2: Family, Amherst, and South Hadley, Massachusetts

Spent time in Amherst touring Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and enjoyed a quick meeting with my second cousin once removed, Kristofer, a UMass Hospitality and Tourism Management major in his last semester.  He and girlfriend, Reagan, seem a powerful couple, ready to conquer the world.  She’s an English and Comparative Literature major from the Boston area.  Kris, whom we’ve known all his life, was born in Finland but raised mostly in Rye, NY, a child with the best of both worlds.  He’s spent the last two summers in Kustavi, Finland, working at a high-end marina/restaurant/art center owned by a well-known Finnish artist.

Amherst College – a quiet, classic 18^th century campus right in downtown Amherst.  Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Henry Ward Beecher ghosts.  










UMass – a sprawling, huge campus of 26,000, high-rise dorms, massive concrete bunker-style buildings from the 1960’s, a mid-sized city unto itself.  It’s a ten-minute walk from downtown Amherst.  The two campuses could not be more dissimilar.

 

A drive to South Hadley, home to the all-women’s Mount (not Mt.) Holyoke College, easily one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve visited, architecturally and landscape-wise. Definitely the quietest ever, and dripping with history.  Even at 4:00, when classes ended and the town’s rush hour began, hardly any voices or motors to be heard.  Much of the study body may be Asian from our brief observation.  (Kris’ girlfriend works as a writing tutor at UMass and mentioned most of her students are ESL, the majority of them speaking 1. Cantonese 2. Mandarin 3. Japanese. But of course that’s just who she sees.)

It’s a small world.  At some points in its history, Mount Holyoke has sort-of sponsored founding other colleges, including, in the 1960’s, a short-lived one in Albert Lea, Minnesota, Lea College, about 45 minutes north of Allen’s family farm.  Allen worked one summer for a Forest City, Iowa company, making classroom furniture for this college.

Another perfect fall day; sun is warm, air is cool, shorts-and-a-light-jacket perfect.  Back to Northampton to watch the Nadal/Djokovic US Open final and thoroughly enjoy another Moroccan meal at the little restaurant we liked so much the night before.  No TV at our B&B, so a little surfing and lots of reading in the evening.