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| Athol, Idaho |
Connections.
They are the unexpected things which spice up road trips in New England and
beyond.
On a recent drive
to Dover, Vermont, we enjoyed a scenic interlude on the Mohawk Trail (portions
of Massachusetts Routes 2 and 2A). Free of the hectic traffic of the Mass Pike,
we were able to enjoy the hills and ridges and rivers that flowed around us.
First Athol,
a town in northern Mass nestled between Templeton and Orange, and the butt of
many idiotic jokes. Your erstwhile columnist learned, many years ago in a humor
writing class, that such jokes concerning Athol were common, cheap, insulting
to the residents, and given no credit by our course instructor. Thus chastised,
we were doomed to search, mostly unsuccessfully, for humor elsewhere.
Athol was first
settled in 1735 and incorporated in 1762. The town was named by one of its
founders for his ancestral home of Atholl, Scotland, a name meaning “new Ireland.”
Powered by abundant flowing water, the town became an industrial hub known for precision
toolmaking which led to its nickname, “Tool Town.”
After
continuing to Erving and a satisfying lunch at the Freight House, we drove on west
and then north into Vermont. Climbing and swerving for what seemed hours into
the Green Mountains, we arrived in Dover which is nearly 2,000 feet higher than
Attleboro. The main attraction here is snow and snow sports, and what you would
think is the eponymously named Mount Snow (3,600 feet).
But you would
be wrong. While as the mountain has benefited from copious snow, over five feet
in the previous few weeks, it was named after farmer Reuben Snow who sold his
land in 1953 to the ski resort’s founder.
Finally headed
back south, we descended through Wilmington, Vermont, to scenic, rural route
100 then to route 112, passing sugar shacks and small settlements, reentering
Massachusetts in historical Colrain. Gentle mountain foothills, winding rivers,
and abundant apple orchards dot this bucolic area. Peaceful, beautiful, it is
with regret that we leave Colrain to join the hordes on I-91 and the Mass Pike
to return home.
And now the
connections we promised. Only a month ago, on a trip with friends to Idaho, we
ventured through the town of Athol, Idaho. The name of the town was not the
only surprise, but also the coincidence that both Athols (MA and ID) were
positioned just a few miles north of Interstate 90. According to a history of
the area, initially named Colton, “the town was renamed Athol by a settler who
came from Athol, Massachusetts.”
Less than an
hour to the north of Athol is the fabulous, family-friendly Schweitzer ski resort
at Sandpoint in the Selkirk mountains. Much as Athol, Mass, is a bit over an
hour from Mount Snow, Vermont.
To compound
the connection, we learned that Athol is situated close to Lake Pend Oreille,
one of the deepest lakes in the nation at 1,150 feet. You might be surprised to
learn that the United States Navy has a permanent submarine research center located
there. Apparently, the extreme depth and stillness of the water makes it ideal
to test submarine acoustics.
Friends of ours assure us that Navy and Electric Boat personnel from
Rhode Island and Connecticut have made regular visits to northern Idaho. Who knew?
While Athol to Athol is a five-day drive across the country, they are
connected by their proximity to Interstate 90. They are connected by their
proximity to family friendly ski-mountains, Mount Snow and Schweitzer. They are
connected by their striking rural scenery, peaceful environs, and friendly
people.
It’s enough to make some future 2,700 mile road trip seem worthwhile.
