Historic Stones

     I have blogged in the past about historic stones and sites throughout the city of Springfield. Many of these sites and stones are of the utmost importance to the city and the founding of the country. Shays rebellion which really brought about the the American revolution was right here in Springfield. When a farmer from Amherst decides that they are paying way to much in taxes on their product decide to invade the Armory in Springfield. Think of the courage it took to gather a group of men and travel over a treacherous course to the Armory. And while he, Daniel Shays lost the rebellion, it brought the attention of a few other guys that said hey wait a minute. Well we can discuss those guys later, but Madison, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams were some pretty cool dudes.

    Not to mention Knox. General Knox and the Knox trail go right through Springfield, and the Boston Post Road was a heavily traveled route to get weapons to the Patriot General George Washington in Boston to beat back the Brits. To me, we do not give enough attention to these historical events and sites. Here in Springfield Ma. there are several locations with big stones and plaques to commemorate these historic events.  Yet many of them lack the proper maintenance and upkeep so they stay a part of Springfield's long history in the country.  Also the locations they are in are very hard to stop and look at for a moment. The stone I did last year was on the corner of Mill and Main Street so there was plenty of space to get out of your car and read what the plaque actually said.The other sites as in this one here is on heavily traveled roads such as State Street, Boston Road and Longhill Street. Now if any of you travel I91 and get on it at the end of Sumner Ave. I am sure you see this stone when you are going about 40 miles an hour with the rest of the traffic on Longhill to get to 91. I still after 50 years do not know what exactly that stone says or any of the others, but I aim to find out.

     Here, a picture of this stone was taken from our car in the middle of the day. There is no where to stop and get out to get a better visual of what it exactly says, and if you know the area you might not want to get out of the car. So we snapped a couple of photos and we did the best we could. As you can see there is
severe deterioration on the commemorative stone. But what we could make out that it was erected by Joseph Waft Esq. We could not really make out any of the other info, but it appeared like it was erected for the purpose of marking the Boston Road and the benefit of someone else. If you know more about this event I am sure we would all love to hear more about it so don't be afraid to drop us a line and fill us in. My next adventure will be to another historic site in the same area that may signify more about Washington and Knox.

      Congrats to all my friends or family that are Patriot fans. I'll comment on the state of the N.F.L here in a later post or perhaps next year when football kicks off again, but seriously, Some of the calls through out the playoffs have been a bit questionable. And I wonder who is speaking into the refs ear piece with all this reviewing. Anyways, the Baseball season is almost here, and only 85 more days until the run for the roses.

                                                                 Good Luck as Always,
                                                                  The Original Eduardo

P.S. Even with all the snow and cold, I have noticed a lot of buds on trees starting to swell. So yes, spring will be here before long, you can't stop it now.

Cool Bark

     With the winter in full swing it is sometimes hard to find things in the landscape to write about and I often end up telling a story or two along the way. This week I concentrate on two things. The very cool looking River Birch and the all important winter pruning. The River Birch is a great species of birch and I am sure I may have covered it here. It has wonderful colors to the bark and it is really highlighted in the winter months. It has rusty tones to the peeling bark with very black nooks and branches. Most grounds managers are using them more and more as they are very resistant to birch borer and holds up very well under drought conditions. This one here is a multi stem one while I have seen some single stem varieties planted along tree belts in East Forest Park. Many of them took some hard blows to the canopy back in the October of 2011 snow storm but are recovering nicely. Very easy tree to have, little clean up and excellent color. If you have the space you should definitely consider one. Can grow to 35 feet high. and 25 feet wide.

     Winter pruning can be a very important step to maintaining a plants health and the size. If you have a large property with many different species of shrubs and ornamentals, now is a good time to get into some of that pruning you may not have had time for during the growing season.Sometimes it is as simple as just removing 4 or 5 of the older and larger canes to thin out the plant like we did here with this viburnum. Also remove any thing that is crossing and remember to never remove more then one third of the plant and you will be in good shape. Winter is also a great time to prune as there are no leafs on the plants and you can see exactly what needs to get cut out. Also if you dress in layers and you get a nice sunny day it is better then working on these plants then in the heat of the summer. I do not suggest this for all plants as I usually like to wait until they have bloomed, but in most cases you can make several cuts with out losing too much in the way of flowering bloom while lowering the canopy and thinning out the species.

Before

After

  








 Hey Patriots fans good luck in the Super Bowl!!! But now you know how it feels to root for a team with so much success. Now you know how it feels to root for a team with so many stars. Now you know how it feels to root for a team with the best coach of the day. Now you know how to root for a team that has its share of controversy. Now you now how it has felt to be a N.Y. Yankee fan in New England.

P.S. Our friend John Bruschi from Albanos market called and said "Its a great crop of wine". I gave him a bottle of the family reserve for the holidays, very glad he approves.

  See you next posting with more historical monuments from Springfield.
                         
                                   Eddie Pags                                        
                                                                                           

Favorite Springfield Gangster

** Note, I do not claim to be a writer by no means. I just figured here would be a good spot to tell these stories in addition to reviewing the Landscape.

     In the fall of 1982 I worked at a restaurant in East Longmeadow Mass. called the Willow Glen House. It was a fairly large place with several banquet rooms. My position there was maintenance in the terms of housekeeping, bar backing, washing dishes,painting,filling coolers and banquet room set up. I was also just married with a young son living at Cannon Circle. ( Spring Meadow Apartments ) Two brother in laws owned the place at the time having just purchasing it from the original owner, Ernie Siano.Charlie and Tom the Armenian brother in laws were the owners.

      I mostly worked for Charlie the Armenian and who ever the banquet manager was. But one day in early fall of 1982 Tom the Armenian said that we were having a banquet in the Castillion Room next Friday night that wasn't on the schedule. He also told every one including me not to punch in as we would be paid cash sometime after the event. So as we got closer to the event we all started to get the details. It was going to be a big stag party for some one connected to the local mafia. Prime Rib for dinner with severs and all the fixings. Multiple bars, with a huge raffle.We were all told that if this party went well we would have another one in a couple of weeks. As I recall the stag went off with out a hitch and about 400 men showed up. Everything went fine, and when all was said and done I think I got $50.00 cash for the night and clean up, not bad money at the time for a little extra work. With in a couple of weeks we all heard that we were going to have another stag and that it was going to be the same situation with not punching in and getting paid cash. So great I thought as did all the rest of the people. All I know is the banquet ladies loved to get paid in cash and they were loving it.

     As the second stag approached and at one time or another both Tom and Charlie had gotten to me to let me know that the people holding the party would be coming by well before the event and I should get them anything they needed. Find I said and with in a couple of hours and may-be three days before the stag men started to show up with pick up trucks that looked to be filled with tables. But as time would reveal, the tables were actually gaming tables that they needed set up in the hall. So as we rearranged the room for them one guy approached me and asked about the cellar of the place. I showed him the whole thing and he pointed to a specific room with a lock on it and said I'll need that room. I opened it for him and never saw him again until after the event.

     The event was moving forward and there was a lot of Russel leading up to the stag. The organizers were telling the chef that there would be between 500 and 600 men there plus all these gaming tables, a couple of bars, and we even had to move a bunch of furniture out of a big coat room so all the bosses could eat in private. My father called me to say he would be there with his friends and to make sure we had the right Scotch at the bar for his pals. Well soon enough the stag got of to a great start, packed house with more still coming through the door. The only problem was people started to park on North Main Street, and with plenty of parking around the back no one had thought of directing traffic to the back so every one just started parking where ever they wanted. Soon enough the East Longmeadow police was there and as soon as some one heard that the police were there, those gaming tables were gone, down in seconds. Funny thing is it took them almost 3 days to set them up. A bunch a fat lazy guys who took forever to put them together. But when the cops showed up, gone in only seconds. It was still a good stag party and the bar was hoping late into the night. Hell I even had to give a few old timers a ride home.

     The day after the party I worked a normal day cleaning the banquet room and being thankful that there was not another event that night. I went home at a normal time as my wife Mary had to work and I needed to be there for the baby. I was not home more then 5 minutes when I received a phone call from Tom telling me I had to come back to work to help the guy with the stuff from the stag. I said I do not have a sitter or ride and I didn't think I could make it. He said get a sitter and some one will be at my house in a couple of minutes. Well lucky for them our neighbor Nancy Comier was home and she said she would watch our son. A long came a gray pick up truck and it was the guy who asked me about the cellar of the place. So I figured he was cool. We go back to the restaurant where I proceed to help him load up all the gaming tables. He gives me a ride home and I think all is set. Well the next morning while at work I get a call on the phone from Charlie. He is in another part of the facility and wants to meet at the Castillion room. So I go down there and when I get there he is with 2 cops. One a detective and one is the Chief. When I arrive they ask about the cellar and say they want to check it out." Fine" I say and Charlie is trembling not knowing all the gaming shit is gone.We get to the cellar and the Chief walks right to the room where all the stuff was and says open it. Now this Charlie is about to have a heart attack, but I say "sure no problem" and give Charlie a wink, like its O.K. Sure enough, the room is empty and the cops are "satisfied" for now they say.

     A few days later while getting the same room ready for another event the head banquet waitress says to me, "did you get paid from the stag from last week?" "No" I say and she immediately tells me to go and ask for it and make sure I get it. I tell her I will and that I have not seen Tom yet for the money. Again she wants to be sure I get the money. Well I am sure not to her surprise but to mine when I see Tom and ask for the pay he tells me I already got paid and he did not have any thing for me. So at this juncture I really did not know what to do. I thought I might try and clear it up with Charlie as he was a more reasonable man. In the mean time I end up at my parents house for dinner on the Sunday that all this was going on. When we were eating my father said it was the best stag he had ever been to and wanted to know how much money I made that night. When I told him what was happening, my mother stopped eating and looked right at him and said, " you take care of this." A few days later on a Thursday Night I get a call from my father. It is late in the evening and Thursday night would typically be a night where my father would be out. He says to go to the restaurant tomorrow at 5:00 and see Tom for the money. When I do Tom is in his typical spot at the bar in a conversation about nothing with the bartender. I ask Tom for the pay from the stag party and again he says, " I do not have anything for you and stop bugging me about it."  I told him I was not going to argue but I am pretty sure I need to get paid for the event and that the organizers would not want to hear of any kind of with holdings. I left felling that it may be over as he seemed pretty confident that he could pocket my end of the stag party. Even though it was only a few bucks, it was still enough to but food on the table.

    Friday night was also a time our family would get together and on this Friday when the phone was ringing I was sure it was my mother calling to invite us over for a home cooked meal. Well it was my mother calling but not for the invite. She was calling to see if I had gotten paid by one of the two Armenians. When I said no she said she would call me back later. When I said what about dinner she said not tonight. Now it was Sunday and I was anxious about everything going on with this money and with the hopes of being invited for dinner. Soon the phone would ring, a little later then normal for a Sunday dinner invite but never the less it was ringing. When I answered it was my mother on the other end of the phone. She asked if we were coming over for dinner and that we should be there early. If we eat at 2:00 I want you here for 1:00 she said. Right after you go over to that restaurant and see the guy about your money. I ask if it is a waste of time and she says go and get right over here after. So I get there right at 12:30 on Sunday and sure enough there is Tom the Armenian at the bar. As I approach he turns to pretend not to notice me but I speak up and say "Tom I think you have something for me". He hands over a brown envelope and says, "I do not know who you know,but you know someone." I walk away with $75 wondering myself, Who do I know????  Well as it turns out, my mother would have coffee every once in a while with Albert Ba Ba Scibelli at the local coffee shop on Sunday mornings after 8:00 mass.He was a local mafia boss running cigarette machines. And it was my mother who had the conversation about Tom the Armenian and payment with Mr. Scibelli over coffee that Sunday morning. So that is why Albert Scibelli is my favorite Springfield gangster.Plus he also cleaned me out of princess pine Christmas wreaths one time too.

        So I hope to get back to a weekly blog. And when the weather gets better it will be more about the landscape. But there is a lot of landscape to cover,baseball,politics,horse racing..........

                                                                 Good Luck, Eddie Pags

P.S. Football Picks  New England , Seattle

Voting Picks

My picks for the voting booth on Tuesday November 4th 2014.

I am very pleased that the Governors race has stayed so close right up until the end of the campaign. With that said my choice for the Governors seat will be with Martha Coakley. I do however like Charlie Baker a great deal also but a few years back I did vow not to vote for a republican as I believe the policy of trickle down economics has out grown itself and all it will do in Mass now is slow down our economy right when we need it to keep it building. Yes we need to watch our spending, but the people who need help are getting it and putting good use to the value of their jobs, homes and families. Also you can not over look the fact that Coakley has been the only candidate speaking about mental health. While the issue is not getting much traction, she has been a leader on this effort and a person who has not been afraid to talk about a dark part of peoples lives and families that need to be addressed. God forbid that we will have another school shooting in the near future with out government addressing policy toward identifying mental health issues and gun control.

Lt Governor. Steve Kerrigan.

Treasure. Mike Heffernan.

State Auditor. Susann Bump.

Secretary of State. Bill Galvin

Question 1,Yes, eliminate the requirement of the states gas tax be adjusted based on the Consumer Index.

Question 2, No , make no changes to the states bottle law.

Question 3, No, Make no changes to the states gamming laws.

Question 4, No, make no changes to the states laws governing sick time.

Local Races,

For State Senator, Eric Lesser.

For State Representative, 12th Hampden, Angelo Puppolo.

Registry of Probate, Suzann Seguin.

Also we won't forget our old friend Tom Kienzler running in the 58th out of Enfield Ct. Go get them Tom.

The most important thing is that you go and cast your ballot, you really do not have a say if you don't vote and be heard. I have one of the longest voting records in my ward. Not because of my age either, I have just never missed a chance to vote. Whether it is a national election or special election I have never missed since 1981.


One of My new favorites for fall color is this Sour Wood. Has great white trailing flowers in late summer that lasts all the way to autumn color of brilliant red. Spectacular, sometimes hard to get and cultivate. But well worth the time and effort.

Well Good Luck to all the candidates in this Falls election and hopefully Paul Ryan runs for President. That may be the only Republican I would vote for.

                                                                 Peace, the Original Eduardo

Historic Monument

Well although it has been a while since my last post, I figured I would keep my promise and write about some of the historic monuments that are seen around the different parts of Springfield. This one here I found at the corner of Mill and Main St. in the South end of Springfield. It signifies where two men were killed by Indians in 1675 at or about at that spot. Now I know there are more of these monuments in the city and have seen them at locations such as Long Hill St. Boston Rd. and State St. But in my search I could only find this one and one on Long hill .  It is really too the city does such a poor job of keeping these artifacts clean and up to date. Our city has such a great history with our countries beginnings that we should do more to engage the citizenry of our rich history, not only at S.T.C.C. but through out the different corners of Springfield. So next time you are out and about,look around, you might see some interesting stuff about our past. 

The snow really makes for a pretty picture for the landscape at this time of year. And although many of us are getting sick of the fluffy white stuff, it does serve an excellent purpose of giving good ground cover to the turf as well as ornamental plantings. Regardless if your like me, spring can not come fast enough. 

As I restart the blog I am hoping to report on such things as thatching the turf grass, proper pruning in early spring and 50 State Street, the building that everyone wants a job in,but somehow think it should be a new building they work in.

 Alas finally back at the keyboard. While I was away  my duties kept me very busy as you can see in the photos of some of this past seasons events. It was a good growing season but hot. And as I post these pictures it makes me miss the good weather even more.

A lot has happen since my last post on June 21 2012. But most of all you just have to get the guns off the street and have better gun control laws in place. My idea for a form of gun surveillance would be to install a system of G.P.S. in every gun manufactured and require gun owners to get a system for their current guns. With today's technology I can not believe that we couldn't somehow rig an alarm to the gun and have its G.P.S. activated as soon as it is taken from the proper locked cabinet. If the gun owner is going to use his own gun they could simply enter a pass code to get and use the fire arm, but if some one like Adam Lanza were to access the guns, then the activation would be made at the local police station and the cops could track the guns and hopefully deter any harmful damage like in Newtown Ct.

As you can see in the pictures we had a good year with annual flowers. Jacks Classic and 20-20-20 are great solutions and really developed good root mass as well as tissue and bloom growth. Also the application of a good organic material before planting also helped with all the above but with soil compaction and water retention. 

 The New Guinea inpatient were huge this past summer, I do not ever remember seeing any this big before. I hope we can repeat this in the next growing season. You cant ask for better color then that.

 Well as I think about my next move in the landscape, I hope our weather can get back to some regular type of stuff and not the extreme that the whole world has been seeing. Good luck to everyone trying to get through the doldrums of winter. And for those of you who think you do not need the luck, you do. And for those of you who remain frozen in a negative state, I doubt any thing in this new year will help you much, but dwelling on the past is harmful and a distinctiveness way of looking at life. My mother told me the happiness of life is the drug of laughter. So Good Luck with that.

 Lastly one of the new plantings on campus is in the highly traveled brick area of campus and I am eagerly awaiting the first crocus to bloom, to bad I have about another 2 months. This as in most sections of campus have a history. Although I will not discuss that here, I can tell you about other little pieces of history here and may do so over the next couple of weeks. I have always been curious about all the big stones and plaques that are attached to them around Springfield. Now I do know that George Washington went through this are and also General Knox. I believe that some of these stones identify these events. So May-be I will take a ride and see if I can find a few and write about them here.

So here is my first piece of history, in 1870 on the Springfield East Longmeadow line is a Homestead called the G.A. Cooley Homestead. And I would guess that by looking at my map and seeing a bunch of more Cooley's in the vicinity, that's why we call Cooley Street what it is today.

 Let the count down begin, ONLY 17 WEEKS UNTIL THE KENTUCKY DERBY.

I like the football coaching brothers of the Harbaughs. Although I do not think either will win the Super Bowl. Looks like it could be the Pats year with out my Giants in there.

Well, Good Luck and hope you all enjoy the pictures. Still the Original Eduardo

An Old Standard in the Landscape

Anthony Waterer Spirea

Japanese Spirea

Bumald Spirea is a old standard in the Landscape. Xbumalda ' Anthony Waterer is a variety that I like to use in different plantings and compliments other plants real well. Blooms in mid to Late June and can be planted in full sun to partial shade. Grows 3 to 4 feet high and 5 to 6 feet wide. I have sheared and pruned them after they flower and they will produce another bloom, but not that abundant. some of it's branch's will produced a revision in the new growth that is yellow or cream colored.   


There are many cultivars of Spirea with the Japanese Spirea the lowest growing in habit. Here it is used as a border type planting and will not get much bigger then what you see here. But to keep the plant at 2 to 3 feet high you still need to make thinning cuts to the crown of the plant at some time of the year. Right after it flowers is a good time for this type of pruning with light shearing. Another Spirea that has vigorous rounded growth habits is the Vahoutte Spirea. It is also more common in the landscape with white smaller flowers that appear in the middle of May.

Samuel Adams, aka Sam

Man's Best Friend gets a spot in the blog this week. Sam the Boarder Collie Retriever Mix is a 6 year old shelter dog that fell in love with me as well as I with him the first day we made it home. Sam is always happy to greet me when I arrive home and he is very gentile with children. He barks very seldom and enjoys a game of keep away every so often. He does however shed, but with good grooming and combing, we keep it under control. Sams favorite table scrap is steak and he likes a treat of cheese in the morning.



 The early heat of summer has everything in the landscape needing water. The turf should receive a inch of water a week with some light watering to cool off hot spots. Deck plants and any thing in a pot requires more watering then plants in the ground. Stay tuned for the Rain Harvester.

                                                             Still the Original Eduardo

P.S. Have a safe Summer.