Second Hand Bookstore - First Rate Experience - Bookstores and Coffee Shops in New England #2

For me books are all about the experience. Everyone could just read e-books or listen to audio books but I enjoy the experience of a paper book as do most people. I love the feel of a great binding and the visual of great graphics. I also enjoy the hunt for something special. A used bookstore will offer that every time. It is like rescuing a puppy or recycling to save the environment. You find something that was someone else's at one point in time and give it new life as yours for a price you can afford and are willing to pay. I did. I found a great Elvis Encyclopedia along with a vintage Yankee Magazine recipe book and book called "If I live to be 100", all for under $11, in a little shop along a winding route 63, off of route 2 in Western Massachusetts. It was a wonderful little experience by the name of Northfield Coffee and Books.

Northfield Coffee and Books has free WiFi  and is on FACEBOOK and offers online ordering. A great PLUS for parents is that it is also Kid Friendly. I didn't have any little ones with me but several people were enjoying coffee and a newspaper with a carriage by the side of their table.It was very informal. I was allowed to browse with my coffee in hand.Very welcoming. There is also a little gift shop adjacent which expands your shopping experience beyond the book.

Like Bruces' Browser that I reviewed in my "Shop Local for the Holiday" series this shop promotes local artists and local vendors and bakers. This shop offers Deans Beans as did Bruces. They offer Lake Champlain Chocolates as we saw at Kringles. They also promote Cheshire Garden jams and mustard made in Winchester NH.  Poetry night is once a month, in February it will be the 27th. Like Bruces Northfield Coffee and Books also is a local gathering place with Trivia Night being planned and advertised for March 1st.

If you are looking for an experience and not just an escape from reality, take some time out of your busy life to enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate with perhaps a scone or a muffin. and look for something special. You'll be glad you did.

Holiday Cheer in Townsend Massachusetts

According to the United States Census Bureau, Townsend Masschusetts has a total area of 33.1 square miles (85.8 km²), of which 32.9 square miles (85.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.72%) is water. Townsend has the largest land area of any town in Middlesex County but is by far not the most populated.

Townsend is a beautiful old town with many historical buildings a beautiful river feeding into a pond which feeds into a water fall in what is called Townsend Harbor. The river and pond support the annual Townsend Lions Club Canoe Race.  The Reed Homestead shown above is only one of the houses the Historical Society oversees , there are several such properties in town. Townsend Harbor is a village in Townsend, Massachusetts, containing Harbor Pond dammed from the Squannacook River.

The painting above of the harbor in fall was commissioned of a well-known local artist, Samuel Thorpe, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 71.

At this location Jonas Spaulding and his brother Waldo started a mill in 1873 that made leatherboard (composed of leather scraps and wood pulp). They did business as Spaulding Brothers. Operation of the leatherboard mill at Townsend Harbor ceased in 1957, after the last two surviving siblings, Huntley Spaulding and his married sister Marion S. Potter, died.

The town is also home to Willard Brook State Park including Damon Pond and Townsend State Forest which includes Pearl Hill. Pearl Hill's campsites in Massachusetts are spacious and private. There are 51 campsites with a modern bathhouse. A day use area includes a 5 acres (2.0 ha) pond with a beach. A recently completed and somewhat challenging trail connects to Willard Brook State Forest. The Willard Brook property has 19 campsites and one Yurt at Damon Pond. Campground office hours are 9 am – 10 pm. The regular camping season is from late May to early September. The fairly challenging "Friends Trail" that connects the campground to the one at Pearl Hill State Park takes up to 3 hours to complete and hikers should be in good physical condition.

Steeped in so much history it is no wonder that Townsend also has a large antique shop community.  Starting on the Eastern edge in the Harbor with small individual shops like Harbor-side Antiques and Estate Service or  B and G Antique Clock Repair Shop the antique trail finishes on the Western edge with large group shops like  Hobart Village Antique Mall and Antique Associates  as well as individual vendors like   J Delaney Antique Clocks a family business that has been featured on the Antiques Roadshow.

Great food is also a part of the Townsend Experience.  Lunch or Dinner or Sunday Brunch at Bailey’s Bar and Grille is a treat. They offer senior discounts along with vegetarian and gluten free options and a special burger where a portion of the proceeds supports various local fundraising and charitable organizations.  Live entertainment at the full  bar or on the deck (seasonal ) is a real draw. 

Several other local establishments are hometown and visitor favorites, like Cliffs Café for breakfast , indoors or out on the porch (weather permitting).   The Townsend House , as another example, is host to several local and surrounding town organizational dinner meetings proving that the food has to be good. 

Holidays in Townsend  provide many shopping and entertainment delights.  Beginning with the  events such as the library's Winter Holiday Art Showcase opening November 5^th , an indoor church fair November 23^rd at the Congregational Church on the common, followed quickly by the Townsend Lions Annual Christmas Tree Sale which begins the weekend following Thanksgiving with the delivery from a local NH tree farm to the back of the Townsend Common. 

The library will open their Festival of Trees on December 7^th which will display many artificial trees decorated by local businesses and families. 

 One of the most magical of events is deemed “Christmas in Townsend”.

This is a choreographed light and holiday music display put on annually by a Townsend teenager, Chris Puglia. It will rival any professionally developed display you might encounter.  2012 was their third and a record year for the display. Chris attributes that partly to a video segment appearing on the Groton Channel News, click here and see. The songs are advertised on the website ahead of time and each year the results are documented .  Bonus!  There is a mobile site that works for Windows, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, check it out here. It is very well done. 

So much to see and do.  Too little space and time to write.  I will cover Townsend again in the spring.

Milford NH, Cultural Mecca in midst of Country Town

Only 30 min from the Manchester Airport there are plenty of places to stay in surrounding towns of Merrimack, Nashua and Amherst, in the event of a fall weekend getaway. The small quaint town of Milford, however busy and bustling with activity, does not afford much in the way of lodging unlike everything else.

As you enter the town center you are greeted with the Milford Oval. Not a town square or circle. This is the first indication that Milford is a bit different. This is valuable real estate. Though not a huge plot of land Milford uses every inch of it to the maximum benefit. Above you will find a photo of a celebration on the oval going back to the first half of the 1900s just prior to the 50s.

Milford Improvement  Team
FB page photo

Milford Improvement  Team
FB page photo

 One of the biggest events on the Oval is coming up very soon. It is the annual event, the Great Pumpkin Festival.
This year it is planned for the weekend of October 11 through the 13th. There will be pumpkins of course (with a pumpkin lighting), scarecrow making, fireworks, crafts, music, face painting, Beer and Wine Tasting, Chili Round Up and the annual talent show sponsored by and held at the Amato Center which is a part of the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley.  This club is one of only 6 with fully functioning theater facilities. Along with striving to provide promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence, as is their stated purpose, the club provides a major entertainment element in the Hillsborough county area, which includes Nashua and Manchester. 

This brings me to the cultural center of this bustling town, the .Amato Center for the Performing Arts.

According to Robin LaCroix the Director of Theater Arts at the center, it is also the home theater of the Boys and Girl's Club's Riverbend Youth Company (who will be presenting The Sound of Music from Nov, 8th-17th) and Riverbend School of Theater Arts programs as well as the Milford Area Players who present two annual productions at the theater, one spring and one fall. It is also rented out for private productions. One such production will open October 3rd for a local author who has adapted her children's book Princess K.I.M. to a musical,  
RIVERBEND YOUTH COMPANY AND SCHOOL OF THEATER ARTS  provides training, guidance, and enrichment to youth, producing theater at a professional level for community audiences, supporting the Boys and Girls club goals. The student theater has been recognized  in several ways including awards for acting, set and costume design and choreography as well as requests for performances, producing and directing at National and State regional  theater conferences. The Amato Center is named for the benefactors, Nancy and Paul Amato, who purchased the orignal American Stage Festival land and buildings, which had been closed for approximately 5 years. They donated the land and structure to the Boys and Girls club (which had been operating out of a strip mall plaza on the outskirts of town) with the expressed intent that the club build their facilities around the theater.  Since 2005 the theater and surrounding facility has weathered a major flood and needed to be restored. With the help of a very appreciative community the effort took only 6 weeks to restore in 2007 and when threatened with another such situation in 2009 the emergency plan put in place as a result was a huge success. This is a testament to the appreciation the community holds for the the organization in light of their community service programs inclusive of diversion programs working with the court system and providing after school programs and scholarships. Links above provide details for upcoming shows and events.

There are several unique shopping experiences, antique shops and restaurants in town not to mention the surrounding area. I can only focus on a few and so I have limited myself to what is considered the best and most interesting and located in Milford itself. The NH Antique Coop which defines itself as the finest group shop in NH, could be defined as an alternative to a museum. There are so many museum quality offerings (left picture) it reminds me of the Flagler Museum in St. Augustine which is built around collections, not exhibits. For those of us whose wallets might not support museum quality purchases, the shop also has a Discovery Barn (pictured to right) and a Loft offering diamonds in the ruff with less impact on your wallet. Currently they are celebrating their 30th anniversary with many sales and festivities going on throughout the store through the fall.

Hayward Trading Post and Country Store offers leathers, sweaters, moccasins, jewelry and candy. Fun place to browse. The River Card Room provides table game casino excitement with some food and drink. Tasty Tobacco Shop, next door, provides smokes and accessories and is not the only game in town as the Yessah Smoke shop can be found down the road. In the summer there is the outdoor  Milford Drive-In providing digitally converted movies on dual screens. For days when you have to resort to indoor fun there is also Milford's Lefty's Lanes serving food and drink as well as karaoke and live music. See site for details. 

Restaurants around the oval itself include Riverhouse Cafe for breakfast and lunch, the Pasta Loft for lunch and dinner, Red Arrow Diner and Foodees for pizza. Outside of town there are two very fine restaurants, Giorgio's Mediterranean and Italian  serving lunch and dinner and Mile Away serving dinner limited days of the week.  If you can't  find enough to do in Milford to keep you busy for a great fall weekend, without ever leaving the small town, you are just not trying.

GrotonFest Has It All, Make a Weekend of It

If you are interested in fun, food and collectibles, you will find it all at GrotonFest 2013. Refer to the link for a list of businesses and vendors as well as schedule of events. 


Groton celebrated it's 350th anniversary in 2005. It is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts and so in the country. It has withstood many hardships, not the least of which was being nearly irreparably destroyed by fire during King Phillips war, if not for the resolve of the townspeople to return and rebuild. Still today it appears the quiet New England oasis in a very busy and unsettled world. Just spending the day there can begin to melt the cares away. It is a town with a slower pace where health food stores and eastern medicine coexist profitably with a modern hospital and large grocery chain stores. Expect to find these business represented at the festival along with craft and food vendors. 

To start the first fall weekend, there will be an auction Friday evening Sept. 20, 2013 sponsored by the Groton Historical Society at the Groton Country Club with Hor d'Oeuvres and a Cash Bar.
The festival itself will take place Saturday Sept 21, 2013 (rain date Sunday Sept. 22) in Groton MA. See map below: 

More than 150 business, non-profit and artisan booths, llama's, all kinds of amazing food and much more. FREE, handicap accessible. Craft vendors will include the likes of SQUG where they create these squeezable, huggable, funky, one-of-a-kind toys that children of all ages enjoy
 
and Doll Designs by Jane where they design the most adorable outfits for 18 in dolls.


There are too many other craft vendors represented  to mention but just a few that I can link to, include Harry's Bird Houses,  Balanced Khaos , 8th Wonder Clothing for your Soul , Massapoag Pond Photography , Laura's Loops and so many more. 
As usual representation by many different types of businesses including Food vendors such as Balckbird Cafe, Devens Grille, Gibbet Hill Grille, Whacky Candy Shack and Fudge Everything will be onsite. 

While there are several options for a meal, a uniquely quaint rustic and very inviting New England drive in for breakfast, lunch, dinner or ice cream while in town is the not to be missed Johnson Drive In Restaurant and Dairy Bar. 

Overnight lodging is a bit more difficult to find but in surrounding towns like Ayer and Leominster you will find several options like Hilton Garden Inn, Sheraton, Super 8 etc. 

Take a lazy ride out to Groton Center on a wonderful Fall weekend and enjoy the festivities. 

North Central Worcester County Hidden Jewels

Templeton Mass is a picture perfect New England town with all the typical quiet charm. It is on the edge of Worcester County but seems a world away from some of the more bustling areas that are so geographically close like Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner or even Worcester Mass itself.  In the center of Templeton where you will find some of the most serene settings is where the heart beats. There are town fairs and picnics throughout the summer months.

In the center of town is also a spectacular find for any antique-er or anyone hooked on New England eateries with a charm and personality all their own. It is Country Mischief. It is a restaurant open for Breakfast, Lunch and Sunday Brunch as well as several rooms (and now several buildings) of antiques, crafts and collectibles in which to browse and shop before or after your meal. You will not make this a quick bite stop so make sure you schedule your calendar accordingly.

I visited there for a breakfast meeting with my grandchildren and at the suggestion of my grandson's wife. I had never been. First off I was surprised at the size and various settings for the restaurant itself. There is a seasonal summer porch. It is enclosed and overlooking the lawn, which is where we were lucky enough to be seated. There are several indoor rooms, and fireplace, just the thing for a winter visit.  

Most menu items are below $10. So a meal including drinks and dessert would likely be less than $20. 

Several local artisans display their works there as well. One such craft-er is Jan Scott who has her dolls on display there for sale. 

Country Mischief is a magical place to visit and it's kind of like potato chips. You will not visit only once but it is not the only place in the area. There are several shops in Templeton and surrounding towns of similar beauty and once a year, in December, they have a special event called Country Roads Christmas. It is a roadtrip of sorts with many surprises along the way.  In   Petersham for example there is an Alapaca Farm with a shop and it's also a B&B. Phillipston has a Christmas Tree Farm and Barre has a B&B/Herb Farm combination. There are leather shops, quilt shacks, restaurants etc. Check it all out on the Country Roads Christmas link above for directions, hours and contact details. Whether you wait for the event or you visit them all during a nice fall drive you will be surprised to find what is waiting for you on this unbeaten path. Bring your camera.