By Carla Charter

“The Smithsonian Museum on Main Street Crossroads; Change in Rural America Program” sponsored by Mass. Humanities and Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. will be coming to Athol from May 14 to June 24. The exhibit has previously made stops at Essex, Hull, Rutland, Turners Falls and Sheffield with Athol being the final site.

The Athol exhibit will be focused on the importance of the use of water and natural resources in the area, how it has changed the community and given it resilience, according to Jean Shaughnessy, Athol Public Library Director. It will highlight the historical use of water in agriculture, industry and options for the future. Among the local bodies of water that will be highlighted during the multi-week program include the Millers River and the Quabbin Reservoir.

The Smithsonian and Mass Humanities program selected Athol as a site after Shaughnessy, Robin Shtulman, assistant director of the library, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski and Pam Harty of the Orange Revitilization Partnership applied for the grant through Mass Humanities.

Among the programs highlighting the Quabbin Reservoir will include Mary Beiter of the Quabbin Visitors Center speaking on Clearing the Valley on May 24 at 6 p.m. Her program will focus on the process of clearing the towns of the Swift River Valley that were lost due to the building of the Quabbin Reservoir and the history of some of the families and individuals this affected.

Ken Levine, who created a model diorama of the Rabbit Run Railroad depicting the lost Quabbin towns of North Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott for the Swift River Historical Society will be speaking on May 10. Levine will present photos of the creation of the diorama while talking about his creative process and will discuss the four “lost” towns that were taken to construct the Quabbin.

A bus trip to Swift River Valley Historical Society will be held on May 13, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. The trip will include viewing the diorama as part of a tour of the society by Elena Paladino author of the Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley. Society President Judy McIntosh will also be speaking on primary resources and research.

There will be a Billy Goat Boats trip boat ride from Athol to Orange on June 3, from 2-4 p.m. The tour will highlight historical landmarks on the shores of the Millers River.

On May 15 a display exhibit will open at the library focusing on different aspects of the area including, industries over the years, the 1936 and 1938 floods, and agricultural use of the area. Among items on display will be artifacts from the Athol Historical Society and the Starrett Museum, photos of local farms and farmers as well as photos of municipal and private homes. There will be walking tours of Starrett Museum held weekly on Fridays in June, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Another portion of the Crossroads program will focus on natural resources of the area. Lynda Mapes, author of “Witness Tree,” will speak on May, 6-7 p.m. on the Witness Tree at Harvard Forest in Petersham. Witness trees are centuries old and have lived through significant events. The Witness Tree at Harvard Forest is known as the oldest living organism on social media. The Harvard Forest Witness Tree can be followed on Twitter.

There will be a field trip to the Harvard Forest on June 10 where participants will be able to view dioramas depicting 230 years of landscape change in Central New England beginning with European colonization in the 1700s, 20th century forest management techniques and highlighting conservation challenges including erosion and fire. Following the viewing of the dioramas there will be a 1.5-mile outdoor tour to visit several research sites to view the world’s longest climate research experiments. Among the projects to view will include research in Eastern Hemlock Stand due to invasive Hemlock Wooly Aelelgid, an insect that has already killed millions of trees in the U.S.

On June 21, 6-7 p.m., the library will host a panel discussion entitled “Sustaining Rural Life Today-Local Farmers Share Their Stories,” moderated by Cathy Stanton. The panel will discuss how farmers are diversifying to remain vibrant for the future.

There will be a program on the history of graveyards entitled “Welcome to the Graveyard,” an adult-oriented presentation a 90-minute illustrated virtual tour chronicling cemetery art history and symbolism on May 31 at 6:30 p.m. The presentation will include photographs of gravestones and burial grounds from Athol visited by Gravestone Girls in preparation for the program. Gravestone Girl Brenda Sullivan will answer questions following the presentation.

All events will occur at the Athol Public Library, unless otherwise noted. Field trips also begin and end at the library, except for the Billy Goat Boats trip which may begin at the Alan Rich Center. All events require registration. To register and for more information on the events visit www.athol.librarycalendar.com.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.

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