An article in the Globe on Massachusetts trails describes Stony Ledge (apparently a major venue for Mountain Day activties):

Mountain views: Roaring Brook/Stony Ledge Loop, Lanesborough

Stony Ledge is a group of rocky cliffs with views of Mount Greylock’s summit, the highest in the state (3,491 feet), and the V-shaped wedge of trees on its slopes called The Hopper. From the parking lot on Roaring Brook Road, a 20-minute drive south of Williamstown, follow the path along the right side of the brook. Cross the stream three times until you reach a point where the Roaring Brook and Stony Ledge trails split. Choose the less ardu ous Roaring Brook trail.

Climbing more than a 1,000 feet through a forest of hemlocks, spruces, yellow birches, and beeches, the trail finally reaches Sperry Road. A left on this gravel road through a campground leads to Stony Ledge. From the rocks, you can see the War Memorial atop Greylock and The Hopper’s velvety carpet of trees.

Three hours round trip; moderate to strenuous. From Williamstown, follow Route 7 south past the Route 43 junction. Look for a small wooden sign at the left-hand side of Route 7 indicating the Roaring Brook Trail. This is Roaring Brook Road. Turn left; a small parking lot is on the left

KERA’s (Dallas)  Krys Boyd recently interviewed tropical field biologist Meg Lowman ’76 on Boyd’s always fascinating “Think” program.

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/77/510036/91173599/KERA_91173599.mp3

The interview ranges over a variety of topics, from Lowman’s creation of the first tree canopy walks (she was the force behind the one in Hopkins Memorial Forest), being an international field biologist, teaching (she is a professor at New College of Florida, where she teaches undergraduates), life as the single mother of two boys while working in the field, and women in science. More than anything, I was struck by how much her identity as a parent shapes her worldview and values. She and her sons (who are now in their early twenties, and destined for scientific careers of their own) have collaborated in writing about life growing up in a field scientist’s family.

Those of you who are at Williams for reunions can try out a canopy walk for yourselves tomorrow (assuming the rain stops):

Sat., 1:30 - 5 p.m.  Hopkins Forest: Visit the Treetops on the Canopy Walkway

The walkway is a pair of tree platforms set 70 ft. above the ground and originally used for research. Platforms are linked by a cable bridge and accessed via a wooden ladder. Participants are harnessed to safety cables, and aided by guides. Space limited; long waits possible; first come, first served; no children under 12.

(It’s safe, but a challenge if you have height anxieties. Even if you don’t ascend, it’s worth walking over to HMF just to look at the structure. There will be an open house in the forest at the same time, so you could stop in at HMF headquarters and see the museum of farm implements, buy some homemade maple syrup, and view some of the other exhibits. And if you are outdoorsy, don’t miss the bird walk and the hike, both of which are also on the main reunion schedule.)

Listening to the interview or seeing the canopy walk might interest you in reading Meg’s books for the layperson:

Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology by Margaret D. Lowman (2000)

and

It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops by Margaret D. Lowman, James Burgess, Edward Burgess, and Ghillean T. Prance (2006) (written with her sons)

Lowman has a website, canopymeg.com. Officialy, her title is Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Initiatives, New College of Florida, but, if one just adds “Mom,” the subtitle of her website encapsulates it rather nicely: “Author, Adventurer, Tropical Rain Forest Canopy Biologist.”  She is very much a proud product of  the  Williams Center for Environmental Studies, and the College has celebrated her accomplishments by honoring her with a Bicentennial Medal.

Thought folks might be interested in another chapter in the Purple Pub story. Mary now thinks it will be open again for this fall!

This article from the April 9th Record provides some more details. I love how they highlight Mary’s connection with the students at the end. This is why the Pub has never been just another bar, but a part of the Williams community.

The Purple Pub will return to Spring Street at the end of the summer behind the George Hopkins building, according to the Pub’s owner, Mary Michel. While hoping to bring “a lot of the old pub into the new pub,” she is excited about the Pub’s new location, noting that it will “look out onto Spring Street for the first time.”
. . .
The new pub was originally going to have two floors but will now have only one, as the upper floor of the new building will house offices instead.
. . .
Michel has been working at a small home-based retail business, and also took on a job at Whitmans’ this February, where she hopes to continue working even after the Pub reopens. Out of all the difficulties due to the Pub’s closure, Michel said that the largest is “the time lost with the students,” which contributed to her motivation to work on campus.

Once the Pub reopens, Michel is hoping to regain support in the community. She has remained in touch with her staff, all of whom intend to resume working at the Pub. She also plans to serve dinner at the new Pub. Though the relocating and rebuilding may have taken longer than expected, Michel said she hopes the saying “when you build it, they will come” will hold true and that the Pub will once again become an important part of Spring Street.

The Clark Art Institute landed a huge donation yesterday, one of the largest in the museum’s history, valued at somewhere around $90 million. In addition to a whopping $50 million in endowment money for the Clark’s research and academic programs (cha-ching!), the gift includes a priceless haul of British art including big-time paintings and drawings from Turner, Constable and Gainsborough.

The AP (via the Transcript) and the NYT (scroll down in article) report the sugar daddy is the Manton Foundation, the legacy of AIG honcho Sir Edwin Manton. Manton, a British expat, was a power in British art collecting and the second-biggest donor to the Tate after, well, ol’ Tate himself. He had other reasons for donating to a sleepy museum in Williamstown.

“The family knew the Clark,” said Michael Conforti, its director. “They had one daughter, Diana Morton, who was raised in America and who heads the foundation. She realized the gift would make a significant addition to what was a very thin area of our collection.”

In recognition of the gift the Clark will name the building housing its research and academic program the Sir Edwin and Lady Manton Research Center. It will have a gallery dedicated to British art that will show both the Manton gift and other works from the Clark’s collection.

The collection went on display today. Quite a fine development for Williams art historians, not to mention anyone who attends the Clark.

Here is the Dorset marble quarry, the oldest quarry in the USA. One of the most famous swimming holes in the State of Vermont. If you are around this summer, you may want to check it out. It takes about an hour to drive there from Williamstown. This one is famous, featured in the NYT magazine. No need for me to shoot and post any pics when you can get a “panorama image.” On the web you can find many articles about the historic site. There is a second swimming hole above the one on the side of route 30, where people used to skinny dip.

About two miles north of Manchester in Dorset on route 30.