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Vorarlberg: Austria’s Mountainous West

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I’m having breakfast in the mountain village of Schwarzenberg, in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, the farthest west of Austria’s nine states, right near Switzerland.  At the top of the map is the Bodensee, which some call Lake Constance.   The region was formed in 1919, and this part of Austria […]

Vorarlberg Austria is My Next Destination

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On Thursday night I’ll fly to Zurich and then drive about 50 km over to the region of Vorarlberg, in western Austria. It’s right on Lake Constance, and it’s a part of the world I’ve never seen.   I met these folks at a European travel exposition, and they kept talking […]

Deerfield Decides to Come Together

Nicole Ciesluk

Deerfield really feels like we’ve taken a turn into a new chapter.  For so long, the symbol of our downtown has been the tired old building that once housed Franklin County’s Cable TV channels, which is now for rent.  We’ve had a lot of empty stores and sad “now leasing”signs.  […]

Dinner with Neighbors at Atlas Farm

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  It was the perfect evening, still in the 80s, but cooling off, as we headed down a dusty farm road to a big tent you could see in the distance.  The occasion was a customer and vendor appreciation dinner at Atlas Farm, the farm store where we buy lots […]

Railroads, Red Rocks and Buffalo Bill

A restored telegraph office shows where the man who controlled the rails did his job.

Denver is an inspiring city, the biggest metropolis for 500 miles around the vast American West.  I just spent five days exploring and enjoying Denver and the surrounding countryside, and I came away once again, impressed with how vibrant the place is. Last Sunday I joined a group of travel […]

Dollar General Has Deerfield Riled Up

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Our town has been energized over the past few months, because of development that suddenly seems to be pushing the limits of the townspeople.  First, the big development on Sugarloaf Street was approved, after pretty much token opposition. Nobody could really do much because it was following the town’s master […]

The Sad Demise of Travel Sections and Magazines

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Travel publishing and the demise of travel magazines and newspaper travel sections is a topic near and dear to my heart. I have witnessed it, and last month out in San Francisco, I got to speaking with Spud Hilton, the travel editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Hilton was interviewed […]

Why I Gave Up Driving for Uber

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I’m done driving for Uber. Why? Because it comes down not making enough money for all of the efforts, and the fact that when you get a long fare somewhere like Bradley, you usually don’t have the same long fare returning north…so you spend your own gas in an empty […]

Town Meeting in Deerfield 2018

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Town Meeting is an annual New England tradition, where budgets and policies are reviewed and voted on by the citizens of Deerfield.

Keeping in Touch, by Nathaniel Hartshorne: A Tribute

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  I got a wonderful letter addressed to all of my sisters and me, from old family friend Susan Schreiber. She was enjoying the copy of “Keeping in Touch” the book written by my father Nat Hartshorne with his letters, tributes, and other writings.  She said it so well. “Dear All […]

Extravaganja 2018

Circles of young people enjoyed the April sun and imbibed in all manner of weed, including a one-foot joint.

Extravaganja has been around for 27 years. It started on the Amherst Town Common, and two years ago, they outgrew the space and now it’s held every April 20, or so, at the Tri-County Fairgrounds. I had never been to the fest before, so yesterday my curiosity got the best of […]

Skatalites Bring Old School Ska to Hawks and Reed

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I can’t resist a band with horns. Cool, funky horns, and old-school sounds, that’s the Skatalites, the original Jamaican pioneers of ska music, which eventually became reggae. It’s not that often you can see a legendary band like this, and in the intimate confines of Hawks and Reed, it’s especially […]

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