Simpler Times, Simpler Lines

While we wait for the Wired West imbroglio to be resolved, let's look back at the Beechmont Telephone Company. Established in the early 1900s, this was an entirely local effort - Ma Bell was not involved. The single line started at the East Windsor home of Charles H. Ball, and ended in the Peru home of William R. Pierce, by way of Oscar Jacob's house. Other local families joined in over time, as did the East Windsor general store (pictured).

The service was very simple. No central office, no charge for calls. Just one wire, generally strung from tree to tree. Homes on the wire installed their own wall-mounted phone boxes with dry cell batteries and hand-cranked generators for signals. Each signal was heard in every connected location, and anyone could listen in to others' conversations if so moved. In other words, not quite soup-cans-and-string, but a member of the same family.

Pros: Unlimited free calls. Great for gossip. Cons: No long distance. No Google. No Skype....well, the list of cons is pretty extensive, so I'll leave it at that. Bring on the broadband! --- Susan Phillips

Introducing Windsor's Board of Health

Here's our recently appointed Board of Health—Chairman Dr. Joe Pfeifer and co-clerks Sue Jacobs and Jean Wagner—already hard at work on behalf of this community. Windsor's Health Agent, Skip Hugabone, is helping to bring them up to speed on the various health-related issues in town. The board meets on Tuesdays at 6 PM in the Town Offices. Their meeting schedule is posted outside the Town Clerk's office. Thank you Joe, Sue and Jean for filling these important roles!

We're a Green Community!

Thanks to the diligence and hard work of Windsor’s Green Committee, our town has just been designated a Green Community! Now we can use our recently awarded $12,500 Municipal Energy Technical Assistance grant to hire a consultant who will conduct an in-depth energy audit designed to identify sources of heat loss and energy inefficiencies in municipal buildings. As an active Green Community, Windsor is positioned to receive substantial grants towards addressing such issues. We’re among one-hundred-fifty-five Massachusetts communities committed to finding clean energy solutions that reduce long-term energy costs and strengthen our local economies. THANK YOU Green Committee members Stu Besnof, Jan Bradley, Marnie Meyers and Bob Meyers for your incredible devotion and effort!

Singing in These Hills!

This past Sunday, thanks to Rev. Alex and Patti Hackett-Hunter, our hills were alive with the sound of the Blafield Children's Chorus singing international holiday tunes to a standing-room-only Windsor Congregational Church! Bells were a-ringing and folks were singing along. Along with the festivities, a gorgeous handmade table donated by Scott Brockway was raffled-off, raising well over $600 for Windsor's Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you, Scott! And thank you, Patti and Alex, for all you do to bring this community together!

Giving Thanks

Friends of Windsor's mailbox has been overflowing with your gratitude! And we'd like to extend our gratitude in return: THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to contribute. Your donations allow us to publish Windsor Now & Then every month, keep this website up, produce the town phone directory, and pursue the exciting new directions we're taking on behalf of our community. Your support is not only crucial to the work we do, it validates why we do it. Together we're helping Windsor realize how great a community it can be.

Notchview in November

The trails are all cleaned up, relatively dry, and great for walking at this time of year. Enjoy the fresh air, natural beauty, and consider taking a break at one of the memorial benches. This one, dedicated to the memory of Windsor resident Helen Monico, is on Whitestone Trail, east of Miner Trail. An excellent skier and avid hiker, Helen enjoyed Notchview's trails well into her 80's.

Windsor residents and Trustees members: free. Non-members: $2. Maps are available in the Visitor's Center.

Historical Site Map is Live!

We've made a good start on our interactive online map, but it is still a work in progress. Each of the 24 new historical site markers can be found, with a numbered tag and a label. Click on the tags (green for cemeteries, blue for schools, and red for everything else) to learn the approximate dates that the relevant entity was founded and how long it was active. For many, you'll also find a photograph from the collection of the Windsor Historical Commission -- like this one of the handsome A.O.U.W. Hall, #18 on the map. Take a look, click around, and if you have information or photographs relating to any of the sites that you would be willing to share, please let us know. Any ideas for improvement are welcome!

Windsor Trick or Treat!

Calling all ghouls, goblins, fairies, and other spooky characters! This Saturday, October 31 from 4-6 pm, when you're out haunting the town, be sure to stop at Friendly Fred's, Sangar's Store, Windsor Congregational Church, and at the Town Offices, where each room will have different treats and surprises: the Library, Senior Room, Town Clerk's Office, Select Board's Office, and the Police Department. Have fun, be visible and stay safe!

Meet Sam!

Here’s our Fire Department’s newest member, a strapping 130 pounds of rivets and fire hose. The creation of Lieutenant/Training Officer Blake Edwards, Sam’s joint movements closely represent that of a real person, which means more realistic training scenarios for search & rescue, firefighter rescue, and vehicle extrication. Sam was used for the first time this week as an injured hunter in the woods off Savoy Hollow Road. Seven firefighters responded, extricating him using Windsor’s rescue ATV, GPS's and other equipment. “Sam will be put to good use,” says Chief Scott Eastwood. Kudos to Blake for his ingenuity, and to the whole crew for their remarkable dedication!

WVFD Search & Rescue Training

Our fire crew has been conducting regular Structure Fire Search & Rescue Trainings at a house in Savoy that's being used for that purpose prior to being razed. Utilizing new equipment and techniques, they practice locating and rescuing victims or downed firefighters, as well as self-rescue methods such as wall breaching (bottom right photo).

"A real structure allows for far more realistic training scenarios than are usually possible and provides a great learning environment," says Blake Edwards. "We would like to thank the Savoy Fire Department for sharing this great resource." And WE would like to thank the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department for all of their hard work, sacrifice, and devotion.

Super Moon Eclipse Over Windsor!

These photos of last night’s rare lunar event were taken right here in town, where our dark skies make for ideal viewing. A super moon is when a new or full moon occurs while at its closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit, making it appear considerably larger and brighter than other full moons. What made this one so rare is that it coincided with a lunar eclipse. The last time this happened was in 1982. It won’t happen again until 2033.

The first shot was taken just after the eclipse began. The second one was taken a couple of hours later near the full eclipse, where the moon is in the shadow of the Earth. Light scattering off Earth’s atmosphere causes a coppery-red appearance, which is why this is sometimes called a blood moon.

Kudos to Tim Crane for capturing these images from the front porch!

Give Us Your Best Shot!

Fall is Windsor's moment. Apple trees bowing down under the weight of their fruit, marsh-side maples reflected in a beaver pond...even the tree fungus is gorgeous. 

Friends of Windsor invites you to get out there, capture the autumn glory with your camera or smart phone, and send us your favorites. Then we will create an online gallery of Windsor's fall beauty here on the website.

When we're deep in contemplation of the many shades of snow white and sky gray, a good shot of maple foliage is going to work wonders.

Email images in jpeg format to fowindsor@gmail.com.

Now is the Time Gospel Concert

Special guest Charles Neville will be appearing with gospel singers Moonlight Davis, Morning Star Chenven, and the Spirit Singers, accompanied by The Spirit Brothers Band with Windsor's own Ben Kohn on piano! WHEN: Saturday, September 26, 7:00 pm; WHERE: West Cummington Church. Suggested donation: Adults - $20, Teens/Seniors - $10, Children - free. For more information: 413-684-1731 or valckohn@verizon.net

Historical Signs Installed

We'd love to hear what you think. Which ones have you seen? What sort of impact did it have on you? Do you have any stories about a particular site? To share your comments with us, simply scroll way down to the Comments section below, type your message, and click Post Comment. [Ignore the "Subscribe via email" option unless you want to receive notifications whenever someone posts a comment]

We're now working with the Historical Commission to create a map and informational brochure. Meanwhile, we'll periodically feature a site or two in Windsor Now & Then, as well as on this website. So check back often! And if you haven't done so already, consider making a donation to Friends of Windsor. We could really use your help.

Shaw Cemetery, Revealed

Remember our previous post about Joe Birchfield (Tending Shaw Cemetery)? Look what he made happen! Thanks to Joe; plus Madeline Scully, Jeb Chard, Jeff Bailey, Kathy Hill, Rolf Karl, and Jonathan Singleton, this is the peaceful and welcoming view into the new extension of Shaw Cemetery. Joe credits Windsor's highway crew with chipping and hauling away the brush. If you see any of these good folks around town, be sure to thank them. Volunteering is a work of heart.

New Facility Underway at Notchview

Here are Allen and Stevie Bird of Windsor Land Clearing & Excavating preparing the site and foundation for Notchview's new Ski Patrol Center, which is coming together beautifully thanks to local carpenter and fine woodworker, Don Shelton (pictured inside frame). The facility, funded by donations in memory of Dr. David Sigelman, will provide a professional space for managing ski-related injuries and emergencies, as well as for ski patrol trainings. There's no time like a heat wave to reflect on the coming winter! 

Perseid Meteor Showers This Week

Peak viewing of this year’s fiery showers will be August 12 -13. Thanks to Windsor’s dark skies and the timing of the dim new moon, they’re going to be spectacular (up to 100 shooting stars an hour)! Don't miss it! Beginning as early as 10:30 pm, they’ll grow more intense after midnight and into the wee, pre-dawn hours. The last time the Perseid Meteor Showers peaked at the same time as the new moon was in 2007. There’s no need for telescopes or binoculars. Your naked eye is best. All you need is a dark place away from ambient light. Then, look up! Keep your eyes on whatever part of the sky is darkest.

The meteor shower is composed of particles released from Comet 109/Swift-Tuttle during its many trips to the inner solar system. As the comet flies through space it sheds bits of material, creating an orbit with a ring of dusty debris. Each August the Earth's orbit passes through a section of this ring and stray bits of comet dust, most the size of a grain of sand, slam into our atmosphere at 37 miles per second, heating up the air around it enough to make streaks of light shoot across the sky. 

Windsor Volunteer Fire Department

Our devoted crew at this past Monday night's practice doing a "Rural Water Supply" drill.  Using their 1959 Engine, they pump water out of a stream to fill tankers which shuttle the water to a fire scene. In spite of narrow access and low water levels, they moved 20,000 gallons of water in 90 minutes using only Windsor equipment and personnel! WVFD is always looking for new members, as well as EMT's to staff the ambulance. They conduct in-house firefighter training and First Responder training, and can assist in arranging EMT training. If you're interested in joining, call 413-684-3236 and leave a message; or stop by the fire station any Monday night at 7PM.

Windsor Historical Signs

A sneak preview of the signs in progress at Pixley Sign Company in Pittsfield. Just a few details remain before installation begins in mid-August. This phase of Windsor Landmarks Project is a collaboration between Friends of Windsor and Windsor's Historical Commission. The twenty-four coordinated signs will be spread throughout town, four identifying Windsor's main cemeteries, and the remaining twenty marking historically significant sites where recognizable structures no longer exist.

Tending Shaw Cemetery

Joe Birchfield in yesterday's sticky heat tackling saplings and brush that obscure the new section of Shaw Cemetery. Folks, Joe could use a hand! If anyone has some free time and would like to help, please give him a call (#413-684-1189). One of Windsor's many volunteer heroes, he's gradually revealing the old stone wall, opening the view to a very beautiful and peaceful place.