One down, one to go

It is hot out today. Like 90 degrees hot. If the small dog didn't start dying of heat and laying down in every tree shadow there was, we could've walked forever today, but I didn't feel like killing the little boy.

My goal today was simply to finish all the streets on the easterly side of Carew, and we have met that goal. We headed down Carew to Armory, across I-291 and down Liberty to Genesee. We turned left from Genesee onto Franklin, because we needed to finish that from the other day. We turned right onto Leonard, and followed that around to Belle. Belle has some cool looking apartment buildings:



We followed Belle to the end and back again, turning right onto Cass. At the corner of Cass and Franklin is the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center.



At the corner of Cass and Liberty is the Pentecostal Bethel Church.



We followed Liberty down to where it met Franklin, finding along the way Sitterly Moving and Storage, the Hampden Brass and Aluminum Company, the Tri-State CDL Training Center, A Better Storage and N. Winer & Son.











Sitterly Movers has been operating in Springfield for over 75 years. Impressive...but not as impressive as Hampden Brass and Aluminum, which was incorporated in 1903 and provides aluminum die-castings, extrusions and molds.

Across Liberty from these fine establishments is Tri-State CDL Training, for those who want to learn to drive the big trucks. Down the street from that is N. Winer & Son, who, as the photo suggests, wholesale in dairy products. Back on the side of Liberty we were on, a new storage business just opened, A Better Storage.

We turned right onto Franklin, which at this end hosts mainly city-supported housing. The main offices of the Springfield Housing Authority are located on Saab Court, which we checked out briefly before heading back to Liberty.

At the end of Liberty where it meets Chestnut, sit the Springfield YMCA and the place I like least in my city, the Registry of Motor Vehicles.





The Springfield YMCA is used by thousands of people every year. So is the evil RMV, I suppose, but I think the Y would be more fun.

We turned right onto Chestnut and followed that over I-291. We came across the Spanish Christian Church Educational Center and the Spanish Christian Church.





When we got down to Chapin Terrace, we followed that up to the park and hung out there for a while, watching a rugby game, before heading home to cool off.

128 down, 95 to go

Just a few streets covered today. It was so nice, I wanted to get straight to the park. The small dog and I checked out Edgar, Sedgelea, Tourigny and Pauline before enjoying today's gorgeous weather at Van Horn.

123 down, 100 to go

Springtime in Springfield

Things are finally starting to turn green! I could not be happier. I loathe winter.

And, since things are turning green, I thought I'd showcase two very green things in Liberty Heights.



My neighborhood is home to the sub-neighborhood of Hungry Hill, a bastion of Irish heritage. This lovely home is on Carew Street, directly across from Mayfair. I think it's pretty.

A lot of the homes in my neighborhood also have shamrocks painted at the end of their driveways to show some Irish pride. Ninety-nine percent are plain kelly green shamrocks, but I found one home on Phoenix Terrace that has something a little extra:



Gotta love Massachusetts.

[Edit, May 8, 6:40 p.m.] Those folks on Phoenix Terrace got nothing on these guys on Dana Street:

Indian Orchard Mills open house

The Artists at Indian Orchard Mills are pleased to announce their Spring Art Show, Sale and Open Studios event. This year’s event will take place on May 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. and May 2 from noon to 4 p.m. The event includes a gallery reception displaying all new works from this talented group of over 50 artists in the Dane Gallery.

After viewing the new gallery show and enjoying some refreshments, guests are invited to wander through the Indian Orchard Mills complex and meet the artists as they open their studios to the public. The suggested donation is $2 per adult, with children welcome free of charge.

Things are really starting to heat up at Indian Orchard Mills. “There are no signs of a slow down here,” owner Charles Brush said. Everywhere you look the artists are busy preparing new work, cleaning their studios and freshening the place up in anticipation of the Spring Open Studios event. In recent years this annual show has attracted thousands of guests who are interested in visual arts. People come to the mill to socialize with old friends and meet new ones; to find that perfect piece of original art or maybe commission an artist to create a piece around their own ideas.

“There is so much to see, and such a variety of mediums,” Judy Webber, one of the mangers of the event, said. “Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because, to truly see the show, you’ll want to be here for at least a couple hours.”

This spring, Karoun Charkoudian and Rachel Saloio have joined the artist community.

Charkoudian left her career as a petroleum geologist in Houston to follow her passions in photography and yoga. Pursuing her art from within, Charkoudian combines her philosophy of art with that of yoga: while yoga awakens the sense of beauty within each of us, her photographs reveal a beauty that we are surrounded by in our day to day living.

A young artist from Ludlow, Saloio attended the Art Institute of Boston and volunteers at a local Art Gallery. She is using her studio at the mill to explore new techniques and different mediums in the fine arts field.

Join the artists at Indian Orchard Mills and see what the commotion is all about. Light appetizers will be served. The Dane Gallery and the Indian Orchard Mills are located at 34 Front St., Indian Orchard. For more information call 543-3321 or log on to Indian Orchard Mills.

Update on streets

Since we are now officially more than halfway done, I thought I'd post a new list of streets left to complete:

Alvin Street
Armory Street
Athol Street
Atwater Place
Atwater Road
Atwater Terrace
Bartlett Street
Beauchamp Street
Bedford Road
Belle Street
Bevier Street
Candice Circle
Carew Street
Caseland Street
Cass Street (B)
Catafalque Drive
Chestnut Street
Connecticut Avenue
Copley Terrace
Crestwood Street
Croyden Street
Cunningham Street
Dana Street
David Street
Denton Circle
Derby Dingle Street
Dineen Street
Doyle Avenue
Drew Court
Edgar Street
Edmund Street
Farnsworth Street
Felicia Street
Francis Street
Franklin Street
Gold Street
Governor Street
Green Lane
Hamburg Street
Harlan Street
Hartley Street
Haven Avenue
Hickox Place
Hickox Street
Huron Street
Judson Street
Kirby Street
Leonard Street
Lexington Street
Liberty Street
Long Terrace
Los Angeles Street
Lynwood Terrace
Massasoit Place
Massasoit Street
Medical Center Drive
Milford Street
Miller Street
Montclair Street
Montmorenci Street
Mooreland Street
Morison Terrace
Morrell Street
Mystic Street
Naismith Place
Naismith Street
Narragansett Street
Nevada Street
Newbury Street
Nordica Street
Norman Street
Ontario Street
Park Road
Parkin Street
Parkside Street
Pauline Street
Prospect Street
Prospect Terrace
Raymond Place
Rimmon Avenue
Saab Court
Sedgelea Street
Shefford Street
Silver Street
Silvia Street
Springfield Street
St. James Avenue
St. Lawrence Avenue
Sterling Street
Tacoma Street
Thames Street
Thornfell Street
Tourigny Street
Upton Street
Van Horn Place
Van Ness Street
Wait Street
Weaver Road
Wells Place
Wells Street
Wentworth Street
Whitmore Drive
Williams Drive
Wolfe Street
Woodmont Street

104 left to go! Then onto East Springfield? We'll see. This is a much bigger project than I thought it would be.

Gray skies do not deter us!

Despite the darkly overcast skies, the small dog and I managed to get quite a bit done today. We headed down our street to Merrimac to Nottingham, turning onto Carew before turning left onto Liberty. We headed past the plaza toward the bridge over I-291. There's a large cemetery right next to the highway, St. Benedict's.

Once we crossed the highway, we headed down Armory (because it and Liberty do that weird criss-cross thing) to Napier Street.



Here is a link to L.E. Belcher's Web site. Also, if you look in the background to the left, you'll see a sign for American Safety and Supply, which offers everything from flashlights to jumpsuits.



Acme Metals & Recycling has been offering "innovative recycling solutions since 1938," which is great. I'm a big fan of recycling.

Also, down on Chandler is the Springfield Towing Alliance. This business had some issues last year.



East Coast Custom offers "auto body repair, welding, mechanical repair and tire repair" but oddly enough, doesn't have a Web site and isn't listed in the phone book. Hmm.

Napier, as you can see, offers oil, recycling and automotive customization. We turned off Napier to check out Chandler before heading back up Armory. On the way down toward the railroad tracks -- the easterly limit of Liberty Heights -- I came across I.B.S. Electronics and Security and Puerto Rico Bakery and Restaurant.



I.B.S. specializes in "Industrial Services, Commercial Services, Sales, Residential Services, Fire Systems, HUD Fire Alarm Certification, Installation, Fire Alarms Installed/Serviced, Data Cabling." In November 2007, Cindy S. gave them a glowing review.



This particular Puerto Rico location is actually Puerto Rico II, the original being located on Main Street.

Across the street from Puerto Rico, Warwick Street heads off, so we decided to check that out. The first big building we came across was the Sunshine Art Studios.



I can't tell if this building is still in use or not, but I think it's a wicked cool building. Here's the story of Sunshine Art Studios.

Up from that was Comcolor. Comcolor offers full service digital media.



At the end of Warwick, we turned onto Heywood. We came across this building, which looks abandoned and most likely is:



On the corner of Heywood and Liberty is the Youth Assessment Center for the Springfield Police Department. We turned left at the end of Heywood onto Liberty, following it down just past Vinton, where I snapped this picture of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center:



The center is run by Captains Douglas and Bethannie Dolder.

We went back up Vinton to Franklin. At the corner of Franklin and Underwood is Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Hall.



We turned right onto Franklin before turning left onto Underwood. We took that to its end before turning back onto Franklin and then turning right onto Webster. A lot of these streets were one way, and small dog and I were walking the wrong direction.

We took Webster down to Liberty, turning left onto it before turning left again onto Murray Hill Avenue. We took a left kitty-corner to head onto Crane Street, following that up around to Halsey and taking that to Nursery Street part 2. At the corner of Nursery and Franklin is the greatest store ever, the Franklin Street Super Market.



Free delivery? That's awesome.

We crossed Franklin to finish Nursery, heading back toward Liberty. We turned left onto Liberty, then left onto Columbia Terrace. We turned back around and continued heading back up Liberty. We turned left onto Tracy and then right onto Franklin, which turned into Genesee. At the corner of Liberty and Genesee is Gurdon Bill Park. It is not as fabulous as Van Horn, but I do love me some green space.



We turned left onto Armory and then turned left again onto Ledyard, and checked out Wolcott Street part 2 before heading back across the highway.

I didn't mention this before, but in the island created by the criss-crossing of Armory and Liberty, there's a state trooper barracks. Good to know those guys are right down the road.

Only four streets left to officially finish this side of Carew!

119 down, 104 to go

Strolling and supporting

The little boy and I headed out around 11:30 this morning, with the intention of finishing some new streets and going to the Shriners rally. We left the house and went up our street toward St. James, crossing Carew to head over to Shaine Circle. There's a Walgreens on the weird island created where Carew splits.

After finishing Shaine, we headed down Carew to Piedmont, down to Roy and across Liam to Mildred Avenue. We followed Mildred up to Mayher and took that down to Maura. We turned from Maura onto Greaney. We turned off Greaney to take Whittaker up to Liberty and back. We finished Greaney and turned back onto Mildred, checking out Calvin Street before heading up Liberty to Van Horn Park.

The small dog and I did our usual route around the park before heading down Chapin to finish Melha Avenue. The Melha Shriners support the Shriners Hospital on Carew Street, and Melha Avenue abuts the hospital. Makes sense.

After we spent some time at the rally, we headed back up Carew to go home.

105 down, 118 to go

Zigging and zagging

I've thrown strategy to the wind for now. And I'm okay with that, because the small dog and I are getting a lot accomplished.

We went down to Van Horn Park again this afternoon, and I was hoping to get a full two hours of walking in with Kael. By the time we got home, we'd been out for three hours and 15 minutes...which means we did about nine miles.

We entered Van Horn through its Liberty Street entrance and ended up near the Armory Street entrance. We crossed Armory and started working out way down Chapin Terrace. We turned right onto Colfax and followed its curve around to one end of Melha. When Melha and Chapin met, we turned right and then right again onto one end of Knollwood. At the end of Knollwood, we turned left onto Cornwall, and then left onto Mayfair. When Mayfair and Chapin met, we turned right and then right again onto Croyden Terrace. At Croyden's end, we turned left onto Cornwall again and then left onto Lancashire Road. A lot of these streets were marked as private ways.

From there, we turned right onto Chapin again, then down one end of Jardine and back up to Chapin. We passed by an entrance to Baystate Medical Center (more on that place later). We stayed to the right when Chapin Terrace split, turned right onto Marvin and then turned left onto Pratt. At the end of Pratt, we turned left onto Chestnut before turning left to head back up the opposite side of Chapin and finish some of the streets we started.

At the corner of Chapin and Chestnut is the St. Pierre Phaneuf Funeral Chapel. It's a nice looking funeral home.



We followed Jardine up to Prospect and then back to Chapin; we did the same with Lancashire. We followed Mayfair and Knollwood up to Carew and back but didn't finish Melha, because it started to sprinkle. The dark, ominous clouds had been looming all afternoon. The small dog and I took Chapin back up to the park, cut through it and exited out the Penacook side, hitting up Langdon and Leroy before heading back home.

I forget what street this was on, but I saw this van and laughed:



I think it may be an under the radar moving business, but the spray-painted thug near the tail of the van makes it look a little shady.

97 down, 126 to go

The small dog and I visited Van Horn Park again today, as the weather is finally starting to feel like spring. It was sunny and about 70 degrees. It was beautiful!

We finished Penacook today on our way out of the park, and on the way back up toward home, we traveled down Suzanne Street, which I skipped the other day when it was raining. I found a wheatback penny on Suzanne. That was cool.

85 down, 138 to go

April Showers

Today's weather has been overcast and drizzly pretty much since dawn, so I decided to break my own rule and cross over Carew to do some streets close to the small dog and me. We didn't see too much, just lots and lots of homes.

We crossed directly from Merrimac over to Glencoe and walked to its end and back up. We turned right onto Carew and then right onto Piedmont. At its end, we turned left onto Roy and followed that all the way up to Newbury (with the exception of a quick tour of Liam), at which point we turned back around and eventually turned right onto Strong. We followed Strong back up to Carew, and from there turned left onto Biella. We did a quick tour of Mellon, then headed back up Piedmont to head home.

The poor little boy and I were soaked by the time we got back, but at least we got a full hour of walking in.

83 down, 140 to go

For those in the region

Rally to support Shriners Hospital slated for April 19

SPRINGFIELD -- Recent news that the Shriners Hospitals for Children on Carew Street in Springfield is facing the grim possibility of closing because of financial issues due to the volatility of the economy has not slowed down the energy and support from within the facility. A rally to demonstrate support for the important work the hospital does for children with muscular-skeletal issues is planned for April 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield at 481 Carew St. in Springfield. The rally location is just across the street from the Shriners Hospitals for Children at 516 Carew St.

The rally is being coordinated by Friends of the Shriners Hospital. It is not a fund raising rally, but rather a rally to demonstrate the level of support the hospital has in the community.

Springfield’s Shriners Hospitals for Children employs 200 personnel and relies on an equal amount of volunteers. A $20 million dollar budget injects money on an annual basis into the Springfield regional market but that money and the unique services the hospital supplies children could cease should the non-profit facility have to close.

The Springfield-based hospital, which began operations in 1925, is one of 22 hospitals in a one-of-a-kind international health care system dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. The Springfield location specializes in pediatric orthopaedics and the closest Shriners Hospitals for Children to offer that same specialty is in Philadelphia.

Children up to the age of 18 with orthopaedic conditions are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment at no charge – regardless of financial need.

In this unpredictable economy, now, more than ever, the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield is looking for support from the community at the April 19 rally. For more information, please contact Market Mentors at 787-1133.

[Edit, April 20, 11:10 a.m.] The small dog and I went to the rally yesterday; I signed a petition and he made some little kids very happy.

Here's some video of Mayor Sarno speaking at the rally (bad quality, I apologize):



His last line is finished "eighty-something years."

It was a really good rally -- more than 1,000 signatures were gathered. Hopefully, this shows the Shriners Board that the hospital needs to stay in Springfield.

The little boy and I didn't have a lot of time for our walk today (the hubby and I had tickets to see the Hampden Theater Guild's presentation of "The Producers"), so we headed down to cover just a couple of the streets on this side of Carew that we missed on our last outing. On the way down, we passed Brunton Square (which is actually more of a triangle, but whatever).



The park was named in honor of Springfield Mayor Daniel B. Brunton, who served from 1946 to 1957. A sign in the park notes that Tralee, Ireland, is a sister city of Springfield. I've been to Tralee. It's pretty. Another sister city is Takikawa, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan.

From there, we headed down to Armory Street. On the corner of Armory and Carew is Our Lady of Hope Church. This was my future husband's church, and next door to the church is Our Lady of Hope School, my hubby's first school. It teaches children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school will be closing soon, sadly.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
A night to remember for friends and alumni of Our Lady of Hope School will be on May 16 in the school auditorium. This event, to mark the school’s closing, will begin with 4 p.m. Mass in church. A ziti and meatball dinner will take place afterward in the school. Come and reminisce, tour the school and meet old friends. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids up to eighth grade and kids under three are free. There will be a cash bar. Tickets are available at the school, the rectory and the Hope Center. If you have any questions, call 734-4125.





When we passed the church and the school, we turned left up Grover Street, which had mostly two-story homes along it. At the end, we turned right onto Liberty and then made another right onto Cleveland Street. There, we soon came across the dentistry office of R. Manniello and George Hurley.



At the end of Cleveland, we turned left onto Armory and then left onto Sullivan Street. At the end of this street is a business complex called Sullivan Place.



The only business I saw advertised was the dentistry office of Dr. Gerard Thibault. He received a pretty good review from one patient on HealthGrades.com.

We headed back down Sullivan to Armory, up that street and back up Carew to head home.

So, heading forward -- I've finished all the streets on this side of Carew down to Chestnut on this side of I-291. My next move will be to cross over the highway and traverse the streets on that side (a little less than two dozen streets). After that, onto the north side of Carew!

76 down, 147 to go