Come Together in Washington
Linda Levernoch remembers when there were more houses clustered around her family home on Upper Valley Road. Neighbors would get together, kids would play and there were always things going on up the hill at the school. “I miss that,” she will tell you, with a broad smile.
To recreate that sense of community, Linda has spearheaded a group in the town to try and bring more of us together. “What could be done,” she asked at our first meeting, “to reach out to residents new to the town?” The group began to work on a Washington brochure to include a bit of our history, important contacts in the town, information about the town offices, the Transfer Station, and a list of annual community events.
We also shared our thoughts about living here, what it meant to us, that elusive and gratifying sense of neighbors connecting. Kent Lew, a member of the group, spoke about getting to know our town from the ground up, so to speak, through his work helping folks connect to our broadband service. “I think I’ve been in every basement in town,” he said.
“Our town is small and unique,” Kent said, and we all agreed. Linda came up with a plan for a series of Community Hikes which you may have read about here in Tracks. The hikes, she felt, would provide opportunities for us to spend time together and experience our town, its history, its unique beauty, and the preserved lands in our State Forest.
The Bird Walk
This first expedition, in May, was led by our resident bird expert, Ed Neumuth. Ten intrepid residents, some with foresight, in rain gear, met at the Town Park at 7 am and were rewarded with the site of silver blue-winged tree swallows swooping and soaring over the gazebo, bluebirds perching near their houses, yellow warblers flitting about at the field edges, and even a Killdeer, a kind of plover, nesting along the gravel path. The Killdeer we learned will fake a broken wing and hop along to distract you from its nest. We got a good look and then made our way to the marsh along Upper Valley Road where we were able to get a close look at a rare, long-beaked Virginia Rail when it appeared through the tall grass. From there we headed up Frost Road where we made a stop and then to the State Forest via West Branch Road. Neumuth describes our town as the premier birding location in all the Berkshires. His annual Washington bird count in a recent year included some 156 species.
The Railway Hike
Despite the inclement weather, David Pierce, president of the Chester Railway Station Museum, conducted the next community hike in mid-June. More than twenty residents, along with participants from Lenox, Middlefield, and Savoy who read about the hike in the Berkshire Eagle, followed Pierce through the intermittent rain as he told about the 3,000 Irishmen who came to build the railroad from Boston to Albany—and directly through our town. It was a merry band following Pierce, folks happy to listen and walk and introduce themselves to one another as they went. We started by peering down from the Summit Hill bridge 65 feet to the tracks below, imagining what a huge job cutting through all that granite must have been like in 1840 with just picks and shovels!
From here the group walked down the hill to the entrance along the tracks to Muddy Pond, past the location of the Railroad Station, to the highest point along the railroad track between Boston and Chicago. Pierce told the group about Engineer-Major George Washington Whistler, (father of the famous painter, James McNeal Whistler), who surveyed the land for the railroad on horseback and directed the construction of the 150-mile route. It took two-and-a-half years to complete the tracks from Boston to Albany and included 21 bridges over the winding Westfield River, cutting through the massive heights of granite in Washington and coping with the sinking tracks along Muddy Pond. During the walk, two trains came whistling through, oblivious to these great accomplishments. David Pierce raised his hand and gave a dignified wave.
Boston to Albany and included 21 bridges over the winding Westfield River, cutting through the massive heights of granite in Washington and coping with the sinking tracks along Muddy Pond. During the walk, two trains came whistling through, oblivious to these great accomplishments. David Pierce raised his hand and gave a dignified wave.
Marsh Trail Hike
If you missed the Railway hike, another historic hike is set for July 29th at 9 am in our State Forest along the Washington Mountain Marsh Trail. Alec Gillman, DCR West Region Interpretive Coordinator will guide the tour.
Picnic, Music
On Saturday, August 19, a Picnic is planned on the Old Town Common, opposite the Town Hall on Washington Mountain Road. Granite markers designate the area and remind us where the old clapboard church on the green once stood. We hope for a sunny day with a breeze to send kites aloft and Frisbees sailing! Folks can pack a picnic and bring a blanket or folding chairs. Lemonade and iced tea will be served and anyone who wants to bring a desert to share would be more than welcome. Carol Lew has created and maintains a mown path surrounding the town land that folks can stroll along. If you cross the road and visit the Old Town Hall Cemetery, you can see the restoration work Carol and a work crew of residents are doing on the gravestones.
Bring your binoculars, your kites, a Frisbee. Bring your children. And their children!! A rain date has been set for the following Saturday August 26th.
Washington’s annual and popular Music in the Park will take place on successive Sunday afternoons in August.
Autumn Events
As the leaves begin to turn in September, the Sons and Daughters Reunion will take place once again at the Old Town Hall. The Town Historic Commission will have a display, folks will bring potluck to share, and residents will reminisce. This town tradition began after the Whitneys bought up all the farms to the West of Washington Mountain Road for their grand estate, land that is now October Mountain State Forest. Folks that used to live here would meet near the old train station and have a picnic so they could visit with their former neighbors. It’s a tradition that moved up the hill to the Old Town Hall and has been going for over a hundred years.
October will bring another historic hike conducted by Tom Hoffman, of Washington’s historical commission. He will lead curious residents to several of the old quarries around Ashley Lake.
More about the annual Pumpkin Walk at the town Park in October and the Tree Lighting Ceremony in December will appear in later issues of the tracks.
Come, join your neighbors for a hike, a picnic, or a concert. … enjoy our town