Hadley History

I went to two very interesting lectures in Hadley yesterday. Hadley is just south of Sunderland, where I live, and the town recently celebrated its 350th birthday.

Part of the observance was the publication of a book called Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts, edited by Marla R. Miller, which I’m rarin’ to read.

Two essay authors spoke at the Senior Center Sunday, Elizabeth Chilton, who co-authored the chapter on Hadley from 100,000 BC to 1700 AD — quite a span! — and Alice Nash who wrote about the multi-faceted interactions of Europeans and Native Americans.

I love reading about history and archaeology, but it’s even more fun to have actual real-time conversations with historians and archaeologists. Both talks were really fascinating for an archaeology / history buff like me, and I learned a lot I never knew before.