Uncategorized – Erica Wilcoxen Course Blog

April 26, 2018

Reflection

Through the Storied Landscapes course, I learned a lot more than I thought I would. At the beginning of the course, I was hesitant. I did not know what I would get from the course, either as a grade or for what I would learn. I also was not sure what the final project would be, what it would look like, and overall I was really unsure with everything that would come from the course.

In the beginning, I felt a bit confused and lost. This was definitely a fault of my own, as I didn’t take the time to ask questions or ask for clarification. I felt like everyone knew what was happening in the course and I was the only one that did not know what the course was really about. I feel like this was partly due to the fact that our campus doesn’t have a COPLAC trained person on site, so I felt like I was constantly scrambling to figure things out when others already had.

Part of the problem was trying to explain what exactly COPLAC is, and then trying to explain what the class is about, what exactly we needed as far as archive materials and information. It was really hard to get the information out of the reference librarians, they didn’t realize we wanted everything about the Hoosac Tunnel, and it took us quite a few tries to get all the information we could. It wasn’t like they were withholding information, it was like there was just too much and they just didn’t want to go find it all. It was really difficult to find information or get interested in the project itself when you’re not given all the information for a project until a few weeks before the project is due.

Once we were actually given all the information about the Hoosac Tunnel, it felt like a scramble to get everything together. We definitely did not have enough time to get all we wanted done, and we definitely did not do everything we said we were going to do to the website. One of the main issues with the website is the severe lack of video.

We really wanted to create an immersive experience with videos for each page. These videos would take visitors on something like a tour of each location, and in doing so would help visitors feel more for the location, taking them into the nature and not just the history of the location.

This idea fell flat for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the weather. We are situated in the Northern Berkshires, which creates quite a lot of snow in the winter. Even when the weather forecasts say it’s not going to snow, it does. The weather forecast will say it’s sunny and it’s not snowing, but you look outside to see snowflakes and two inches of snow on the ground! The consistency of the abnormal weather patterns made it difficult to go out and go to the locations.

Another problem we had was space on my computer, and other technological issues. My computer simply did not have enough memory to handle all the videos we had (only two videos we had made) and it was incredibly difficult to try to edit and upload videos while my computer kept getting hotter and hotter, and yelling at me that there was simply no more space on it for more files.

The third problem was time. We simply did not have enough time to create all we wanted to create. I wanted to get more and more information before we actually sat down and recorded something, as I wanted all the information to be correct, have ample sources, and be interesting for the viewer with ample shots of the location. By the time we got all of our information and the weather finally settled down, there was simply no time to do everything I wanted to do. If we had more information from the beginning, maybe I would have been able to accomplish everything I wanted, but maybe not.

If I had been able to do this project again, I think I would have been more aggressive in asking for and finding information. From the beginning it felt like we did not have any information at all, which was really disheartening. By the end, it felt like we had way too much information and no time to add it all.

I also would have bought an external hard drive or something so that I would be able to have more videos added to the site without fear of running out of memory on my computer. That alone was really frustrating and I don’t want to have to do that again. If I do a project like this again I’ll be sure to have some kind of secondary memory source so that I can do all I want to do.

Overall I am really happy with how the website came out. There is so much information that we have discovered through this project, and especially in learning about North Adams, it was really rewarding doing this project. Cassie and I have even discussed continuing with research of this project, and continuing to add to the website because of how interested we are in the topic. We have really started to understand why some people have become obsessed with the Hoosac Tunnel, because there is so much history and so many secrets to discover.

I am really happy I was able to participate in this course because it really allowed me to flesh out skills I already had and add more that I never thought I would have. I’m really happy with how the project came out and I’m really happy that I want to keep looking into the tunnel’s history.

February 8, 2018

A Place Like Home | Natural Bridge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndgjusplOFw&feature=youtu.be

(Video is for atmospheric sounds and me speaking what is below. You can either watch video or just read below! Same thing!)

Cassie and I walk through about three inches of snow and ice, up a windy hill to the state park both of us have been to before. The last time I was here, it was summer. Myself and two other friends, packing water, snacks, and towels, wearing bathing suits, preparing to travel into the gorge to go swimming.

It’s February now, a new year. Every inch of every surface is covered in a fine layer of powder. Footfall amplified a thousand times by the tiny crystals of crunchy ice. An inch of snow today, and twelve inches tomorrow. We bundle up: hats, three layers of jackets, two pairs of socks, pants, scarves. We make sure to bring gloves. It’s below freezing, you can feel your skin drying, hardening, when it’s exposed too long.

Two dogs greet us before we get to the top. The second becomes our guide, weaving in and out of our legs, bringing us to the place we wanted to go, the stairs that lead up to the bridge.

The stairs get steeper as the sound of rushing water gets louder. Inside the gorge the water carves paths in the stone, eroding the walls, changing the course of the water.

The stairs connect with every part of the gorge and surrounding area. The land is manipulated by human hands. Like the water, the land is changed with it. A dam, cutting the river in half, ice piling up like sugar amidst the snow, ice, slush. An abandoned mill, the foundations still standing, signs proclaiming the land is not longer safe. To the bridge: the stairs and pathways floating above the stone, fences cutting the picturesque landscape into pieces.

The water is endlessly gushing, gushing, gushing.

Away from the bridge, from the dam, the sound fades. Again the sound of our shuffling, crunching footsteps return, the laughter never ceasing. Walking over ice, lamely dancing on the slick pavement.

Human hands have touched everything. A crumpled, half soaked pile of brochures, proclaiming, “It’s your nature” makes me uneasy. The quiet, empty land meant for cars next to a building with a sign out front that says, closed for the season, just reminds me of Cassie sending an email to this state park only to receive one of those “this address does not exist,” automatic replies.

This place feels abandoned in the off season. Empty. The only people coming are those who bring their dogs, unleashed, letting them run free among the old quarry. For some reason I like it better in the winter. Seeing it appear untouched it brings me back.

I remember why I came here, visiting the area for the first time when I was still in high school. Driving over the hairpin turn, overlooking the mountains that aren’t actually mountains and thinking how this is a place that feels like home.

January 25, 2018

Glacial Grooves & Haunted Hoosac

A huge problem we had trying to meet with our archivist was actually meeting with an archivist, as well as getting access to information that would help us with the project. We were able to meet with reference librarians at the local public library and look at the information contained in the vault, however archive materials were limited (no surprise there).

There was also some issue with trying to explain exactly what we were doing as an overall project. It was difficult to explain how we would be using the information while we didn’t exactly know what it was we were looking for in the sites. Deciding which sites we wanted to look at was difficult as well, due to the fact that we were not sure what information was available to us. We tried to name a few locations, such as Mt. Greylock (tallest point in Massachusetts), however there was no information on that particular location.

We asked about Natural Bridge State Park, and there happened to be some information in the vault. There was mostly old information such as pamphlets which described the location, the trails around the location, and other small amounts of information. There was a few books but those did not contain much information, only some quick facts in the first ten or so pages, with the last thirty or so pages being completely blank.

Other options for this location include actually going to the location as well, as there are tours offered, so more information can be gathered through other means (not solely by archives).

Another location we thought of, however not until much later, is the Hoosac Tunnel (there are multiple spellings for this location including Hoosic, Hoosack, Hoosick, and probably a dozen more). The location itself is full of much history, lore, and even ghost stories, which adds some mystery to the entire area.

The location itself is a railroad tunnel, and seeing as North Adams is a hub for all things train, this seems like a really good idea to explore the archives. Although we haven’t seen the physical archive materials for this location as of yet, there is some online archives as well as a literal train museum which can no doubt help us.

Other locations we discussed included the following, with some of the reasoning behind it

Mt. Greylock – Location of J.K. Rowling’s Ilvermorny School (American School for Wizardry). The tallest point in Massachusetts. A “fun” fact: Mt. Greylock is not actually a mountain, it is about 8 feet short of being considered an actual mountain.
Natural Bridge State Park – Beautiful location with easy access and cool rocks! Access into the gorge possible to see the natural bridges from the bottom. Includes glacial striations (or ‘grooves’) – the tracks from glaciers moving!
Harriman Dam, Whitingham, VT – “Morning glory” spill way, reservoir. Very cool looking! Although in VT it is about 40 minutes from us so we decided against this idea pretty quickly.
The Bridge of Flowers – man made bridge which is covered in a flower garden. Self explanatory, however does not bloom fully till late spring/summer. (We’re definitely going anyway, even if we’re not writing about it!)
Hoosac Tunnel / Railroad – North Adams is big for their railroad so my initial idea was just “railroad.” The Hoosac Tunnel became the focus at that point due to the fact that it is surrounded by so much lore/history/ghost stories/etc. The entire location is very interesting and also nearby, which is good. There will be a lot of information that we can gather about this location as well.

It will be interesting to discover more about the locations we have chosen, the Hoosac Tunnel and the Natural Bridges. Being in this area there is a lot of information that one just picks up simply from day-to-day conversation. It will be interesting to separate rumor and lore from truth that we will discover while conducting research into the areas.

January 18, 2018

The Road That Meets Salmon River State Forest

A long stretch of road, running into the distance, curving out of sight. Trees as far as the eye can see, stretching miles in every direction. The trees, some like giants stretching up into the sky, curve out and then up, creating a barrier from the outside world.

In the early mornings, fog lazily shifts over the asphalt, moving through the trees like waves. The area is quiet, nearly silent, save the sound of a lone car engine or the sound of waking birds. During the warm evenings, peepers hop over the road, soaking up moisture from the air on their travels to the marshes and streams in the forest.

The road stretches on for about a mile before any houses come into view. The houses, with driveways so long one cannot see them from the road, unless it is winter, when there are no longer leaves on the trees.

When the nights are long and dark, the road takes on a very different atmosphere. The only light in the area is the light of your own headlights, and with how the road curves, nearly impossible to see deer or other wildlife before they run in front of the car.

Twelve years ago, during the warm summer nights, frogs covered the roads on the drive home. There was no way not to run them over with our car. As the years passed, the number of frogs dwindled. We’re lucky if we see one on the drive, maybe two if we are really lucky, for the entire summer. I never questioned the disappearing frogs till years later. It seemed as though they disappeared in a single year, like a snap of the fingers, they were gone.

Other creatures I had never seen, such as the salmon with which the forest got its name. More creatures I saw less and less: the snakes which ate the voles that dug up our yard, the hawks that ate the snakes. Squirrels. Where did the squirrels go? Even the orioles my mother likes to feed, some years they don’t come by, even when she leaves oranges for them in the bird bath.

The road splits two forests. One on the left, Salmon River State Forest, and the right, a commercial lot that’s been bought, sold and re-sold, so many times it is unclear who owns it anymore, or what they plan on doing with it. Talks of golf courses. Hotels. Mini golf courses. More houses. Another farm or two.

The years pass and there are more cars on the road. It’s rare now that you are the only one on the road. Accidents become more common. More get frustrated when you go the speed limit, passing you on a double yellow line. The town seems, more than ever, to quickly fix the roads when they look worn down. They added a rumble strip to the middle of the road to stop people from passing or maybe just driving in the center of the road (which didn’t work).

Nowadays, it is rare if you don’t see trash on either side of the road. Filled, white, ten gallon plastic trash bags. McDonald’s bags. Empty to-go cups with the top popped off, plastic straw lying two feet away. Lottery tickets in the dozens, thrown out of car window, scattered all over the asphalt.

This place is different, changing. The forest changes as the world changes.

As I got older, the forest became less magical, less mystical than it was before. I learned more about the land, of overfishing which sent the salmon away. Of the drought coming in full force, increasing the number of gypsy moths in the area, changing how the trees look, changing how the summer sounds. This including the history of gypsy moths, the invasive species we failed to eradicate.

Lastly, of the frogs, as they started to disappear, as they continue to disappear. In my freshman year of college I learned about the struggle of the frogs, of species of frogs and bats which are becoming extinct, dying rapidly due to a fungus of some sort, all over the world. As I read about it, it hit me, some ten years after I had seen the frogs last.

From this, the word solastalgia hit me without knowing that the word existed. It was disheartening and tragic, that I had witnessed something that, quite possibly, no one realized what was happening.

The land is changing, moving into something else. Quite possibly ten years from now, there might be a mini golf course or something else across from the place where the road meets the forest.

Or, maybe, as I’ve heard rumors of the salmon returning, maybe something else will happen. Something better, something different. All I know is that the forest has changed because of people. The influence we have placed on this place has changed it. Either through the copious amounts of trash or the disappearing frogs, something much like the anthropocene, however on a smaller scale.