Western New England

The Oberlin Alumni Club of Western New England

invites you to our
Seventh Annual Fall Hike & Potluck Supper

When
Sunday, October 18, 2009
HIKE 2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
POTLUCK 5:00'ish

Where
The home of Wallis ('63/'64) and Cornelia (Smith '65) Reid
30 West Leyden Road, Leyden (Leyden Center) MA

RSVP
Please call or email to let us know how many there will be, and what you will be bringing. If you have questions, Harry or Marybeth will have the answers!

Harry at: 413-533-2914 or h_lavo@world.oberlin.edu

Marybeth at 413-253-9562 marybeth_bridegam@world.oberlin.edu.

(the “blanks” in the above email address are underscores “_”.)

What to bring
Please bring food for the potluck supper, according to your last name:

Note: Please bring your food a bit early, around 1:45, so that we really can begin hiking at 2:00 pm.

Details
Join us for one of our most popular New England Club events of the year - this will be our Seventh Annual Fall Hike and Potluck Supper, and as folks who have been there know, there are good reasons why it keeps getting more and more popular. What a great chance to meet new Obies or reacquaint yourself with old friends.

Wallis Reid and his wife Cornelia are hosting us again this year. Leyden Center is northwest of Greenfield, MA and a few miles south of the Vermont border. This area has some fine fall foliage, and the weekend of October 18 should find it at its peak.

Leyden Center is 1000 feet above the Connecticut River Valley, perched near the top of foothills to Vermont’s Green Mountains. The main hike will encompass a 4.5-mile hike on dirt roads through woods and pastures, along traditional stone walls, up and down hills. Don't forget to bring sturdy walking shoes and your camera!

As in years past, we will arrange a shorter RT of 1.5 – 2.0 miles for those who don't feel up to the longer hike. And of course, if you don’t care to hike at all, you may stay and enjoy the weather at the Reid’s fabulous old house with its outdoor patio. Or you can plan to arrive just for the Potluck Supper.

Wallis has offered his grill for the usual picnic fare, so you can include that in your thinking, if you are scheduled to bring "entrees" (see below), and we will start cooking once folks return from the long hike around 5:00pm.

Note: our rain date will be a week later on Sunday, October 25, should heavy or steady rain be forecast for that Sunday. Should the forecast call for just a chance of light showers, we will probably go ahead. IF there is any question, please call Harry Lavo @ 413-533-2914 between 10:00am and 12:00 noon for a recorded announcement.

Directions from North, South, East, and West
....to the Wallis Reid house in Leyden Center (please note, Mapquest is misleading, so ignore it, as it tells you to exit at Bernardston. If you do so you will almost surely lose your way. The directions below are tried and true):

Exit 26 off I-91 (Greenfield Exit - about 40 miles north of Springfield MA and 18 miles south of Brattleboro Vt.).

If coming from the South on I-91, turn right at bottom of ramp and head East into Greenfield on RT 2A.

If coming from Vermont or New Hampshire on I-91, go around the traffic circle and head East into town on RT 2A.

If coming on RT 2 from the West, you will come to the traffic circle after descending a mile-long hill...just continue on out the other side towards Greenfield on what now becomes RT 2A.

If coming from the East (from Boston) on RT 2, get off on I-91 South and exit at the first exit (#26), go around the traffic circle and head East into Greenfield on RT 2A.

As you leave the traffic circle and enter Main Street (RT 2A) headed east, set your speedometer to zero. It will come in handy as you will see. But don’t panic if you forget. We’ll still get you there.

Directions once you leave the traffic circle on RT 2A East

….distances are measured from the traffic circle. Once you’ve reset your odometer as you leave the circle....the distances indicated are cumulative and at 9.5 miles you should be parking in Leyden Center. It will take you approximately fifteen - twenty minutes from the circle to the Reid's house.

Now, onward! As you leave the circle, following Main Street (RT 2A) east, you will immediately pass an Applebee's Restaurant on the left. You will continue through two traffic lights and up a hill. At the top, pass Dillon Chevrolet on the left and then Freedom Credit Union, and just beyond the credit union, TURN LEFT ONTO CONWAY STREET. There is a building with a “Transitions Hair Salon” sign on the corner on the far side of the intersection.

Essentially you will stay on Conway Street (which turns into a highway) until you get to Leyden Center. However we will give you a few landmarks along the way to help you avoid any problems and measure your progress.

As you proceed down Conway Street you will go thru a traffic light where Foster's Supermarket is located on your left, and a “Law Offices” sign on your right. Continue on until you pass over RT I-91. At this point, Conway Street becomes Leyden Road, a rural highway. Continue driving for about two-and-a-half miles.

At 4.7 miles you will come to a place where a (minor) road forks off to the right. A sign will point to the right that says Bernardston. Don’t turn…the main highway curves to the left…stay on it.

About a half mile later, you will pass a small green sign on the right side of the road which points to a covered bridge. Continue straight ahead and you will immediately begin to climb a hill which goes on for a ways, then flattens out, then turns into a long gradual decline. This whole stretch is about three miles long . Following the decline you will see a graveyard on the left (8.1 miles).

At 8.3 miles the main road will curve to the right while another road goes straight ahead. Be sure to follow the main road TO THE RIGHT and don’t go straight ahead.

A half-mile later you will come to a pretty obvious fork in the road (8.8 miles). Ahead and to the right you will see the Leyden Elementary School. The “V” of the intersection is marked with easy to see signs. One will point to the right to Brattleboro, VT, and another will point to the left to Leyden Center. Take the left fork.

You will go up a hill and see a few houses that begin to look like a village. At the top, the road has been repaved and at the very top you will come to a “blind” road entering from the left…this is West Leyden Road. Make this hard left turn, and you will immediately see a church on the right and the Town Hall on the left. Pull into the town hall parking area and park. (Your speedometer, if you have been tracking, will say 9.5 miles.)

Now, gather your belongings and exit the lot, walking down West Leyden Road to your left. The second house on the left is the Reid House (sits down below the road). You will see the Reid mail box on right side of the road, and opposite it on the left side, you will find a small parking area and a path that wends its way to the house. You have arrived!

Note: The Reid's telephone number - (413) 774-5146 (only for advice from them on driving to their home). Again the address is 30 West Leyden Road.

---

A brief note from Marybeth and Harry

As some of you (but not all of you) know, the two of us are stepping down as Coordinators of the Western New England Club following this event. We had actually planned to do this last year but stayed on to help smooth out continuity as the Alumni Office changed personnel over the last eighteen months.

The two of us have really enjoyed getting to know so many of you, and it would be a special pleasure to see you all again at this last event of our official tenure as Western New England Coordinators.

Many of you may be unaware, but the Western New England Club has been among the most active in the country over the last six years and we know from comments many of you have made that you appreciate the many events the Club has sponsored during this time. However, we also know that the Club can be even stronger and more active, and to that end we fully support the College’s decision to create an advisory council with representatives from the further reaches of the Club’s territory….from Northern Connecticut, the Berkshires, Southern Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as the core Five-College Area here in the Pioneer Valley. If you have noticed the solicitation requests, or are interested in working (yes, it is work – but lots of fun!) as part of the club’s structure, please call or write John Keller at the Oberlin Alumni Office….We’re sure he will be delighted to hear from you.

We two have been lucky in that we are both retired, albeit active in other areas of our lives. And we know it is not easy to consider volunteering time and effort when busy with career or family….but we also know that others do it and find the time and effort extremely rewarding. We understand the reward part completely! It is the joy of making contact with the College and with fellow alumni that provides that reward. So regardless of your age, or family status, we hope you will consider volunteering. The Alumni Offices number is 800-693-3167 and John’s email is john.keller@oberlin.edu.

So, adios to those who don’t/can’t make the Fall Hike (although neither of us are planning to die soon and will be attending future events.) But if you can make the Hike, we’d love to say it in person there.

Marybeth Bridegam ’57

Harry Lavo ‘61