G&U yard - May 1

G&U bridge - Hopedale Street

May 1

    The blacksmith shop was in back of the stable.  A real nice older man who knew what he was doing.  
    He worked full time at it.  He fabricated all kinds of tools and parts.  Bill Barney, March 2003 Bill's
    memories of the blacksmith go back to the 1930s. Click here for a little more on the blacksmith.

The back of the General Draper tomb, Hopedale Village Cemetery

Bradford pears - corner of Dutcher and Northrop streets.


    I've been told that the buildings in these pictures,
    plus the old Hopedale Coal & Ice office will be
    razed sometime in the next month or two.

    Looking up through the G&U bridge at Hopedale Street, plus a
    sign evidently suggesting that you don't drive into the abutment.
    Under the guy in the sunglasses it says Karmaloop. For the one
    or two of you who might be interested, here's a bit of what their
    website says.

    In a world dominated by cookie-cutter clones the evil forces of
    McFashion spread it’s awful agenda throughout the universe. The
    masses lived in a dark and bland world of predictability and
    boredom. The culture had been contaminated and Individual
    style was nonexistent.

    This was not to stand in the year of our ‘Loop 2000, a beacon of
    hope flashed from the Northeast guided by an intrepid
    entrepreneur and his rebel alliance of culturists who rose to
    battle the evil forces of McFashion. They set out to create a
    lifestyle brand...something that was more than just an e-
    commerce site but also a community of style and a full-fledged
    media powerhouse!

    So here I am wondering if my (at last) summer uniform of jeans
    and goofy t-shirts would be considered McFashion. Probably not.

Gas price at left was in 1989. Above, this month.

    My annual shot of Adin over the azalias. There were some bees buzzing
    around. I think that speck above the Shimkus house is one.

The periodic table has gained a lot of weight since I was in high school.

Hopedale in May 2014

Hopedale in April   

Hopedale history ezine for May 1 -
Milford Hospital   

Ezine for mid-May -
The Country Club   

Ezine Menu                      HOME   

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    Neighboring town photos for May - The Quinsigamond River in Grafton.

    Left - The G&U Railroad bridge over the Quinsigamond.

    Below - Tunnel under the Mass Pike.

    Click here for more of the river.

    Several members of the Council on Aging pottery
    class and their teacher - Community House, May 6.

    With a bit of luck, and some thinning, by September I
    hope these little flowers will be good sized pears

The whole thing???

    Strawberries, May 12. I haven't grown them before, but my
    neighbor, Manny, gave me a bunch last year so I thought
    I'd give them a try. They seem to be doing pretty well so far.

    Council on Aging volunteer appreciation
    breakfast at the Community House. Meal
    provided by Atria Draper Place.

    Asparagus - May 13. I've been cutting it for about two
    weeks. Nice to have such an early vegetable. I should
    probably dig up the lawn and plant a lot more.

    On May 22, 1890, General William F. Draper became the
    first of a number of Drapers to marry in Lexington, Kentucky.
    Click here for more on the Draper-Kentucky connections.

    Continuing Hopedale's Kentucky connection, on May 10, 2014,
    another "titled Hopedalian," Dr. Ryan Callery married Katherine
    Griffith in the Lexington, Kentucky area.

Thwing Street Hopedale and Thwing Street Roxbury.

Gathering by Hopedale High for the start of the Larry Olsen road race.

    Hope1842.com World Headquarters. I lived here for 43
    years before finding that there's a name for that style roof.
    A clipped gable. Click here to go to the National Register
    Nomination Menu for more Hopedale architectural trivia.

    Friends of the Library book, bake
    and plant sale - May 17.

    The Mill River. I'll have to bring
    a saw the next time I go if I'm
    going to get all the way to 140.
    It's only about 200 yards away.
    Probably not worth the trouble.

                   Mandy - 1999 - 2014

    Thank you Purr-fect Cat Shelter, Medway, for Mandy,
    her brother Billy, Dolly and Winkie.

Mandy, (left) and her friend, Winkie.

Mandy and her friend, Goldie.

Baseball where the grass is real.

    Billy and Mandy - Purr-fect Cat
    Shelter website photo, c. 2001.

Fisherville Pond (Blackstone River), South Grafton - May 24.

Click here for more of the Memorial Day parade, and Project Star.