Know Your Town: South Hadley Falls

Here are a few things we like about South Hadley Falls:

Stop & Go Convenience Store, Bardwell St.

I've never bought a sandwich here but I'm sure they're good. A good place to buy cigarettes. And they have the spiciest Slim Jims in town, I've heard.

Stoney's Pub, 1 Bridge St.

Good location for me to walk home. Thursday night is Steak and Bake night. Review from Josh on Foursquare: Paper City beer is delish :)

South Hadley Public Library, Bardwell St.

Great movie selection. This weeks picks: The Trials of Henry Kissinger; Freakonomics and Who Killed the Electric Car.

El Guanaco, Bridge St.

Great Mexican and El Salvadorian food. Be sure to stop in on Tuesdays for $5 chicken burritos.

South Hadley Falls Canal Park.

Great view of the Connecticut River and Mt. Tom. And there is some history here.

View from the platform overlooking the Connecticut River. It's certainly getting colder!

Beachgrounds Park, Main St.

Very nice spray park for the kids. Also swings, baseball fields and a basketball court.

Author enjoying the wading pool at the Beachgrounds in 1970. Lifeguards used to hand out red rubber balls. Which was awesome!

Pine Cone Walkabout: Let's check out the dam!

We start out on Canal St. in South Hadley falls. The river is high so we think it best to check on our old friend.

The churning waters splash up to the hanging branches. We've paddled here many times. Not today!

We like how the Texon building stands bravely as the water pours over the dam. The old building knows the rules and has an intimate relationship with the river and its tempestuous nature.

Over the bridge, we walk into Holyoke and up Canal St. and take a right on Lyman. The engineer sits and waits on tracks near Gatehouse Rd. We wave to him but he ignores us. He's eating a sandwich. 

 

We walk down Gatehouse Rd. to view the dam from the Holyoke side. A driver stops and asks where the road ends. We tell him it's a dead end. He turns around. 

We turn up John St. and come across Ye Olde Bud building. VanDog posted some nice shots of this building earlier this year. 

Turning onto High St. we look over our shoulder and see the Caledonian staring down at us. We see the Trustees of Reservations has an office on the first floor. We've noticed their sign at the Dinosaur Footprints on Rt. 5. 

We're getting hungry as we start home. Is that kielbasa and kapusta we smell? Perhaps it is our imagination. Gramps is close by. Let's go!

Summer Fun: Pool at the South Hadley Beechgrounds

(Author with ball. Mt. Tom in background, Summer, 1970)

(Same spot, Spring, 2008)

Hopefully the pool will be open soon!!

The Falls: Mid-Afternoon Sun

(Old Firehouse Museum, South Hadley Falls, Mass. (left), United Methodist Church steeple (center), Mt. Holyoke Masons building (right).

A brisk afternoon walk in the Falls. The warm sun heats the roads and the bricks. My coat is open and I'm not wearing a hat.

(The Richmond apartment building, Main St., South Hadley Falls)

(Dzaidziu owned several buildings in South Hadley. He always had his eye on the Richmond, I'm told. )

Bob Judge, President of the South Hadley Historical Society said, "The building was built for my great-grandfather, Martin Judge (1865-1929). The family folklore is that it was named "Richmond" because his wife was born in Richmond, VA., which she was."

(Doorway on Bardwell St.)