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The Bicycle: Social Impacts, Past & Present

The Surprising Social Impact of Bicycles and Local Learning Opportunities Did you know that before inventing the world’s first successful airplane, Orville and Wilbur Wright owned a bicycle shop? They repaired and rented out bicycles and eventually went on to build their own bicycles and invent small improvements to the machines. In addition to gaining practice in engineering skills, this business funded their aviation experiments. Simpler and less expensive than cars, bicycles… Read More

Category: Collaborative Consumption, Hilltown Families, History, Suggested Activity, Sustainability Tags: Bicycle, bicycle exchange, Bicycles, bike, Bike Riding, collaborative consumption, Massachusetts, New England, Transporation History, transportation, western massachusetts

Hampshire and Hampden Canal: Gone but not Forgotten

If you look closely at our local landscape here in western MA, there is almost always a hidden story that tells the historical tale of life long ago. One such story is about the Hampshire and Hampden Canal, built in the early 1800’s to connect New Haven with Northampton, defunct by the 1940’s. In an upcoming exhibit at Historic Northampton, the story about the Canal will be told through photographs, images, artifacts and documents and will open your eyes and curiosity about features in the landscape as it relates to local history of transportation and commerce here in the Pioneer Valley. This exhibition is a great way to link an interest in landscape studies with local history, photography, and issues pertaining to American industrialism. Read on…