Western Massachusetts and "Silent Cal"

Western Mass and the Berkshires are home to some of those picturesque little New England towns that could grace a calendar. With a township charter granted in 1653, Northampton could be one of them. The downtown façade has changed little over the decades and is full of little shops, art galleries and restaurants. Despite that modern vibe, the beautiful old buildings make you feel as though you’ve taken a step back into history.

Walking through the town, I became curious about a statue just off a main sidewalk. I walked over to get a better look. It turned out to be a hometown boy made good, President Calvin Coolidge. I took a couple of photos of “Silent Cal” out of deference to a former professor, for whom he was a favorite. As I walked away, I heard a man call to me from across the green, “They don’t make presidents like that any more!” It was the summer of 2016.

Getting to the town itself had been a question mark, and we had stopped to ask for directions. The clerk at the convenience store gladly accommodated us, but repeatedly warned that we would encounter road construction delays on the way. We did—and I counted as we paused. . . to 30. Living in the DC metro area, with the infamous beltway rush hour traffic that slows to a crawl for miles, I was reminded that all things are shaped by one’s perspective.