Monday, February 25, 2019

Days 28-31: Sturbridge at Last!

100 Worcester Rd to Sturbridge Coffee House
Today's report takes me seven miles through Charlton to Sturbridge, Massachusetts. My first goal is reached!

For the most part this trek took me past many businesses and some very old houses, most of which are not considered especially historical by realtors. For instance, there is this house (pictured below) at 19 Sturbridge Rd that was built in 1810. Quite beautiful, no? But not on any list of historical sites.
19 Sturbridge Rd, Charlton
And there is this house just off Highway 20 at 5 Carpenter Hill Rd in Charlton that was built in 1790.

5 Carpenter Hill Rd, Charlton
Massachusetts seems kind of blase about such old houses, unlike more recently settled states (such as Michigan).

Among the normal chain restaurants, industrial retailers, car dealerships, quick-stop stores and gas stations were a few businesses that caught my eye. One was Fabric Stash, a quilt store at 45 Sturbridge Rd, Charlton. It seemed like a typical quilt store, but it was nice to see it there as a local business.

Once I got into Sturbridge, I spotted Mole Hollow Candles. Though it sounds like an ordinary candle store, it's in fact not ordinary because they actually make the candles they sell there: Mole Hollow Candles, at 208 Charlton Rd, Sturbridge. And they make a lot of candles! Below is a photo of their building--yes, it's a factory.
Mole Hollow Candles
But lest you think they are like any other factory, I've copied the story of their beginnings from their website, below. I can picture these candle makers in 1969 selling their wares at farmers markets, can't you?
Mole Hollow Candles was founded in western Massachusetts in 1969. We began by selling candles at farmers markets, and slowly scaled up to a national presence. Today, Mole Hollow Candles can be found throughout the country at independent retailers, gourmet stores, Bloomingdale's, and Whole Foods Markets.

Quite a lot has changed since 1969, but some things - like our process and our materials - never will. We maintain the utmost commitment to quality, artisan manufacturing with a focus on domestically sourced waxes, wicks, and scents. We employ local craftspeople and all of our products remain made in Massachusetts.

Of course, passing through Sturbridge means passing by the famous historic site, Old Sturbridge Village, one of the many historic villages in the country, and the largest in New England. It's designed to recreate a village in 1830s Massachusetts. Since it is not located on US-20, I won't be visiting today, but I do have a memory of visiting it back in 1969 and enjoying it very much!

North Cemetery
The second oldest cemetery in Sturbridge, North Cemetery, lies along US-20, though you can't see it from the road.

Below is a plaque that was erected at the cemetery describing its historical significance.

North Cemetery Information
Well, I've finally made it to my destination today, the Sturbridge Coffee House, where I plan to take a break and have some coffee. It's a very appealing place!
Sturbridge Coffee House

Sturbridge Coffee House

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Days 26 & 27: Heading for Charlton

The next two days and four miles take me into Charlton, Massachusetts. I'll be stopping at 100 Worcester Rd in Charlton, where there is a business called Innerenewal Massage & Integrated Therapy.
Arnies 24 Hr Towing to Innerenewal Massage Therapy
This stretch of road, much like the last few sections, hasn't much to distinguish it. But we are getting into some hillier terrain, as you can see from the terrain version of the Google map, below.

Charlton is an old town, as are the others along this route. It's fairly small--only about 13,000 people, most of whom are white with a median income of around $90,000. It was first settled in 1735 as a part of Oxford. It became its own town in 1775. It's famous for being the site of Grizzly Adams' grave, and for its library that notoriously banned one of Mark Twain's books, Eve's Diary, in 1906, as being indecent because of its illustrations: drawings of the unclothed Eve and her husband, Adam.

Unfortunately, US-20 does not pass through the historic districts of the town, but I shall continue on nonetheless, until I reach Sturbridge, which may proved more interesting. But for now, I'll rest at the site of Innerenewal Massage Therapy.
100 Worcester Rd, Charlton
On to the next stage of my journey and the next four hours of practice!

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Days 24 & 25: Passing by Oxford

On this four-mile stretch I'm traveling from 530 Washington St, Auburn to Oxford, Massachusetts, stopping at Arnies 24 Hour Towing.

It looks like we have now reached the point where US-20 roughly parallels I-90 for a ways. This means the kinds of sights we will see along this stretch of the highway will be a continuation of the ones we've seen since arriving at Worcester: industrial wholesalers, car dealerships, major chain restaurants and hotels and big box stores such as Walmart and Home Depot. In other words, businesses are catering to people who are getting off the highway or just passing through. Residents also shop there, of course, but they want to keep their quaint towns quaint, so they don't encourage these kinds of businesses in the downtown areas. Auburn and Oxford's town centers are miles away from US-20 (Auburn north of the highway, Oxford south), which makes me wonder what was located here back in the day when the highway was the principal east-west route through the state.

One of the animals you can buy
 at  Dinky Reptiles
The one interesting, unusual and somewhat creepy business I passed is Dinky Reptiles and Aquatics, at 809 Southbridge Street, Auburn, where you can buy reptiles and amphibians and other slimy, slinky animals for pets, or sometimes for food (for your reptilian pets, apparently). Some people are into this sort of thing, and the store has gotten very good reviews, so who am I to say?

Oxford is also an old town, and has some interesting history. according to Wikipedia. Here is an excerpt from that article:
"Oxford was first settled in 1687 and was officially incorporated in 1713. It was the birthplace of Clara Barton, the first president and founder of the American Red Cross. Oxford was originally settled by Huguenots in two waves, the original settlement having been abandoned after four residents (John Johnson and his three children, Peter, Andrew and Mary) were killed in a violent confrontation with local Native Americans. This event, the Johnson Massacre, is commemorated near the south end of town on Main Street. The remains of the Huguenot Fort (built in 1686) still exist near Huguenot Road.[1]"
Well, I guess that's it for this leg of my journey. I've arrived at Arnie's 24 Hour Towing, so it's time to take a break.
Arnies 24 Hour Towing