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Rails of Misfortune: The Fatal Ice Train Accident of 1923

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  —  A Southwick Time Machine Original  Prominent businessman Thomas P. Temple and his wife left their home in Waterbury, Connecticut, on the morning of September 19, 1923, to head to the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.  Bird's-Eye View of the Eastern States Exposition Driving through Southwick, Massachusetts, Thomas accelerated his luxurious five-passenger Jordan touring car and passed a Ford approaching the Springfield grade crossing on the Feeding Hills - Southwick highway.  Meanwhile, a southbound ice train on the Northampton Division of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, running about 20 minutes late, gave its signal as it approached the Springfield grade crossing. It also rang its bell. The train, consisting of a tender followed by a locomotive (the Congamond Switcher) pulling a caboose, was traveling at a higher rate of speed than usual to make up for lost time. (The tender was in front of the locomotive ...

Diamond of Deceit and Doubt

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Ellis Latham lived in Brooklyn, New York. He was the head of the Latham Automatic Registering Company, which had offices in New York City and Boston. He was also the vice president of the Latham Machinery Company, a maker of bookbinding equipment headquartered in Chicago, where he hailed from. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Latham Ellis and his wife had a summer residence in Granville, Massachusetts, at Stow Farm, named for its original owners, Volney and Marshall Stow. Stow Farm had spanned across the original Wildcat Road (a section loosely called Stows Road) at the then-junction of the Westfield and Blandford-Granville roads in an area once known as the Stow District, complete with its own schoolhouse. (The Town of Granville established the Stow School District on April 3, 1815.) In addition to hundreds of acres of farmland and forest, the Stow homestead at one time included at least three homes and several outbuildings, mainly barns and sheds. The Stow family also owned a gristmill and a sawmi...

Fatal Pick: Horror in the Hillside

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  — A Southwick Time Machine Original True Crime Account George Gasper was born in Hungary in April 1866. Seeking a better life, he decided to go to the Land of Opportunity. Arriving in America in 1884, he settled in Westfield, Massachusetts, before purchasing a farm in the Hillside section of neighboring Southwick around 1890. (His future wife, Caroline, came over in 1886. The pair wed in Westfield on November 22, 1889.) With Caroline becoming pregnant in 1890, the Gaspers needed extra help on their farm, so George enlisted the help of his mother, Anna, and stepfather, Andreas, to move from Hungary. But, with more and more children added to the Gasper household, George's aged parents could only do so much, so he hired a young farmhand named Andrew in the spring of 1902. (Between 1890 - 1900, the Gaspers had seven children. Sadly, one died at birth, and one died within two months of being born.) When Andrew fell ill that summer, Anna gave him her full attention while caring for him...

Life Lessons in Music: A Tribute to the Beautifully Talented Mrs. Dintzner (1944 - 2025)

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— A Southwick Time Machine Special Tribute | Remembrance     Mrs. Dintzner Mrs. Dintzner was born in Montpelier, Vermont as Joyce Fidelia Joslin. (Her middle name was chosen in honor of her grandfather's sister.) Joyce was active in the Waitsfield (Vermont) Federated Church and her local 4-H Club. Later in life, as Mrs. Dintzner, she would pass along the skills she learned as a little girl in 4-H to younger folks, having been the arts and crafts instructor for the Southwick Parks and Recreation Commission's Summer Playground Program for several years.  By age 10, Mrs. Dintzner was performing piano solos. As part of a 1954 piano recital, she performed "Musetta's Waltz," from the 1896 opera La bohème,  and "Desert Night." At that same recital, she performed a duet with a classmate - using one piano, they performed "Sheep May Safely Graze," composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1731. In 1956, young Joyce, who attended the Bethany School of Dance in...

From Satkowski to Adams: A Clothing Store Legacy

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—   A Southwick Time Machine Biographical Reconstruction    In early 1948, Albert S. Adams purchased a lot on College Highway in Southwick, Massachusetts, and started constructing a building to house what would become his namesake clothing store. (Southwick was rapidly growing during this period, which saw the opening of Congamond Cleaners and Battistoni's new hardware store in the center of town that same year.) Adams Clothing held its grand opening on July 1, 1948. Believed to be Southwick's first clothing store, it carried a variety of men's fashion and ladies' apparel, shoes, and the complete line of Hanes underwear.        Albert's store was an instant hit with residents. Thieves liked it, too.    Adams Clothing sold Eskiloos (circa 1964)       The first break-in at Adams Clothing occurred on December 17, 1948, with thieves entering the store through a cellar window and making off with a large quantity of merchandise. Thie...