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.

Shop Local this Holiday - Pick # 2

Kringle Candle Company in Bernardston MA was started by the former owners of Yankee Candle. Yankee Candle was sold in 1998. Kringle Candle was started in 2009 by the father and son, both named Mike Kittredge. From the humble beginnings of one building in 2009 which supported production, packing and shipping as well as showroom and retail space, it has grown to a multi-building complex beyond the production facility, featuring the main retail building, a separate Christmas holiday and specials (food and toys) retail store,a chocolate shop, a bakery, a restaurant.
If you are shopping for candles, you can not find more variety in color and fragrance as well as style.
Their seasonal fragrances and styles rival any other candle maker you might be accustomed to and everything is brought to you by a wholly American owned and operated business. Another important point to make is that Kringle Candle is green. Kringle produces paraffin not soy candles which is both natural and domestically produced. 

The Farm Table, a subsidiary of Kringle Candle and part of the complex is a full service restaurant that is also one of the most green restaurants in America. In addition to the indoor dining, there is an outdoor dining area featuring a fireplace which is quite unique and allows for fall days on the veranda.

 It is in the specialty store you are greeted on the main floor with comfortable surroundings.

Featured inside  you will find that Kringle Candle is a good neighbor and supports many local and regional businesses that compliment their offerings. For example, you will find BBQ sauces from  Wild Thymes in the Hudson Valley of NY , sauce and pickles from M&M Green Valley Produce in So. Deerfield Massachusetts, Chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington Vermont, maple candy from Sugarwoods Farm in Glover Vermont and so much more. Upstairs is a great Toy Store with unique toys  of the current day and

many reminiscent of days gone by in New England. Downstairs you will be transformed at any time of year and filled with the Christmas spirit. There is a train traveling around the ceiling and trees of every theme to entertain your brain as well as handmaid mittens and hats and giant stuffed bears. Whether you want to browse or buy you will not be disappointed.

Outside this triple floor extravaganza is an outdoor bakery connected to the chocolate shop.
The  bakery features coffee and pateries, including Apple Cider donuts from Atkins Farm which is also one of Kringle's signature candle fragrances. The Chocolate Cottage has candy of all varieties from chocolate bars to hard candy and fudge. Samples are available for daily promotions, like pumpkin pie fudge which is remarkable. All this is in a setting in Western Mass. that rivals any picture postcard.

If you are pressed for time, needing some time to relax and unwind but worried that you have shopping to do and must get started, feed your self appreciation by taking a ride out to Kringle Candle  and accomplishing so much while treating yourself to a mini vacation of the mind and support local American owned small business to boot. 

Shop Local This Holiday Season - Pick #1

On the western border of Worcester County Massachusetts, in the sleepy little town of Athol, just off route 2, there is a unique and rare find. A dying breed, the small town local bookstore, is alive and well. Bruce's Browser  has so much to offer, you just might be amazed and wonder why you did not stop here sooner (as I did). If you are, as are many people, looking for a way to support small businesses and intend to spend your money locally this holiday season, check this out. It includes soda fountain, card department, gift department, a generous magazine stand and much more. 
As a bookstore offerings cover a wide variety of hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines for adults and children covering both fiction and non fiction subjects. The store highlights local authors and subjects  prominently in a large easy to find section. In the local section you will find interesting titles which speak to the attempt to support the commitment to be a vital part of the North Quabbin community. 

One aspect of the shop that is a bit unexpected and quirky is the cybercafe. You can bring your own laptop or tablet and take advantage of the WIFI and comfortable seating for free or hook up to one of the several computers provided for a small fee.

Another unique aspect is the retro soda fountain. Whether coffee and a pastry for breakfast or soda and ice cream anytime there is a comfy place to sit and enjoy. 

In the cafe/soda fountain Bruce's promotes a fellow local business by serving Dean's Beans coffee in several varieties both decaf and regular. Dean's Beans is located in the neighboring town of Orange. You can also purchase a bag or two of Dean's Beans to enjoy at home or as a gift. Speaking of gifts there is approximately a third of the store dedicated to cards and gifts. From  Whistle Creek Walking Sticks, to toys for all ages and genders including favorites as Lincoln Logs and K'Nex to a large selection of Yankee candles and local crafts, you will surely find several items that you can not do without this holiday season.

Remarkably there is still more for the shopper to browse. You will find an interesting eclectic music selection and a section by the checkout specifically highlighting local artists. The owner Diane Lincoln is an award winning artist in her own right having won awards and honors such as being named "Musical Artist of 2009" in the 2009 Pride In The Arts Music Awards. You can find her music on sale there and her profile via the link above. Her family has owned this business, a pharmacy that she eventually converted to this bookstore/gift shop, since 1948. 

Now maybe not on your shopping list but also something to think about for the holidays, there is a "back room" at Bruce's that is booked for small functions, meetings and events. There are often book signings or poetry readings scheduled there and you can occasionally find the local WJDF radio host doing interviews with historians, authors and artists in the cafe or back room. 

Regardless if you are holiday shopping for gifts or for yourself or just want to get away to a little oasis where you can browse and enjoy a simpler time, Bruce's Browser will fill your bill. 

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.