The tunnel shown above is on the SNETT in Blackstone. It's not completed yet, and much of it in that vicinity is fenced off, but in an hour's walk on Sunday, February 1, we saw about 30 to 40 people walking there. Here's a bit about it from the SNETT website. The Southern New England Trunk Line Trail (aka the "SNETT") was designated as a National Recreation Trail in 1994. It is built upon a segment of the former right-of-way of the New Haven Railroad's Midland Division, which operated between Boston and Putnam, CT. Today, it runs nearly uninterrupted for 21 miles between Grove Street near the southeastern edge of Franklin State Forest and the Connecticut state line in the Douglas State Forest. Although the trail is open and very scenic, note that much of it is currently unimproved with heavy overgrowth best suited to hiking and mountain biking.
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Looking down at the Blackstone River from the SNETT on February 1. |
Hopedale in February 2016 Hopedale history ezine for February 1 - Hopedale in 1916, Part 3 Ezine for February 15 - The Blizzard of '78 One year ago - Hopedale in February 2015 Ezine Menu HOME . |
February 5 - A few inches of wet snow. |
Ruth and Frances Howarth, super swimming sisters, were in the news a lot in the late 1930s and 1940. They grew up at the Adin Ballou house on Dutcher Street, very handy to Hopedale Pond. As you can see in the clipping, their winter swimming was done at the Whitinsville Gym, and elsewhere for meets. Click here for more on the Howarths. |
Hopedale High's undefeated basketball team was the big news in town in February 1957. Click here to read about more of the games. |
Mellen Street Field, now named Philips Brothers Field. |
Freedom Street Sidewalk to Close By Zachary Comeau, Daily News Staff
Town Administrator Steve Sette said Friday that a recent state inspection determined that the sidewalk, which runs parallel to the Draper complex and along the street over the Hopedale Pond dam, is failing due to compromised support beams. Sette said when inspectors come again, the town could be required to close the sidewalk, so the town is expected to do so “within the next week or two,” Sette said. Sette said town officials, including road commissioners, were made aware of the condition of the sidewalk two to three weeks ago and decided to embark on repairs. A support beam under the sidewalk is “beginning to corrode and become unsafe so that the sidewalk someday could just cave right in,” Sette said. To prevent that from happening, the town is proposing to dig up the sidewalk and install a new support beam. Utility lines under the sidewalk will have to be disconnected and reattached during the process, he said. Sette said a construction cost has not yet been determined, as the town is waiting for figures from an engineer. “We will probably be looking to go to bond at Town Meeting for the amount,” he said. The meeting will be scheduled for March 9, and the warrant will open and close on Feb. 16 and 19, respectively. The sidewalk and a lane on the bridge could be closed until the spring, Sette said. In September 2015, Sette said Phillip Swachman, who owns the dam and the massive Draper complex built over the Mill River, had engineers assess the dam to inspect its structural integrity, but it was determined to be safe. The building has been vacant for decades. It was once a major hub of textile loom manufacturing until the company closed in the 1970s. Swachman and his company, First American Realty, have owned the building and adjoining parcels for about a decade. Sette said Selectmen Chairwoman Sandra Biagetti met with Swachman privately recently. Biagetti could not be reached for comment. Milford Daily News, Feb, 5, 2016 |
Click here to read the entire article. |
Click on the picture to go to the ezine for mid-February - The Blizzard of '78. |
Hopedale Pond, February 20 - late afternoon . |
Town Park - February 23.
February 26 - Hopedale Pond "iceout." It looks like this will be another year of two iceouts In 2012 the pond was clear of ice on February 20. It froze again, and the next time the ice was gone was March 8. . Click here to see the dates and photos from the past. |
February 23. |
Click here to read about the undefeated
Hopedale High basketball team of 1956-57.