More Mass July 20

 Hudson, MA

Many people collect automobiles, all kinds of artwork.  Jacques Littlefield collected/restored tanks, artillery and other military hardware.  3 years ago a museum was opened with his collection and the result is world class.  Many of these pieces are the only ones displayed in the US. Dioramas, videos, very knowledgeable docents, lots of things other than just tanks, including a scud missile, a piece of the Berlin Wall and a remnant from one of the 9/11 towers. Just west of Boston, if you get up this way.



 Below Leonardo DaVinci's "armored wagon", precursor to the modern tank





Below, German BMW motorcycle w/fixed sidecar and machine gun.  Marlene liked this one.









Famous, feared, German Panzer V from WWII







Rickenbach's M-60 tank, American workhorse, 50 tons of trouble.  Just after Vietnam.


Lowell, Mass

American history is replete with stories of immigrants producing new, innovative, better, cheaper products/services.  It is part of the nature of our competitive economic landscape.  In 1820 Francis Cabot Lowell and partners decided to develop a planned community to operate vertically integrated textile mills to take advantage of the water power of the neighboring Merrimac River.  In addition to the vertical integration they wanted a community that provided room and board and other "humane" conditions to workers, as opposed to the worker hardship in England.  The results were spectacular, leading to (at it's peak) 175 mill buildings, 900,000 spindles and 20,000 employees.  Thus, Lowell was called "spindle city" and dubbed the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in the US.

Eventually, with the advent of steam, electricity, cheaper land, cheaper labor, the textile industry moved South and later to foreign lands.  In 1978 Sen. Paul Tsongas was able to get designation of Lowell as a National Park, funding significant restoration of knitting mills, boarding houses etc.  Not your average National Park, more of an "Urban" National Park.  The result is a recreation of the Boott knitting mill, with one room of pretty noisy (over 100) weaving machines and many examples of different machines used during the day. Again, docents/park rangers were very good; obviously a lot of money was spent to do this.  Another slice of American History, well preserved.





Mock up model of "Spindle City", amidst the extensive, re-engineered waterways.



A carding machine, for separating cotton.





They have a weaving room, with 100 or so weaving machines. Really noisy, can't imagine working in a place like this 12 hours/day.









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