Night of the Living Dead VIII
Saturday, September 26 from 5:00 to 6:00 at North Cemetery on Cold Street in Worthington. Rain date September 27, same time. After a three-year respite, The Worthington Ghost Association has nominated six members to relate their most fascinating life experiences to the public:
Asa Cottrell (1746-1833) married Lucinda Clapp, daughter of the first Worthington settler, and participated in the Battle of Bennington and other Revolutionary War events. In 1825 he witnessed the Marquis de Lafayette’s overnight stay at Worthington Corners.
Asa and Lucinda’s daughter, Wealthy Cottrell Rice (1807-1894), was the mother of Col. James Clay Rice, Union Army hero, and the grandmother of Katherine McDowell Rice, a renowned playwright.
Elisha Tower (1835-1886) was a farmer, basket maker, and First Lieutenant in the 46th Infantry, Company K, Union Army.
Harry Bates (1881-1975) was a mason, carpenter, musician, and founder of the Bates Orchestra. His second wife was Florence Bates, the beloved town nurse.
Dr. Mary Snook (1898-1961), the first female pathologist for Hampshire County, was the town doctor for Worthington and four other towns, initially serving on horseback. She also pursued her interest in mental health, and partnered with Florence Bates to found the Worthington Medical Center. Dr. Snook lived in the house built by the Rice family in Worthington Corners.
Town hero Florence Berry Bates (1892-1978) was school nurse, town nurse, and founder, sponsor, and administrator of the Worthington Medical Center.
Annual Meeting: John Worthington, Patriot or Patrician?
Sunday, October 18, 6:00, at the WHS building, 6 Williamsburg Road, by the roundabout and across from the post office and Corners Grocery. Free admission and open to all.
Our town is named for John Worthington, a Springfield-based “River God,” despite the fact that he never set foot here. For the WHS annual meeting, Jim Downey (after some brief business matters) will present his talk, John Worthington: Patriot or Patrician? The Duality of Leadership in 18th-Century Massachusetts. As it turns out, there’s much more to the story of John Worthington and the town’s founding.
In the 18th century, the colloquial term “River Gods” referred to a tightly knit, interrelated elite that dominated the political, economic, religious, and military life of the Connecticut River Valley. One such oligarch, John Worthington, was a commanding presence in the political and theological thought and practice of 18th-century Massachusetts. He was a seemingly unapologetic Tory sympathizer, and yet he evinced levels of introspection, compassion, and business acumen that created the township we occupy today as well as other lasting institutions in Hampshire and Berkshire Counties.
Please drop in and join us!
For history-related events in Western Massachusetts, also check the events calendar of the Pioneer Valley History Network.