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working to enrich place-based learning; public historian


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Plainfield Historical Society Offers Online Resource, Rich Hilltown History!

Hilltown Families

Plainfield Historical Society Unveils Website Full of Local History

“In 2003 the Plainfield Historical Society acquired a 1.5 acre parcel along the Mill Brook in Plainfield where there’s a story waiting to be told. The Plainfield mill site contains remnants of three mill foundations that date from the early 19th century through the first decade of the 20th century Thanks to the Historical Society’s conservation effort, the public will soon be able to visit the trio of mill site remains, which illustrate the technological innovation and basic evolution of early water-powered industry in Massachusetts.” – Source: Plainfield Massachusetts Historical Society

Bring local history to life as you plan family activities for the summer! Thanks to Plainfield resident, Lori Austion, The  Plainfield Historical Society has recently unveiled their new website (plainfieldmahistory.org).  Although a work in progress, it’s filled with a rich amount of information on local historical sites and…

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Reading in Bed

Chris Hilton ~ Writer

“Those of you who have seen my book, whatever you may think of its contents, will probably agree that it is a beautiful object.  And if the physical book, as we’ve come to call it, is to resist the challenge of the eBook, it has to look like something worth buying and worth keeping.”

From Julian Barnes’s acceptance speech at the 2011 Booker Ceremony, on winning with his novel, The Sense of an Ending.

A Guardian article states at length how the book buying public are now being seduced by a book’s appearance as well as its content, how more care is being taken in the production and appearance of books. Generally, I don’t believe this is true.

The Sense of an Ending is a physically beautiful object; a compact hardback with dust wrapper containing a nice but simple design, all put together with good quality material.  I think…

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Fast Shows: Thoughts on Being a TV Scriptwriter

Never Knowingly Underwhelmed

Golden-syrup-2Working in TV can be like striding through treacle. Specifically, writing for TV. So why do we do it? Specifically, why do I do it?

At the end of February last year, I hosted what we in the hosting trade haughtily call a “corporate”. It was an in-house event for the Shine Group, Elisabeth Murdoch’s production company, which has acquired a number of other production companies in the UK, including Kudos, Dragonfly and Princess, and operates Shine satellites “out of” France, Spain, Germany, Australia and the States. (They approached me after seeing me host a screening and Q&A at the Edinburgh TV Festival for the thriller Hunted where a miscalculation meant that I didn’t get a chair and had to host it standing up. One job leads to another.)

The Shine gig proved an exhilarating day; smoothly run at their end, and with a good, attentive audience of media buyers…

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Throwback Thursday May-15-2014

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Intown Manchester

the statue:

Although she still stands tall and proud, we’re throwing it back on this Thursday to those who came before her. The statue of Mille the Millgirl, as she is affectionately referred to, is an icon of Manchester’s Mill past. She was dedicated on September 9, 1988 and sculpted by artist Antoinette Schultze.

Picture1Her plaque reads:

“She stands here, for thousands
of 19th century working women:

Industrial revolutionaries who broke
with the past to earn a living,
making history and creating the future

In 1880, one third of Manchester’s population, 3,385 women, worked in the textile mills of The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, situated below along the banks of the Merrimack River.”

some facts:

She is a powerful reminder of “the thousands of women who worked in [the] factories during the 19th century. The first mill girls came here from the farms and small towns of New England to…

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Q&A: Mother’s Day Brunch

Hilltown Families

Question and Answer

Where’s a great restaurant families can go for Mother’s Day Brunch?

  • Sarah Lewis recommends: “Opa Opa’s in Southampton.”
  • Judy Bennett recommends: “Chandler’s
  • Judie Isabella recommends: “Ashfield Lakehouse!!! Great food and two of the greatest waitresses ever!”
  • Craig Fear recommends: “Side Street Cafe in Florence. Some really nice specials just for Mom!”
  • Candy Bird Laflam recommends: “Spruce Corner Restaurant in Goshen.”
  • Robin Morgan Huntley recommends: “Kids under 5 eat free at Blue Heron in Sunderland.”
  • Gillian Kyle Budine recommends: “Hope & Olive in Greenfield, but you probably have to make reservations.”
  • Kelly Tunstall recommends: “Delany House!! Or Yankee peddler!!”
  • Kara Kitchen recommends: “Whately Inn! Reservations needed.”

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