What is so attractive about a small town like Ashfield in the middle of the twentieth century? Its hard to define, because theres no one thing, but lots of little things.
To begin with, theres the town, a post-card picture nestled in the heart of the Berkshires. Its the town hall with its Wrenn-inspired steeple. Its the two churches, still pristine and white, still vibrant and active. Its the hills and valleys, and Ashfield Lake, where we swam and fished.
But its also people who share a genuine concern for one another. Its people who really care and who are unafraid to reach out and help one another. Its old folks sharing values and relevant history. Its Moms and Dads struggling to balance earning a living with caring for youngsters. Its bright-eyed children, full of promise, each one an affirmation of Gods hope for all of us.
Author Bob Bates introduces us to these people in a series of light, lively and often comical vignettes, painting an honest picture of Ashfield in the 1940s and 1950s, when things were simpler but the problems were no less relevant
Over de auteur
Author Bob Bates is a son of the Berkshire hills town of Ashfield in western Massachusetts. He grew up on a dairy and apple farm during the 1940s and 1950s. It was a remarkable era in farm and country living as technology came knocking at New England farmers’ doors. Some farms cautiously tried the new machinery and tools and committed to it. Others looked at the future and were unable to make that same commitment. There was no middle ground; it was either grow or fold. Bob’s family chose to grow.
Bates attended the public schools in Ashfield, then went on to Northeastern University in Boston. He endured, and often even enjoyed, a forty-year-long career as an engineer at a large electronics manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Bob met his wife, Sharon, while working at a telephone equipment manufacturer in the Merrimack Valley. He proudly showed her his country roots. “God’s country, ” he reverently called it. “Humph!” Sharon, a city girl, retorted, “Only God would have it!” Come to think of it, many New England farmers would certainly agree! Nonetheless, both of their children used every opportunity to visit the home farm.
Now retired, Bates is busier than ever as a sports PA announcer, a Justice of the Peace, a model railroader, a writer, and best of all, as a grandfather!
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