Letters: Lowry Property Should Be Preserved
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To the Editor:
I'm sorry to ask for space in the media again so soon, but I feel I must respond to Charleen Blood's letter. It was full of misinformation.
I am 88 years old and blessed with a good memory. The land which we purchased on Stratton Road in the late 1940s was not farmland. We bought the land from Stuart and Gertrude Graham. He was a town assessor, and she was a beloved music teacher in the Williamstown Public Schools. As I recall, it was previously owned by at least one other person who intended to build a home. Just below us, Charlie and Alice Foist built a home on a strip of land given to them by his employer, Floyd Lowry. Below us on either side of the street, were older houses belonging to the Bates, Halfacre, Cummings, Jacks, and Rudman families. All of them still stand.
Just across the street lived Tom Fowler, a farmer who sold vegetables at a stand on his property. He lived in a small one-room house and loved the land, a sunny day, a blue sky, or a blue bird. He married late in life, and he and his wife built a home on part of his property. He also owned acres of land above him. It was not farmland but open space. He always said he would not sell any of it as long as he lived. He did not. After he died, his wife sold the house, and I believe her daughter later sold the land.
I don't know from whom the Stratton Development Co. purchased their property, but I'm pretty sure that it was not farmland. As far back as I can remember, the working farms, the Galusha Farm and one owned by the Leland Towne family, have been in an area at the end of the road, on or near Blair Road.
I'd also like to add that the residents of the Stratton Road area have been very much aware that the Lowry Property is in conservation. A friend told me very recently that he remembers my impassioned plea at a town meeting many years ago. I am still passionate about the fact that the amazingly beautiful Lowry Property should be preserved.
Naturally, all of us have been very concerned about the people of the Spruces and others who need housing, but I can attest to the fact that an apartment is a very happy and comfortable home, especially for older folks. Here at Meadowvale, we have flower boxes on the porches, some tomato plants, lettuce, and herbs. I have wonderful neighbors, and we watch out for each other.
Priscilla M. Northup
Williamstown
March 22, 2013
Tags: conserved land, letters to the editor, lowry property,
