Great New England Wings and Wheels – 25 AUG 2013

It was another serendipitous adventure day for me. I went looking of a certain restaurant to have Sunday brunch and took a wrong turn that put me on the Pike (Mass Turnpike). Taking the first exit I found this:
Muffler Man Turned White Abraham Lincoln
While having lunch I overheard part of a conversation, “…it’s more like some old guys who collect planes.” Turns out, the Great New England Wings and Wheels event was taking place and it was literally around the corner. There were only about a dozen planes, lots of food trailers and live entertainment...but I missed the cars.
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
"The Jacky C"
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
North American AT-6D
Cessna 175 Skylark
American Clipper M20F
Douglas C-47B (Second Chance)
P-51D Mustang
Miss Hap is the oldest example of the Mitchell bomber left in existence.
PT-23A-HO Cornell
Vought F4U Corsair
North American T6 "Texan"

Emily Dickinson Garden Tour, Amherst, MA – 17 AUG 2013

I returned to the Emily Dickinson Museum to take the “Grounds of Memory” landscape audio tour. Here are some of the images I captured along with excerpts from several of her poems.
"Because the Bee may blameless hum 
 For Thee a Bee do I become 
 List even onto Me."
"I tend my flowers for thee—
  Bright Absentee!"
"My Fuchsia's Coral Seams
 
Rip while the Sower dreams"
"As if some little Arctic flower
  Upon the polar hem—"
"The Veins of other Flowers
  The Scarlet Flowers are
Till Nature leisure has for Terms 
As 'Branch,' and 'Jugular.'"
"There came a Day at Summer's full,
  Entirely for me—
I thought that such were for the Saints
Where Resurrections—be—"
"A Burdock—clawed my Gown—  
 Not Burdock's—blame—
 But mine—
 Who went too near
 The Burdock's Den—"
"I robbed the Woods—
  The trusting Woods. 
 The unsuspecting Trees 
 Brought out their Burs and mosses 
 My fantasy to please. 
What will the solemn Hemlock—
What will the Oak tree say?"
"The Trees like Tassels—hit—and swung—
 There seemed to rise a Tune 
 From the Miniature Creatures 
 Accompanying the Sun"
And I made a new Friend:

Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA - AUG 2013

Established in 1794 by President George Washington, the Springfield Armory closed in 1968 after 175 years of continuous production of rifles and muskets.
This 1840’s location is on the National Registry of Historic Places; 22 of the original buildings have been turned into the Springfield Technical Community College and the above museum.
In front of the museum is a large grassy area surround by several large old brick buildings, resembling many of the old Army Posts I have visited.
The museum is listed as the home to the world’s largest collection of American military firearms. However, the bulk of the collection is not open to the public, only small samples can be seen in display cases such as this one:
This armory was responsible for numerous technological innovations which were of global importance...methods of manufacturing invented here were critical to American and World industrialization.
Have you ever seen the older style machines that make a key by copying your current key?
Thomas Blanchard, in 1819 invented this type of lath process, only on a larger scale, for making wooden rifle stocks.
He is also credited with the development of an assembly line using interchangeable parts, which was the beginning of mass production.
Other innovations such as the modern business practice of hourly wages also began at this site.
I caught this biker couple, stopping to get their picture taken in period costumes.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called this image of a musket rack an “Organ of Muskets” in his poem “The Arsenal at Springfield.”
This Bell was used to alert employee at the Water Shops, that the machinery was about to be powered up.
Last Years of the Armory
While driving around town, I found a captivating building that I knew had to have a very interesting history. 
It was over a city block large and I could tell it was very old. It took me several weeks including online and library searches before I found someone at Smith Wesson who could identify the property as The Water Shops.

This was a secondary location to the main Armory, a mile away, where the heavy metal forging and machining was done, as well as gun stock shaping.
In the above picture you can see the water running through the property.
On the below Image you see the tallest section of the bell tower (which is missing from my images). Plus, the clock is missing.

I also found an interesting building near my hotel which was the original State Armory.
Build in 1895, it is also on the National Registry of Historic Places.
It was damaged in the 2011, by a tornado.
I hope someday, it gets restored.