Two Important Things Accomplished

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

Today, I accomplished two important steps moving forward in my research.

First, I went through over fifty building/labor specifications for H.M. Francis buildings and added them to the growing inventory. Some highlights included a house in Athol that was moved twenty feet further from the road before being remodeled and an abundance of boiler systems installed in many of the commercial buildings.

Second, I found the obituary for Sidney Francis, H.M.'s nephew. He died while in New Haven, CT and I thought it would've been easier to find his obituary in the New Haven Register. At the end of the day today I decided to check the Fitchburg Sentinel to see if there was a death notice or maybe an obituary as well. (Sidney was a former resident of Lunenburg).  Lucky for me, a very detailed obituary was published in the Sentinel. The obituary gave me a few key dates that corresponded with his tenure at Yale University as well as other architectural firms he was employed with.

The specifications were very detailed and interesting to read. They allowed for a more technical aspect to be taken when considering all of the intricacies and nuances in a particular building. The Sidney Francis obituary helped to iron out more dates and names to understand more about the talented Francis family.

Alfred Marshall, Marshall's Apple Farm

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

I've never thought of Central Massachusetts as "Apple Country", but the more I think of it, perhaps it is. I can think of four apple orchards off the top of my head in Worcester County and I'm sure there is more. I know that "A is for Apple" and "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" but I'm still curious as to what makes the apple so popular around here.
Local lore suggests it could stem from one of Leominster's more legendary characters, John (Johnny Appleseed) Chapman.

Fig. 1: Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed is believed to have planted many of his apple trees in Ohio and Illinois, but Leominster is still proud of her native son. Each year there is a Johnny Appleseed parade in town and I even attended the elementary school named for him.

Fig. 2: Johnny Appleseed School in Leominster, Massachusetts

The apple orchard I remember visiting the most when I was younger was Marshall's Apple Farm in Fitchburg. Located on Marshall Road, the apple farm is situated on a tall hill that gives a great view of Fitchburg. The farm was also a popular destination in the fall to check out the foliage and pick up pumpkins for Halloween. I think I begged my mother to buy me a cheap pumpkin carving kit almost every Halloween. They would always be the kind with the tiny tools and illustrations that you could tape to your pumpkin of choice and trace with a knife. As I got older, I remember the farm adding a petting zoo and having inflatable play areas for kids but it still never lost its scenic charm.

The house up on Marshall Road wasn't designed by Francis, that had been built many generations prior. The house that was designed by Francis is on Prospect Street.

Fig. 3: Alfred Marshall's Prospect Street Home (photo courtesy of bostongringo.com)

I believe the house was built in 1880 and is a Queen Anne. The 1903 Fitchburg City Directory listed Alfred Marshall as being a "pulley covering mfr. and fruit grower." According to a 1990 Sentinel and Enterprise article about the Marshall Farm, Alfred grew strawberries and peaches prior to 1903 when the first apple trees were planted. The article quotes a genealogical book in saying that, "Alfred Marshall became known as the Apple King of New England...in 1914, the crop produced 7,000 bushel boxes of apples. out of 7,000 trees on the farm, 1,200 were Baldwin apples, 3,500 bear the Macintosh reds name, the remaining trees were equally divided between Sutton Beauties and Wealthies."

Fig. 4: Some apples waiting to be picked

A 1964 advertisement for Marshall Farm reads, "History, romance, success and fame are built into this outstanding Fitchburg institution where pride of product has been upheld for over sixty years. There's an enviable reputation, too, that surrounds this tremendous fruit-growing industry...an atmosphere that reflects pride of product so well-known to us locally. Marshall Farm has long since earned its place on the Roll of Honor of Fitchburg accomplishments."

In our increasingly technological world, it's important to remember how important agriculture was to citizens in prior generations. There is still a great number of U.S. citizens who devote their time and way of life to farming, but before the Industrial Revolution that number was much higher. The next time you want to take in autumn air, head up to a local apple orchard and support your local agriculture. The bag of apples and gallon of cider you bring home will be well worth the trip.

Manufactured Nostalgia: "The Town That Never Was" and "The Tiny Town that Time Forgot"

A recent article by Heather Cox Richardson in The Historical Society centered on a model maker named Michael Paul Smith, who has used sophisticated modeling and photographic techniques to create an entirely fictitious town called Elgin Park.

Fig. 1: A downtown scene of Elgin Park (photo courtesy of http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/)

 In a detailed explanation of his fine craftsmanship, Mr. Smith commented on his influence for Elgin Park:

"My fictional scale-model town of Elgin Park is based on my hometown of Sewickley, Pennsylvania. I have no idea where the name Elgin Park came from, but it feels right. For me, it conjures up the essence of  “Small Town.” It also says stability; a bit isolated but not desolate. Family. Unlocked doors. Home. Sewickley itself is only one square mile and touches the Ohio River. Granted, every town has its secrets and skeletons, but when you walk down those tree-lined streets and hear the train whistles echoing off the hills along the river, everything seems OK. It's that Ok-ness I try to capture in my models and photographs."

Mr. Smith believes that by taking a "less is more" approach, he can allow the viewer to project themselves into the image without bombarding them with too much detail or any people. The photography of his landscape creates a "snapshot" feel to everything, allowing the viewer to walk themselves down Main Street to the corner drugstore.

Fig. 2: Smith adjusting a Studebaker to the curb outside this ideal home (photo courtesy of http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/)

This brilliant use of art to create a three-dimensional and fictional small town U.S.A. reminded me of another person who does practically the same thing...except with his voice.

Garrison Keillor, the host of A Prairie Home Companion has a weekly monologue where in a voice similar to an elder neighbor, he informs you of the recent goings-on in a fictional town called Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. A place often called "The Tiny Town that Time Forgot."

Mr. Keillor combines nostalgic prose and light-hearted humor to bring the listener on an audio journey to Lake Wobegon where they soon feel as though they are right at home. Mr. Keillor, like Mr. Smith uses a "less is more" approach when it comes to some of the buildings, churches and vehicles in Lake Wobegon, but fully develops his human characters with a skill that rarely requires different voice inflections when switching between them in conversation. Rather than carefully arranging 1951 Studebakers and Dad's shiny red Datsun on a sun-kissed Main Street, Mr. Keillor talks about certain hotspots in Lake Wobegon like the Chatterbox Cafe, the Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church and the Sidetrack Tap to bring more "reality" to his stories.

Fig. 3: Keillor delivering a monologue

Part of the popularity of Mr. Keillor's monologues stems from the fact that he delivers them live to an audience without the use of a script or teleprompting device. 

Each monologue famously ends with, "Well that's the news from Lake Wobegon where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children are above average." In that one sign-off, Keillor evokes the pristine of a small-town that is not at all extravagant, nor comprised of larger-than-life characters but more importantly that everyone seems to be taking care of themselves and each other.

Mr. Smith's models and Mr. Keillor's narratives have the ability to transport their audience into a place they've never been, nor will ever visit and thus is the beauty of art and storytelling. Their creative efforts are important for historians to consider. All humans have a way of understanding the experiences of a large community, through storytelling and shared experiences, we are able to learn how we can relate to each other in the past and present.