ancient Montague Town Hall. Majestic in its simplicity, the structure was erected way back in 1858. Can't you just picture crowds cheering the end of the Civil War outside that building?

At the time of day I arrived at the Montague Mill the sun was directly behind it, making taking a picture of it impossible. However here's the photo from their promotional brochure:



The place is a masterpiece of funky charm, and I spent some time sitting in the sun by a window looking at a vanity book of paintings by Beatle Paul McCartney. 

The paintings sucked, but the peaceful setting was renewing.

Upon leaving I wanted to get a picture of the Sawmill River itself, but found the access to the observation deck blocked by high snow.

Of course we citizen journalists are undeterred by the forces of nature, and so I trudged through the snow pile to reach the fence and capture this postcard image.

Earlier this year historian Robert Young visited the bookmill, and took similar photos under better conditions.

Closer to Home

Speaking of snow piles, the students are arriving back in town this weekend and celebrating the arrival of another semester. The bar business will boom in downtown Amherst tonight, but in the meantime these students piled a wall of snow up to their porch in order to create a snowboarding ramp. 

Capitalism in Action

A combination Kentucky Fried Chicken - Taco Bell has opened in the spot of the old Wendy's on King Street in Northampton. I like them both, but I'm not sure how happy the McDonald's is next door, which has been competition free for over a year.