Hype for the Future 64/284: The Springfield Museums

Introduction

Within the downtown area of the City of Springfield in Hampden County, Massachusetts, the Springfield Museums contain the most significant elements of history within the “Western Gateway to New England.” The largest city in the Pioneer Valley, Springfield is also home or the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, albeit not on the campus of the Springfield Museums.

The Museums

Within the Springfield Museums, the specific museums include the Dr. Seuss Museum and associated memorial garden, as well as the Museum of Springfield History, the Springfield Science Museum, the Smith Art Museum, the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, and the park area known as the Puritan. Each museum provides a specific portion of the story of the City of Springfield and occasionally elsewhere within the Pioneer Valley.

On the Horizon 25A: Tanglewood

The live music venue of Tanglewood is located within the Towns of Lenox and Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Home to the western side of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the region is very different from the primary sites along—and within the vicinity of—the Charles River.

On the Horizon 24G: The Town of New Marlborough, Massachusetts

New Marlborough is a town located in the extreme south-central portion of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, along the Connecticut state line. Unlike numerous surrounding towns on the Massachusetts side, New Marlborough is actually home to a state forest unit with a name different from the town itself: Cookson. Cookson State Forest is located in the southeastern corner of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and with the Berkshire County location of New Marlborough, the region can certainly accomplish majestic scenes from the Berkshires and the surrounding areas as well.

On the Horizon 24F: The Town of Otis, Massachusetts

Otis is a town located within the central portion of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in a strictly rural region primarily along Routes 8 and 23. Route 8 is north-south, retaining the number 8 into both Connecticut to the south and Vermont to the north, while Route 23 is east-west for the region. As with surrounding communities such as Tolland in Hampden County to the southeast and Sandisfield (also Berkshire County) to the southwest, the Town of Otis also serves as the namesake for an associated state forest unit within the Commonwealth (and the same is also true for numerous other communities, particularly in Western Mass). Overall, however, the Town of Otis is located nearly halfway from the Town of Great Barrington to the City of Springfield in Hampden County, toward the southeast of Berkshire County relative to most other communities located within.

On the Horizon 24E: The Town of Egremont, Massachusetts

The Town of Egremont is located on the New York state line of what is perhaps the General Henry Knox Cannon Trail, renowned for historical significance in the American Revolutionary War for the trail from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge, immediately across the Charles River from what has been the City of Boston since 1822 (and the Town of Boston as of the American Revolution).

Not much exists in terms of active tourist amenities within the extremely small, rural community of Egremont. The only notable amenities for tourists include mountain resorts and associated state reservations. Not even Mount Greylock is of significance, as the highest point in Massachusetts is significantly to the north of the Taconic town of Egremont.

On the Horizon 23C: The State Forests of Western Mass

Western Massachusetts is very differently organized from the more dominant eastern side of the Commonwealth. Throughout much of Berkshire County in particular, the state forests share names with potentially namesake towns, a feature that also continues into select portions of Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and Worcester Counties. In Hampden County, Tolland and Granville are names of towns where state forests exist under such town names. In Berkshire County, Otis and Florida may be additional towns with associated state forests.

Hype for the Future 16C: The Quest to Connect with Volleyball and Basketball

The International Volleyball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame are two hallmarks of culture in the Pioneer Valley region of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Whether with William G. Morgan or James Naismith, the sports maintain similar cultural values, with volleyball, originally “mintonette,” literally taking the role of a less intense form of basketball, which itself was originally with peach baskets. Both sports were invented within the boundaries of Hampden County, Massachusetts; however, neither of the inventors were born in Hampden County, nor in Massachusetts, nor (in the case of basketball) even in the United States of America. James Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada, while William G. Morgan was born in Lockport, Niagara County, New York.