Massachusetts – Page 4

Nipmuck Burial Ground seeks National Historic Place Recognition

Brookfield, MA – February 13, 2018

The Tobin’s Beach Site archeology study of Nipmuck burial grounds presented by Eric Johnson, Director of UMass Archaeological Services, Clarence Snyder, Brookfield Selectman and Thomas “Silver Fox” Morse of the Chaubungaungamaug Band of the Nipmuck Nation drew a standing room only crowd to the Town Hall. Field study results from May 2017 supported an application to list the site in the National Register of Historic Places. Johnson said it “has a 100% chance of being approved.” If it is, the site would be eligible for funding to protect and preserve the burial ground. Snyder said at the next Town Meeting, residents would be asked to vote on $15,000 to continue the project. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed to match the amount.

Johnson presented a “plain language report” for non-specialists on the current and future status of the site. This was the second in a series of informational public meetings on the area which encompasses the Upper Quaboag River and Quaboag Pond. The property is owned by the Town of Brookfield MA. In February 2017, Johnson gave a summary of what was known and what would be the goals of the field study. Johnson said, “The greater goal is the preservation of the site, returning artifacts and human remains to their descendants. This is a sacred place. “

According to the U Mass Archeological Services (UMAS) study, human remains were found in 1963 during the installation of a utility pipe near the campground owned by Mr. James Tobin. Brookfield resident Barker Keith, an amateur archeologist, was asked to investigate.

“An Adena-Connected Burial Site” by Keith was published in the Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society October 1965. A red substance found in the pipe trench was determined to be red ochre “often deposited in graves here in Massachusetts.” The presence of red ochre at burial sites is an indication of an Adena cultural burial trait.

Keith describes the excavation of 14 burial sites at Tobin’ Beach removing artifacts and human remains from the graves. The objects, or “grave goods”, included spear points, tobacco pipes, knives, scrapers, shells and beads considered to be from the Adena heartland of the Ohio River Valley. He wrote that the Adena settlers arrived about A.D. 200 – 300. In his conclusion Keith said, “certain likenesses between Adena culture traits from these western areas and some of the recoveries from the Quaboag site are noticeable.” The Keith collection was donated to the Springfield Science Museum.

According to James Gage of Stone Structures of Northeastern U.S., “Scholars and archaeologists have been arguing about how far the Adena culture pushed into northeastern U.S. for decades. I suspect the new archaeological investigation at Brookfield will re-ignite that debate. The question will be whether the Brookfield represent an (a) actually Adena settlement, (b) Native American group influence by Adena culture through assimilation or marriage, (c) Native American group that acquired Adena artifacts through trade network.”

Johnson’s field study, paid for by a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, focused on ascertaining if any undisturbed graves remain at the site. Local historians, newspaper accounts, maps, diagrams, and aerial photographs were studied for places to search. The fieldwork revealed “evidence that parts of the burial ground were still intact, and needed to be protected.” Soil discoloration revealed the location of rotted posts left in the ground, twenty food storage pits and evidence of a cooking fire. Fragments of pottery were also found in sifted soil. The study discovered, “Most importantly, in the area where Barker Keith had excavated, we observed two soil discolorations that in shape and size were consistent with burials he had excavated more than 50 years earlier.”

In consultation with the Nipmuck tribe, the next phase of the project is on how to secure the burial ground. An access road for residential emergency services needs to be installed without disturbing the remains. Long term plans include signage at the site and a potential Cultural Center for the region.

Tom “Silver Fox” Morse shared a moment of spiritual connection with the audience. Apparently, during a visit to the site, a member of the party experienced the sensation of sudden cold. The other members of the group observed his hair standing on end. A few steps and moments later, the air temperature and his reactions returned to normal. Perhaps the ancestors sent a message to the group on awareness of their presence at this most sacred place.

There are three upcoming planning sessions on the Tobin’s Beach site: February 27, 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall, March 3, 9:30 a.m. Brookfield Congregational Church and March 14, 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

Photo credits: The Boston Globe: Jill Zuckerman (left) and Alexander Honsinger (right) removed layers of topsoil.

Little Atlas ~ Thanksgiving

Calico cat looks up all fuzzy, sleepy eyes from the corner chair. The heat clicks on with a gentle tick-tick-tick as the furnace fires up. It’s cold outside. At the end of each day, the house greets with a blessed quiet. A place to escape from too many voices and so many demands. All is safe here.

When the trees give up their leaves, from the kitchen window, I can see sunlight glittering on the Quaboag River. Mice scratch in the attic and sometimes find a way inside. The favorite nesting place is under the bathroom sink. How many have I rescued? How lazy can my cat be! There is something sacred about a tiny deer mouse released from a have-a-heart trap, shaking all over, then dashing off to find a safe place to rest.

These four walls know everything. They remember all the sleepless nights, moments of doubt and when we didn’t have enough. They knew all the cats and shared our adventures inside and out. The crack at 4 a.m. of Houdini breaking the pet door just cause he could. The realization that Poncho was not lying on my legs one night and finding him waiting patiently under the rhododendron for the door to open. Gigi wandering out to touch the warm grass. The wide-eyed appalled and disgusted expression from Sweetie at the scent of horses on the boots.

The best place to be is the sun porch on a lovely warm afternoon. We will always remember that day in June when the tornado was over the hillside in Brimfield. The winter of 2010-11 was a doozy. The snow kept piling on until the house became an igloo. The mounds cleared off the roof that cold day in February lay all around the house. In this moment, the house was named: Little Atlas. How on earth did it hold up all the snow.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my home. After all these years, it is a fine place to be.

by Frances Ann Wychorski

Published: Spencer New Leader, November 22, 2o17

Reflections on the Day ~ Garden Going to Rest

And so, on this warmer than usual weekend in November, the garden becomes the reflection of what has been. The leaves are off the maple trees and thrashed to shreds in the lawn. The grasses are still green from plentiful rains. A few violets have reappeared, confused by the waning sun but warmth of some days.

It’s time to harvest the herbs. Lovage, thyme and tender oregano are picked and dried for many a lovely pot of stew. The blueberries almost recovered from the attack of the gypsy moth caterpillars in June. The greedy things ate all the leaves giving the bushes a desperate, deadly appearance. A second foliage did grow out by September. No berries, not a chance.

The peach tree blossomed and produced a massive crop of fruits. After three years of late frosts that nipped the buds, success! To quote a line from Nathaniel Hawthorne’ s Introduction to Mosses on an Old Manse, “and peach-trees, which, in a good year, tormented me with peaches, neither to be eaten nor kept, nor, without labor and perplexity, to be given away. ” I learned to make a lovely peach butter blended with blackberries. A scrumptious dessert for everyday.

The perennials give way their strength and return to the earth. The vinca vine seems to be spreading over rocks and into the field. The lilac is perfect. The forsythia has gone crazy and is overwhelming everything. How did they get so large! Plenty of pruning for winter afternoons. Now is the best time to consider the winter trim to the massive maples starting to cast too much shade on the yard. How high they reach to the sky now. All to do still.

The one friend who won’t be returning to the garden next year are the dear old shoes. Four years of tramping all over has worn them to shreds. These shoes were always a bit too large. We went all the way to Sicily together the first year. They climbed up the hillsides of Segesta, past the fig trees into the amphitheater and gazed out at the azzure blue sea. We climbed the cliffs at Scala dei Turchi. We walked through the great cities of Modica, Noto, Taormina, Naro, and Ragusa. They felt the pain of the blood blister that grew to be a frightening thing. We stood in the mists over Tripani and felt the presence once again. She is here. The goddess did make herself known at Donnafugata, Ortygia and Erice. My foot was so swollen by the time I got home. How I will miss them. Maybe I’ll save them for the annual brush burning and give them a dignified exit. Let the element of fire take them to ashes. How I will miss them.

So, the bunny comes out of hiding once more to greet the walkers on their daily journey. This bit of whimsy under the rhododendron and settled in a bed of sweet woodruff. Now comes the dream time to plot and plan for that great garden to be. Next year, I promise to be more attentive and grateful for this space. This beautiful garden. My solace and my savior.