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Walking Massachusetts

Grafton

August 6, 1997

7.5 hours

This walk began at the bus terminal in Worcester. I first reached this point many years ago; in one of my longest walks at that time, I went from the Chestnut Hill MBTA stop on the D line all the way to Worcester via Route 9. And I might be still there now if a kindly gentleman had not helped me find my way to the station.

In those days I did not have with me the pack full of maps and transportation schedules that I carry now. All I had to guide me through Worcester was a photocopy of an insert in Car-Free in Boston of its downtown section. Although this showed the location of the terminal, I found myself, once I left Route 9, unable to orient myself according to the streets shown. Nor did the people I asked seem to know where the terminal was, until one man not only had the information but actually guided me part of the way.

I arrived at this starting point (previously the beginning of a walk collecting West Boylston and Sterling and ending in North Leominster and also the endpoint of walks that added Auburn and Millbury to my list) by the Peter Pan bus. This company  (an affiliate of Trailways, as I learned on leaving the station this day), provides 15 buses from Boston to Worcester (and 14 vice versa) each day. The 4:30 AM being too early for even my taste, I took the 6:30 one from South Station. This actually goes to Hartford; it arrived in Worcester five minutes ahead of schedule, at 7:25 AM. There were only a few passengers, and I was apparently the only one bound for Worcester.

Greyhound also provides Boston to Worcester bus service. On my walk to that city, I took Greyhound back. Greyhound and Peter Pan then shared the same facility; later, the latter opened a terminal of its own. But now they are back in the same building with Greyhound, which I believe (but without total certainty) is the same (or at least in the same location) as from my original Worcester encounter.

The bus route follows Route 122 from the Massachusetts Turnpike to the station, which gave me a preview of the course I was going to take toward Grafton. While riding, I had noted the dense commercial establishments along it and imagined that I would never be able to write them as I later walked by; but this task proved easier than I had thought.

At this point in the history of my walking, I had more or less established a goal of writing down as much as I could while maintaining a respectable walking pace. This was a probably predictable change from my original practice of taking notes on whatever seemed "interesting". The more detailed modus operandi has led to an increase in the length of these accounts, adding to their value as historical documents and narrative literature. (This particular report actually does not reach the maximum in this respect; that stage was attained in the accounts following the one after this.)

The plan for this walk was to follow Route 122 from Worcester into Grafton, then to continue east where it goes south, and finally to head north in time to get the 3:00 PM local bus on Route 9; this MBTA-subsidized Peter Pan Worcester to Boston route that has been a great boon to my endeavors west of Framingham. On disembarking from the bus and exiting through the station, I proceeded south on Madison Street, beginning a repeat of my walk to Millbury.

According to the Rand-McNally map, Madison Street is Route 122. The Arrow map and atlas show it to be 122A. Maybe both are correct! At any rate, I could not remember or figure out from my map what my course was. Nor did I get any help from route signage.

I passed under the railroad bridge. The weather was cloudy, with cool breezes. On my right I passed buildings of Wyman Gordon, noting that this company is ISO 9002 accredited. I remembered this complex, some parts of which seemed to be rundown or even disused, others of more recent origin, from that prior walk. Little did I realize, however, that this was just an adjunct of this business and that I was to see its headquarters in Grafton.

Worcester has, as I had seen before, large stone markers denoting veterans' commemorative square, and I passed one of these again, Lenihan Square. On the left I saw Lower Forty Outfitters (which I mistakenly took as "Over Forty" - possibly a Freudian slip).

Knowing that I was to head east, I crossed from the right to left side of Madison at Irish Auto Sales. I now reached Powers Square; like Lenihan, I remembered this from before.

Also on that side of the street I passed a business called Check Depot. In front of this, people were setting up stalls to sell clothing. I would see some more such street vendors later along Madison.

To the right I notice an Exxon station. Then, to my left, I encountered a 1954 building housing Table Talk. This venerable maker of commercial pies somehow brought back childhood memories, although my mother, an excellent cook, not only would never have served, but in fact instilled in me a lifelong abhorence of, such low quality food.

On November 21, 1998, the Boston Herald reported that Peter Sotiriou, a retired machine operator at the "Table Top" (they meant "Table Talk")  plant won the Big Game prize for thirty-five million dollars. The "state's newest millionaire" had purchased the ticket at the Greendale Mall.

I now entered "the notoriously confusing Kelley Square," a six-way intersection. This was, I believed, where I was supposed to turn onto 122, but I saw no sign for that route. On the left I saw Green Street, wondering if I had taken this before on my Millbury walk. (This was completely wrong, but perhaps I had a dim memory of some other walk or a confused notion about my present course.)

I passed Kelley Square Liquors, reaching Water Street. This I recollected from my original Worcester walk; the man who had helped me out accompanied along part of this, noting its Jewish restaurants, which did appear to merit his praise but for which I had had no time to spare then.

Could Water Street be Route 122? I checked the map and determined that the answer was negative; it was Vernon Street that I was looking for. This was ahead toward the right, as Madison Street ended. Evidently, I was to repeat my former walk a little longer, though this did not feel correct.

Nor in fact was I right, the Rand-McNally map actually showing Water Street to be 122 and Vernon Street to be 122A. Or perhaps, as the Arrow atlas has it, my course was to have gone down Harding Street, which is just before Water Street. To make things even murkier, the Universal atlas has still a different opinion; it has Madison Street neither 122 or 122A, with the former running down Water Street and the latter combined with I-290. So I am still just about as confused about these two state routes as I was then.

I went by Kelly Square Pizza on my left and over the 1989 bridge over Interstate 290, noting a WRTA (Worcester Regional Transportation Authority) bus. (This is Interchange 13.)  Passing Jefferson Street on the left, I had another vague notion of maybe having taken that road previously.

To the west, I had a view of hills. At least in my imagination, Worcester seems to outdo Boston in such geologic features. And it is a truism that the further west one goes in Massachusetts, the hillier the terrain. Exactly what I was looking at, however, I could not figure out then nor can I now.

On my left I passed multi-family houses. On the right side were a Catholic church and school. Reaching Pattison Street, I saw another of those stone monuments with metal plaques, this one proclaiming the intersection to be Walter Flynn Square, named after a captain killed in Korea in 1957. To the right I observed the Ascension Parish Center, giving me the name of the two institutions just before it.

I crossed Dorchester Street. On the left I saw the Vernon Mini Mart and then several abandoned storefronts. Both sides of the street then contained multi-family dwellings.

At Endicott Street, I saw before me a downhill "urban vista". Then I went by the Grace Community Church of God in Christ on my left.

Now I reached Winthrop Street. This relatively major intersection is Lonergan Square, after Private John Lonergan, who died in France in 1918. Signage showed Route 122A going east (left) on Winthrop; I thus continued straight (south) with Vernon, somehow under the delusion that I was on 122.

Across on my right I noticed the Chef Ho Chinese Restaurant and a Honey Farms convenience store. On the left was the Vernon Medical Center.

The commercial real estate on the other side was replaced by multi-family residential buildings. The sun was coming out now - ahead of forecast, which had said it would be cloudy until afternoon.

I proceeded, walking somewhat uphill. At Alpine Street, on my right, I noticed a WRTA stop. Ahead, down the hill, was another "urban vista".

For some reason, I now checked map and discovered that I was not on 122. Angered at my wondering off course, I resolved to head back and retrace my steps so that I could, as planned, follow that route south from Worcester. In that way, I would not have to make another expedition just to connect a part of it. (It did not occur to me that I could achieve the same objective by redesigning a planned walk north on 122 to Paxton.)

To implement this scheme, I decided to take Providence Street back north. The next left turn, Spurr Street, afforded me the means to this goal. This intersection (my first new locality, though I didn't realize this until writing this narrative) is Mierzejancki Square, name after Seaman Joseph Mierzejancki, who died at Salerno in 1943.

Proceeding down Spurr, a one-block street, I passed on my left various buildings of Saint Vincent Hospital. On the right I saw tennis courts and a football field. A sign at the next intersection indicated that these belonged to Worcester Academy.

Not seeing any academic buildings, I wondered whether this educational institution might have gone out of existence. This incorrect supposition was strengthened when I later looked at the  Rand-McNally map and saw "Gaskill Field" here. But that is actually a part of the Worcester Academy sports operation.

South of that place, on all the maps, is Vernon Hill Field. Since I walked up a hill here, I took Vernon Hill as a place name - first collected, apparently, on my Millbury walk. And indeed it is recognized as a place name by USGS and shown by MapQuest.

I turned left on Providence now (rather providentially, in fact, as I was having trouble reading my Arrow map). I reached Winthrop Street again, seeing the main building of Saint Vincent (designated to be replaced, I read on the Internet) uphill to the right. I crossed a small street island, expecting, but not finding, a marker with some commemorative name.

To the left, was a scenic view with hills beyond the city. Looking to the right, I could now recognize the turn I had made onto Granite Street when I had made my walk to Millbury. So, I thought, I had indeed been making a repeat since leaving the station all the way to this intersection.

I continued straight north on the left (west) side of Providence Street, in quest of Route 122. On my left I went by a fire station and then John's Pizza. Now I saw multi-family homes on both sides of the street.

At Dorchester Street, where I noted Star Pizza, I saw to the left another downhill view. I observed a marker to the right denoting this as Bolduc Square. That name rang a bell; now I remembered for sure: my route to Millbury had gone down Providence, not Route 122. (From there I had taken Winthrop Street to Granite Street and thence south.). So I was repeating north from Winthrop Street; on the other hand, Vernon Street south from Jefferson (on which I had indeed turned) had been new ground.

Continuing, I passed on the left, between numbers 88 and 90, a small variety store entitled simply "The Store". (It shows the remarkable facility of the Internet that I could use it to verify that this simple name is indeed correct and that its address is in fact 88A.)  I crossed another section of Pattison Street, seeing a boarded up building on my side of the street.

I was going downhill now. On the right I saw Worcester Academy - so it did exist, after all (as can be seen on the Arrow and Universal maps, not to mention about 400 web pages). Ahead of me on my side, a man, who seemed to be adjusting his belt, saw me, evidently was somewhat disturbed at being taken unawares at this endeavor, and cried out, "Hey, there he is!". These words struck me as interesting usage; I seemed to remember this expression being used on some previous occasion as a catch phrase to cover embarrassment.

At Aetna Street, I encountered Kirminos Square, presumably for a second time. On my left I went by the Oak Hill Development Corporation, in a stucco formerly residential building. I pondered whether this might indicate a place name.  (Sure enough, a quick search reveals such a populated place in the GNIS database. The name is also shown as a locality by MapQuest.)

Crossing Jefferson Street, I was now in new territory again. I reached Harrison Street, which is Migauckas Square, named after Sergeant Thomas Migauckas, who was killed at St. Michel in 1918.

The downhill course of Providence Street became quite steep, affording a bottomward view of downtown Worcester. I passed an empty lot on the left, in which there was a dog barking.

I went past a trash truck, with a crew at work. To the right, at the corner of Waverly Street, I saw St. Casimir's church, a brick edifice. I crossed to the right to read a marker, set in 1978, "to those who died for a free Lithuania". Combined with the two square names just observed, this seemed to indicate the ethnic nature of this neighborhood. Further confirmation of this supposition was given by a marker identifying this intersection as Malesakas Square, memorializing Private Alphonsus Malesakas, who died at Normandy in 1944.

Back on the left side, I passed the two-story brick Congregation Shaarai Torah, reading an inscription "Sons of Abraham East". This institution appeared to have seen better days; its somewhat forlorn appearance made me wonder about the status of the Worcester Jewish community. (A now expired reference to it on the Internet confirmed the rather obvious impression that this is an Orthodox temple.)

I followed the sharp right curve, now on Union Place, but (not seeing any street sign) thinking I was still on Providence. I saw Interstate 290 ahead and to my left. On both sides were vacant, weedy stretches of land, until I reached Coral Street, which I followed to my left for a very short stretch reaching Grafton Street, i.e., Route 122.

With the uncertain guidance of my Arrow map, I now went left in quest of wherever I had left Route 122 before. The fact that I did know exactly where this was made this search all the more difficult. However, I was not concerned about the time that had been and was going to be lost. I knew that I would make it to Grafton relatively soon and assumed I could head north at 2:00 PM or so and make the 3:00 bus, Route 9 not being that far away. But even if that failed, there was the 5:00 PM bus as a backup.

Already I had lost some time, but I did not think it would take more than a little while to find the point where I should have started on 122 and, presumably, would resume some time in the future. Accordingly, I went under a bridge carrying I-290 above.

Following signs that here, at least, identified this route, I went right on the other side. I was now at Water Street to the left and Grafton Street on the right, although I did not know this, just following the route signage rather than consulting my map. A white on green sign, as opposed to the stone markers I had been noting, showed this to be Posner Square.

On my left I saw K & G Garage, Inc. Then on that side was the Turf Products Corporation ("The Sprinkler House"). At Temple Street, I went left with 122; across was Fairway Beef, at which a Kayem truck was entering.

I was now in a commercial-industrial area, with many old factory buildings. Like so many of their New England counterparts, these were no longer devoted to manufacturing purposes. On my left I noted signs for International Brake Products and for International Brake and Muffler, as well as one announcing garage sales on Saturdays.

Inwardly groaning at still another turn that appeared to be taking me around in a circle, I then followed 122 left on Harding Street. Here I saw on the left D. J.'s Factory Outlet and on the right a Subaru dealer.

Now I came to Winter Street. Across on the right side of Harding the words "B S Cotton junk metals" were painted in white on a brick building. As I was about to obediently follow still another sign marking a turn in 122, I noted that it said "South". This had me totally confused, as I had thought that I was following that route north!

Had the 122 sign somehow been twisted into the wrong direction, I wildly wondered? The Arrow map, not acknowledging all these twists and turns of 122, was no help. I concluded that I must somehow have missed a turning of the route, which conceivably could have diverged into to northward and southward components, leaving me somehow on the latter.

Rather discouragingly, I made the indicated turn, hoping some elucidation would turn up. On my left was another brick factory building, housing Plastics Unlimited and other firms.

At the end of the block I saw I-290 once more. I was back where I had started this circling tour of industrial Worcester! Clearly, there was no choice but to proceed south with 122 to Grafton and leave the mystery of its divagation through Worcester to the future (still unscheduled) walk to Paxton.

I passed Water Street on my right and retraced my steps (to do so on one of my walks is a situation I abhor, but sometimes it is compelled), passing again through the I-290 overpass. I had lost half an hour by this diversion, a fact which now made me regret not having studied the maps more carefully before the walk.

To the distance in the left I had a view of Warren Processing, in a large brick factory building. As I passed Coral Street on the right, which meant I was again taking in new territory, I felt better, with a renewed sense of accomplishing a mission.

Proceeding now with 122 (Grafton Street), I entered a commercial area. On my left I saw Frank's Flower Shop. Also on that side appeared Thomas Auto Body and then Home Surplus Center. On the right I passed Robert's Fish and Chips.

My course went uphill. On the left I observed the Diamond Inn, a bar in the first floor of an apartment building. To the right I went by the Grafton Street Market.

I passed Fay Street on my left, after which came the Grafton Street School (identified as Grafton Elementary School on the Arrow map), comprising two very old brick structures. On the right I saw the Morin Funeral Home.

Wall Street appeared on the left. I was now remembering sights I had taken in from the bus earlier, such as Chopper Parts City (a Harley-Davidson dealer) on the right.

I saw a Mobil station to the right. On the other side, I passed Lindy Lou's Place, which offered "good home cooking". To the right was a small mall containing Iandoli Liquors.

Entering Billings Square, a rotary intersection, I noticed A & V Pizza on the right. Checking the map, I bore right with 122, continuing on Grafton Street, which veers south as Hamilton Street goes east.

Venturing through heavy traffic, I crossed a round street island, where I found a Massachusetts Tercentenary marker recording this as the site of the Samuel Leonard house. I switched now to the left side of Grafton Street, in front of St. Stephen's Catholic Church.

On my left, I passed St. Stephen's school and rectory. To the right I saw the office of Thomas O'Brien, a podiatrist.

The next intersection, with Carolina Street on the left and Arthur Street on the right, was Kasevich Square. On the right I now observed Henry's Tailoring; on my side was the church parking lot.

I noted J & B Auto Repair across the street, as I now entered more residential territory. At Hale Street, marking the end of the parking lot, Grafton curved right.

Just past Hale Street on my left was a rather strangely shaped building containing Maria and Michael's Italian Restaurant and what seemed to be an adjunct, but actually is just another name, the City Lights Pub. On the right side of the street were three-decker residences.

Now I saw a stone wall on my left, obscuring whatever was on top of the hill rising behind it. Possibly this was the backs of houses on Plantation Street.

On the right, past Flower Street, was the Worcester East Middle School, in a large ugly brick and stone building. Indeed, all Worcester schools that I have seen appeared old and unattractive.

I passed on my left the Stoney Hill Town House Condominiums, comprising rather tiny apartments. Though I saw no Stoney Hill on my maps, I was inclined to take this as a place name; but I found no confirmation for this in the GNIS database or elsewhere.

I was refreshed by a breeze, and also by the knowledge of being on course. I had now done over one hour.

Advancing through a section of mixed commercial and residential properties, I saw another stone wall on my left, behind which apparently there were houses on a hill. To the right I saw a Nynex crew and a detail police officer.

Also across the street I observed Music Quest in a wood building that looked as if it had once been a multi-family residence. Then I saw a brick edifice containing a laundromat and the Peking Garden.

Grafton curved left. To the right I noted A. P. Zamis and Son, whose business is wholesale florist supplies; I wondered somewhat as to just what that trade comprises. Also on that side was Sam's Café, followed by Clem's Famous Italian Sausage.

As the street addresses of these last two business (which cannot be found by the Internet map search engines) show, I was now in the Rice Square area.  I collected that locality before on the Millbury walk. The place name rates as a locality rather than just an "intersection" name, being found in the GNIS database, which generally excludes squares of the latter type.

I encountered on the left another Tercentenary marker, identifying the site of the Jonas Rice House, "the first permanent dwelling in Worcester". In this lived, it went on in language that at present might be considered objectionable, "the first white child to be born in Worcester".

Coming to another intersection, I went left with Grafton Street and Route 122.  As I have been able to confirm by am obscure Internet source, this crossing, where Massasoit Street goes south and Acton Street goes west, is the defining locus of Rice Square.

On my walk to Millbury I returned north on Massasoit.  I believe I turned east on Acton at that time, too; and I may have returned via Jefferson Street, producing the "memory" that came into play when I reached it southward this day.

The sun was coming out now. On the right I saw Mamma Mia's Pizzeria; on the left Lamusta's Auto Service. Then on my right came John's House of Deals (some kind of mini-mart), followed by White Cleaners (seemingly one of three such establishments in Worcester). Next were a First Massachusetts Bank and a large CVS.

"Confident enough to stand alone" was the headline of an ad by CVS in the November 27 - December 3 New England Real Estate Journal.  In other words, "We don't need a mall," though the text went on to suggest that such a location (of which I have seen quite a few) would not be out of the question.  With "4,000 stores, over $12 billion in sales and a strategy for growth," this company was seeking real estate, preferably with "a minimum of 18,000 people in the trade area with parking to accommodate 40 to 60 cars."

On the left, opposite CVS, I passed Ingleside Street.  There were homes on this side now. I went  by another Nynex crew; this one was accompanied by two detail cops, who were engaged in conversation.

Fairmont Avenue, the next intersection, proved to be Moylan Square. This honored PFC Raymond Moylan, killed in Germany in 1945.

At Pilgrim Avenue, I saw a Getty station. I followed a right curve. Reaching Puritan Avenue, I had a view to the right of the Rice Square School downhill in the background.  I remembered passing this (and erroneously thinking that the intersection by it was Rice Square) on my Millbury walk. It occurred to me that these might have been named after Jonas Rice or some other family member.

Going gradually upwards, I encountered some rather nice houses. I reached Standish Street and then curved left.

On taking the same bus to Worcester to start my walk to Oxford in 1999, I saw new banners all along Grafton Street, from about here to I-190, reading "Welcome to Grafton Hill".  I have accordingly added this to my collection, although I found no such entry in GNIS.    This is evidently a locality name; possibly, as a topographic feature, Grafton Hill (if it is classifiable as such), may be one big hill, with some of the other summits that I observed (including via signage) constituting subdivisions of it.   Possibly it is even some new appellation made up by Worcester merchants or the like. (In any case, I would have collected this locality on my Millbury walk.)

The top of the hill (for which I find no name on my maps) was at an intersection with Delmont Avenue on my left and Lamar Avenue on my right. Then came another left curve.

I crossed Dana Avenue. For the third time, I saw a Nynex crew, this one also with two detail police officers.

To my left appeared an antique-looking gas station, with an antique-sounding name: the Petroleum Service of Worcester. I passed Warner Avenue and saw an unnamed variety store in a multi-family residence.

It was getting hot now. On both sides of the street I observed multi-family houses. I followed a right curve and crossed Inverness Avenue.

Grafton had become quite residential now. On my left I went by Hyannis Place. (I agree with Arrow, which shows this as slightly east of Inverness, not connecting to it as the Internet maps show and Universal implies.)  I saw an Adirondacks Trailways bus, bound for Albany, headed downtown. Then came a WRTA bus on that authority's Route 18.

I passed 655 Grafton Street on my left, a home that was for sale. Following a left curve, I saw then vacant land with trees, possibly part of the same property.

On the right I noted Renfrew Street. Then on that side was a Coastal station; this is, I knew, the name of a gas company, though the only fuel specified by signage was propane. The same building also housed Duquette's Quick Lube (actually one of a variety of business names and lines operating under this name), and Ryder rental trucks were available here. More automotive business appeared on the left: Worcester Automobiles (a used car dealer) and Dan's Transmission World, sharing the same building.

I followed a gentle right curve. On my left was a building with Parts America and a Brooks Maxi Drug. (I thought the latter was the opposite of Brooks Mini, but it turns out that this name reflects a merger.)  Then on that side, at 725, was one housing H&B Wine and Liquors, a laundry, and Video Arcade.

To the right then appeared the Southeast Plaza, a one-story brick strip mall. On next seeing the Southeast Fire Station, on my left at the corner of Ernest Avenue, I wondered if Southeast Worcester is a place name; but GNIS and the Internet say no. This intersection is Setaro Square, in honor of Richard S. Setaro, who died in South Korea in 1994.

I passed on my left an unnamed establishment selling bird baths, located in a building that appeared to have once been a garage or store. Then on that side I saw Leona's Café, a breakfast and lunch restaurant, sharing a building with three other businesses.

Grafton made a right curve, and I came to Bangor Street. I stared down this road, which appeared to be a dead end, puzzling over what it led to. But in fact the maps show it connecting with Lorenzo Street.

On the right I noticed the residential Progressive Street, perhaps named by someone with a humorous bent, as it ran upward. To my left I saw Rossi's Cleaners.

Ahead I had a view of a Burger King and other commercial properties. Though I would never patronize a fast food place of that sort, I was overdue for a drink in the August heat and hopefully supposed that something more palatable would show up and meet this need.

At Enid Street, on the left, I saw a home with a vegetable garden. Past this appeared an anonymous auto inspection business. The gas pumps had been removed from this service station, whose business status did not seem too impressive given the fact that the only apparent activity going on was two men sitting outside in chairs talking. Between this and the pairs of detail cops in dialogue that I had previously encountered, it seemed that the inhabitants of Worcester were very much into conversation, though perhaps only in pairs.

I went by a Honey Dew Donuts, with a drive-through, on my left. As if in conformity of a stereotype, a Worcester police car was entering this. Also on that side was seen a Redi Lube.

Grafton Street went from two to three lanes now. I crossed Jennings Street on my left. (This leads to the Perkins Industrial Park.)

I now passed to my left a quite large shopping plaza, with the Burger King which I had seen, Building 19 1/10, a Payless Shoe Store, a Stop and Shop, and so on. I did not catch the name of this; it is the South Plaza Shopping Center. (Rand-McNally, either by a slip or on account of a name change, leaves out the "Plaza" from this name.)

The New England Real Estate Journal for February 12- February 18, 1999 reported the sale of a shopping center at 867 Grafton Street by Perkins Farm Marketplace LP et al to 5PP RE Somerset Court Inc. for $17,300,000 dollars.  This has to be South Plaza, although the address (shown incorrectly on the Internet map services) is somewhat off.

On the right I saw some homes and some commercial properties including Sparkling Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning. I also noted a sign for Stacey DeBoise for councilor at large.  Arcadia Street was passed on the right, following which was Greenfield's Deli in what looked like a formerly residential building.

Indeed,  in the New England Real Estate Journal for November 27 - December 3, 1998 was an ad by the Auctioning Marketing Group (AMG) concerning two buildings at this address, 894 Grafton ("across from shopping plaza"). They were on the block at a mortgagee's public action sale on December 10. The first was identified at built in 1998, with approximately 5893 square feet of "partially leased retail and office space on two floors". The second was described as a mixed used building with "a first floor restaurant and second floor 5 room, 3 bedroom apartment". Together these occupy a lot of 0.83 acre, with "excellent visibility" and "paved parking".

A sign on this side noted that the Commercial Plaza was "coming soon".  Also in this area was Birjan Fine Jewelry.  To my left I was informed that the Perkins Furniture Market would be "opening spring 1999". I passed Jolma Road on that side.

On my left I saw a Goodyear business, on my right a Friendly's Restaurant. I was still looking for just a drink, not a bite; so I rejected the latter, which I usually deem suitable for my patronage. (Though it really has gone downhill since my youth, when its hamburgers were a staple of my diet, Friendly's is still rather good for breakfast.)

There was commercial real estate on both sides of the road now. I followed a left curve. On the left I observed Auto Palace and Commonwealth Tire, a dual or at least dually housed businesses. (I could find only one of them on the Internet, and that with an incorrectly shown address.  Numbers on Grafton Street generally come up wrong on the mapping services.)

On the right I went by a fast food business toward which my feelings must be similar to those of fundamentalists toward the Antichrist and then saw a Dunkin Donuts. Coffee and something to eat now seemed like a good idea, and I crossed to that side of the street. However, the line was so long that I gave up that idea and went on, staying on the right side of the street.

On that side, at 993, I noticed an abandoned home; this area clearly had gone from residential to commercial (a phenomenon called in the assessing trade "highest and best use"). Indeed, a sign announced "Plaza Coming Soon - Retail Space".

I passed a Jiffy Lube to the left. Then on my side I saw an Isuzu dealer - or was it, for a notice declared "Suzuki Gran [sic] Opening"? Also here was a Batteries Unlimited.

I saw some undeveloped land for sale across the street, just before Brandt Lane. Back on my side I noticed a lot with piles of loam; still more new business evidently was in the works.

Pine Hill Road went by on the left, followed by the A & R Fruit Company, at which free boxes were being offered. In the same building was the A. P. Fish Company, whose trucks I had observed earlier.

Aaron Granlund submitted a picture of the A. P. Fish Company sign to the National Lampoon "True Signs" feature (appearing in its 1998 "Failure" issue). On the day of the photo it read "Orgies 2.75 lb, Live Crab 1.69 lb."

For a short stretch, there were woods on both sides of the street. Then commercial properties re-appeared, and I crossed to the left, going into the Xtramarket at a Sunoco station. Here I got and consumed a strawberry milk, used the rest room, and left a message for Cathy from the pay phone.

Feeling refreshed, I resumed the southeast course of Route 122, now back on the left side of Grafton Street. On that side I observed the Elite Financial Group, a mortgage business; despite the fancy name, it was located in a rather ordinary-looking residential building. To the right I saw Echobrook Nursery. I was now in a mixed residential and commercial section.

As I reached Sunderland Road, I saw on the nearer left corner a former pharmacy building for sale. This intersection is Supernos Square; the name honors Private Albert Supernos, killed in France in 1918.

On the USGS Worcester Map appears to the west here in small letters "Massasoit". The lettering does not conform to this source's style of giving place names, but the Rand-McNally map has Massasoit as such, placing the word near Granite Street. It is also in the GNIS database as a populated place. On the whole, it would appear that I passed through this locality on this walk, as well as on my return from Millbury.

Next I noticed Golden Pizza II on the left and Y-D Liquors on the right. Grafton curved to the right and then to the left.

I passed to my left a building housing Bob's Barber Shop and Professional Nails, Inc. (The former I find on the Internet only in another Worcester location.)  At 1159, on the right, I saw the office of a chiropractor whose name I did not get. I was going downwards now, bearing to the left; across, the road followed a hillside.

To the left I went by the Twin Oak Condominiums, at 1195-1205 Grafton, in a gray wood building, somewhat resembling cluster housing. Ahead I could see commercial real estate. Also on my left I observed the Georgia Mills Outlet Store, where "every day is a sale day" for carpets and rugs.

Now there were homes along both sides of Grafton. I heard a dog barking behind a fence, and then saw I German shepherd (not the favorite dog of walkers!) almost jump over it. Once I reached a safe distance, I woofed back at it; it is not my policy to accept canine oral abuse without at least some protest.

After Clarissa Street, on my left, Grafton curved left. On the other side I saw a Mobil dealer, Breault's Service Station, as well as M J Auto Sales and a White Hen Pantry.

A sign told me that I was nearing the junction with U. S. 20. Based on my game plan, I was somewhat behind time, but the availability of the 5:00 PM bus appreciably lessened any concern on that score. To the right I noted the entrance to Our Lady of Lourdes -  I could not tell what, but found a listing for a rectory of this name here on the Internet.

At 1302 Grafton I saw another instance of a lot with a home for sale with the property noted as zoned commercial. I passed on my right the Taft Insurance Agency and the third Mobil station of this walk.

On the left was seen the oddly spelled Nu England Sash, advertising its replacement windows. Now I crossed the bridge over U.S. 20, noting that I was forty miles from Boston.

I have followed Route 20 from its end near Boston University on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston all the way west to Oxford. On my next to last traversal of this route I began and ended at Worcester, making my first visit to Auburn.  Since beginning to write this narrative, I have continued with it for a slight distance further west into Oxford.

After the three-quarter cloverleaf, Grafton curved right. Ahead I beheld both commercial and residential real estate. To my left, on Route 20, I could see Colonial Auto, Inc.

On the right was a sign for Jose Perez (who evidently lost) for school committee and another promoting DeBoise for councilor. To the left, in a cute-looking building, I noted Mrs. Mack's Bakery. This breakfast and lunch establishment offered a "pastromi" sandwich; whichever of my high school English teachers it was who covered the commonly misspelled words list (Miss Hough, I think) would not have been pleased by this notice!

I observed Red's Automotive to the right and then a Getty station on my left. Further on the right was Samara Auto Sales, offering Jeeps and Eagles.

Also on the other side of the road was a sign directing motorists to Logan Airport. Years ago, when this institution was relatively new, one saw such signs all over Massachusetts. This one might even have predated the Turnpike, reflecting the old way west from Boston, which my family used to take to visit relatives in Springfield - Route 9 to U S. 20. These "advertisements"  no longer seem common; indeed, the logic of singling out this landmark rather than just telling the way to Boston may be questioned.

Ahead on the left I saw a sign for Staloc. Before I could discover what this was, I found myself entering Millbury, at 9:40, after somewhat more than two hours. The locality here, new to my collection, is East Millbury. Grafton Street (Worcester) had become Grafton Road (Millbury).

Rand-McNally has here Millbury Junction.  Perhaps this is a variant name, although GNIS  has both as separate localities.  One can see on its the railroad connection referred to just east of here, though no street seems to directly go to it. The Universal Atlas also shows this place name; as both these map sources show, Millbury Junction  lies partly in Millbury and partly in Grafton.

The station at this junction was on the main railroad route west from Boston. In Ronald Dale Kerr's Lost Railroads of New England (a very interesting book published by Branch Line Press, in Pepperell), the line running south, which appears on maps running into the center of Millbury, is identified as a former three-mile track opened in 1837 by the Boston and Worcester Railroad. Later the property of the Boston and Albany and of Penn Central, this short line was carrying passengers up to 1941. It was abandoned in 1976, when Conrail took over Penn Central's lines and chose not to retain it.

Kerr says that the "rails were removed in 1980, after the right of way had been sold to three private parties". So why are they still on the Arrow, Rand-McNally and Universal maps?  The older (1982) USGS Milford topographic map shows "old railroad grade".  And an Internet source reports that the abandoned railbed has been proposed as a bike route.

First settled in 1716, Millbury was detached from Sutton and incorporated as a town in 1813. The three volume History of Worcester County (supervising editor, Ellery Bicknell Crane; New York and Chicago, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1924) notes that Singletary Brook was renamed Mill Brook (a change for the worse, as far as I am concerned, since I do not see this stream among the all too many of that name  in the GNIS database) when the first mill was built here by Ebenezer Dagett some time between 1717 and 1720 (i.e. in then  Sutton). This source reports that textile mills were the most important part of the time economy; the town had a population of 5,653 in 1920.

By 1980, the number of people had risen to 11,808. The Encyclopedia of New England (an only somewhat useful one-volume work published by Facts on File in 1985) describes it as industrial, with some dairy and fruit farming.

This was my third visit to Millbury, having, as noted earlier, first walked there south from Worcester and then through it on U. S. 20 on a walk collecting Auburn. I can confirm the industry, but I suspect the agriculture has declined if not wholly disappeared (although I was able to find a dairy farm in that town on the Internet).  Most of what I have seen there has been residential property.

To the left, more signage explained that Staloc is short for Standard Lock Washer and Manufacturing Company, Inc., certainly a mouthful of a business name. I could see the building back from the road. I began going slightly uphill now and curving left.

At 1349 Grafton Road (which continues the street numbers from Grafton Street, but once again my observations indicate that these are incorrectly displayed on Internet maps) on my left, I saw a notice "Found - Black Male Cat".  I passed a picnic table for sale on my left.

On the right appeared the Haynes Garage, which also does welding. This was on the right at the corner of Wheelock Avenue; this street runs to Millbury Avenue (my return route from my Millbury walk), passing by Dorothy Pond.

Another number 18 WRTA bus passed by. At 1464, I noted a building containing two business, Atchue Opticians and Nail Care.

The sun was hot now. I could see residential property ahead. A rock with an engraving at its driveway gave me the number of the house at 1469.

I came to a hilltop and saw Sclamo, a dealer in furniture and appliances, on the left. Grafton made a left curve, taking me to Ackerman Road on my left. This intersection is Gibree Square, named for Irving Gibree, who was killed at Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1943. This stone monument was the same kind that I had been seeing; so it appeared that whatever organization was responsible for these veterans' memorials was not restricted to the city of Worcester but extended its reach into the suburbs as well.

At 9:48, I passed mile marker 22. To my left I saw Millbury Fire Station Three, a two-door structure.

I reached Ellenwood Road, where I found a marker for O'Connell Square. This honors CPO William O'Connell, who was lost at sea in the South Pacific in 1942.

To my right, while opposite 1503 Grafton, I had a view ahead of an access road (identified - dubiously to me - as part of Grafton Road itself on some Internet  maps) to the Massachusetts Turnpike. I followed a left curve and came to Abbott Place on my left. Here was the Northlight Gallery, in what looked like a former residence.

Passing the spur to I-90 on the right (which leads to Interchange 11, part of it going by Dorothy Hill), I saw a sign indicating that it was three miles to Grafton. Of course, these distances are calculated to some center of town; I knew that this municipality was just ahead, Route 122 taking in just a little of the corner northeastern Millbury.

To my left I went Liberty Heights (which I thought was a bar, but is actually a liquor store), speculating (evidently vainly) that this might reveal a place name. My course went rolling downhill, and I followed left and then right curves. I observed on the left the entrance to Barrett Centrifugals, a name reminding me of my college minor.

Now I came to a large Wyman-Gordon building, also on the left. Compared to their establishment at Worcester, this was modern and relatively prosperous looking. A sign gave out the information that this was the Wyman-Gordon R&D section and that the Grafton plant was one eighth of a mile down the road. (Actually, USGS shows three structures here.)

I did not at all remember that on May 20, 1998, the Boston Globe cited Wyman-Gordon as Company of the Year in Massachusetts.  Founded in 1883, this company made parts for textile manufacturers. Later, it took up components for railroad cars and then motor vehicles; these were superseded by aircraft products, and about 80 percent of its business remains metal alloys for jet engines and airplanes. As the end of the Cold War cut military contracts, it has bounced back from a decline as surging air travel has given it new business for civilian planes. The company has also gone into sidelines such as titanium golf clubs.

However, on February 18, 1999, the Globe financial section reported that Wyman-Gordon was laying off 350 employees, about 8 percent of it total employment, including 50 of its 1000 Massachusetts workers. Most layoffs were planned for its Houston operations, with those in Scotland also being affected. The company explained that orders had fallen, partly on account of the Asian financial crisis.

I passed some power lines and made more curves, this time right then left. Then I crossed another, huge power line. (The USGS map shows that the three lines here are joined to the south by the one I saw earlier; that line runs to the north over part of Flint Pond, across Oak Island, and then over another part of that pond, ending in part of Edgemere.) Making another left curve, I finally arrived in Grafton.

Founded in 1735, the town of  Grafton, with an area of 22.7 square miles, has a generally rectangular shape (tilted somewhat to the west), with two protrusions: a northern one from west to center and a southern one in the middle, which contains Fisherville and Farnumsville.  Frederick Clifton Pierce's History of Grafton (Worcester, Press of Charles Hamilton, 1879) states that land was first bought here by European settlers from the Nipmuck Indians in 1728.  Like other communities along the Blackstone River (called "Nipmuck" by the Native Americans), it was an early manufacturing center.  A leather handbag business was established in 1819, and by 1837 there were five cotton mills.

Pierce's book, which runs over 600 pages, is mostly genealogical, reflecting an interest of the author and a common type of late nineteenth century literary production. The volume comes with maps that show a Worcester Street and a Millbury Street that apparently are the same as those of today.

The History of Worcester County, says that the town was "probably so named in 1735, by Governor Belcher, to honor Charles Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, a grandson of  Charles II."  It notes that before the purchase of land from the Native Americans the area had been one of the "praying towns" arising from John Eliot's missionary work. The Indian village was founded as Hasanamisco (the name of a Nipmuck band), in 1654.

Route 122 was now Worcester Road. The locality here is Maplewood. (There is another Maplewood in Massachusetts; it is part of Malden. I walked in that community only relatively recently.)

Once again, I surmise that Millbury Junction is an alternative name for this place. Or is it a sub-locality of Maplewood? But Maplewood itself may be a part of North Grafton, though Arrow and USGS would seem to have both of these these as what I call second-order localities. (Example: Dorchester is a second order locality of Boston, and Neponset is a third-order locality which is a subset of Dorchester.)

To my right, in what seemed like a former barn, was the Knight Limousine Service. (The Internet directories list this business as in Millbury, with an obviously incorrect address, presumably meant to be 2000 Grafton Road, a number which does not seem to exist)  A sign informed me that Grafton was the home of the 1996 winners of Division Two in girls' soccer. Now on my left, I began passing the rather gigantic North Grafton plant of Wyman-Gordon.

Here, the Globe reports, in 1953 the Pentagon built for Wyman-Gordon its largest forging press. In addition to its operations in Texas and Scotland, Wyman-Gordon owns Scaled Composites, Inc. (a Mojave, California-based firm involved in aircraft prototypes), is involved in joint ventures in Turkey and Australia, is erecting still another plant in Colorado, and has plans for business in China.

Pierce's History locates a large "mill" area right here. So it seems that Wyman-Gordon is succeeding to a tradition now dying out in Massachusetts, where mill buildings are, if they escape being torn down, being converted to other uses. The historic and architectural value of these edifices has been particularly recognized in the region along the Blackstone River, which passes through the southwest corner of Grafton. Along it lie the localities of Saundersville, Fisherville and Farnumsville; two these bear the name of magnates who owned the mills.

The History of Worcester County lists six companies as the leading textile businesses in its day (1922) in Grafton. These included the Fisher Manufacturing Company in Fisherville and the Saunders Cotton Mill in Saundersville. The others were the Lund Textile Company, Inc., the Wiskinut Mills, Inc., the Grafton Woolen Mills, and the Finlayson Flax Spinning Company. As to Farnumsville (the location of Wiskinut Mills), the GNIS entry says it was named after Peter Farnum, "who settled it".

Apropos of the decay of New England industry is a poem that appeared in the copy of the Pierce volume that I found at Bates Hall at the Boston Public Library. The volume (marked by BPL "Copy 3") is inscribed in the inside cover by Samuel Hall and dated December, 1894. Presumably it was he who pasted two items there. One is a list of various rulers of England. On the other cover, are written in the same hand some "lines found in an old pair of blacksmith's bellows by Sanford J. Hall, which reminded him of his father when he also closed up his shop in Grafton:

My sledge and hammer lie reclined,
My bellows too have lost their wind
My fire's extinct, my forge decayed,
and in the dust my vise is laid,
My iron is spent, my coal is gone,
My nails are drove, my work is done."

Such mournful reflections were scarcely on my mind as I now stopped at one of two picnic tables outside a fence here (no doubt courtesy of Wyman-Gordon) and turned over the folds of my map. The day seemed to have turned out well; I was a little behind time, but not doing badly.

As I passed along the very large territory of the plant to my left, a row of smaller, uninteresting houses went by on the other side. Ahead, I could see commercial establishments. Noting mile marker 21, I estimated that my walking speed was 3 mph. I like to do rather better than that; note-taking for these accounts may have slowed me a bit against my intention, but this pace is about my par for a hot day, anyway.

Leaving what the Rand-McNally map labels the "Wyman Gordon Industrial Area" (too generic for me to take as place name), I encountered undeveloped land on my left as I entered a business area. Across the street I saw a Brooks Pharmacy and the North Grafton Sign Company. (The latter name supports the theory that Maplewood - which Pierce does not have - is part of North Grafton.)

To the left I went by MacKoul's Cars, Inc. Then on the same side I saw a dual, or at least co-housed, business - Grafton Auto Repair and the Grafton Tire Center.

Campanale's Tavern, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, was seen on the right. On my side, I noted Land Planning, Inc. Over on the right was Roger's Auto Service.

Now I on the left I passed the Worcester Street Plaza, with various businesses. Reaching Hollywood Drive, I observed a building with a Cumberland Farms store and the very small Peking Garden restaurant.

I passed a strip mall on my left with Grafton Pizza and other concerns. Also on that side were Joseph's Restaurant and the Union Bank for Savings. I followed a sharp right curve.

Now there houses on both sides of the street, those on the right uphill and those on the left downhill. To my left I passed Hovey Pond Estates, with Hovey Pond Road, a street not on my map (nor can I find it on the Universal one or the Internet). Also on the left I saw Ron's Auto Body. On the other side, in a small brick building, was the North Grafton Post Office (zip 01536).

North Grafton is of course a part of the municipality Grafton. However, this fact does not seem clear to the Internet directories. I found that I could not get some businesses and street locations if I typed in "Grafton" but was able to find them using "North Grafton" in the form.

I saw on my side a white on blue sign announcing Hovey Pond and then the pond itself, visible down a driveway at 186 Worcester. This private property was marked "Posted" - so much for me or anyone else who wanted a view of the water here.

Just a little ahead, however, came another of the same type of sign (of which jurisdiction I am not aware; the Commonwealth uses white on green) denoting the Quinsigamond River and a path with no private property prohibitions promulgated. I decided to go down this for a look (and perhaps also a comfort stop, but the coverage for the latter possible was not available).

This turned out to be the scenic highlight of the walk. To the left and ahead lay the rather pretty pond with the river (rather a small stream here, actually) flowing south to the right. The view to the left was all natural, a factor on which my rating of scenery puts strong weight, with the partial exception of a power line just visible at one point in the corner.

On my right was a spillway. The river looked rather dry and was fenced on both sides. The prospect looked bleak on the latter account for a walk along the Quinsigamond, a very distant project in any case.

Pierce says that Quinsigamond means "Little River". He notes that it is an outlet of Lake Quinsigamond and a tributary (in the southern part of Grafton) of the Blackstone River.  Pierce gives Log Pond as alternative name for Lake Quinsigamond, which he reckons as four miles long.  Goddard's Pond (this is an older name for Lake Ripple) and  Flint Pond (this appears from the maps to be essentially the southern extension of Lake Quinsigamond) are, he adds, actually inclusions of the Quinsigamond.  He might have added Fisherville Pond.

As Pierce notes, the Quinsigamond flows on the east side of George Hill (which he calls George's Hill).  This summit, which he gives as 2.5 miles long, was named after George Misco, a native American who lived here. In Pierce's day, it supported "a number of very fine farms".

I returned to Worcester Street and headed east again. To the left I saw undeveloped land with dense vegetation; to the right, houses. I could observe a junction ahead.

Reaching this intersection, I started to go left, then realized that this turn was Bridge Street, whereas Route 122 went right. A sign on Bridge directed one to the Willard Clock Museum. I retraced my steps back to Worcester Street, passing on my left now (at 168 Worcester) Statewide Glass. Across the street was W. H. Budge Company, whose services included woodworking, furniture, sharpening, and regluing of chain saws. (I am always discovering forms of enterprise hitherto unobserved by, or even unknown to, me; the last item on this list is a good example, as I never knew that chain saws were glued in the first place.)

Continuing down Worcester street, I passed two old homes to my left, one with an apartment for rent. Soon I arrived at the intersection with North Main Street. Here Route 122 meets Route 140 and they jointly run south for a stretch. My course was to take me north for a small distance, which I expected to be repeated on a walk South from Shrewsbury via 140. This plan is still not worked out, some alteration being needed due to having changed course on a subsequent walk (Route 30, yet to be written and posted). How I will come back here to continue 122 south is even less clear.

I have done some portions, and intend to do more, of Route 140, which runs from Winchendon to New Bedford. Since it becomes an unwalkable superhighway in southern Taunton, I will not, however, be able to add it to my collection of state routes.

On my right I saw a stone garage building with the Mitchell Brake and Driveshaft Service and with Grafton Foreign Motors. It was hot and sunny now.

At the junction I found a street island with a World War I commemorative monument and flags, erected by the American Legion. Now I turned north onto North Main Street (Route 140).

Both sides of the street were residential, but I saw commercial establishments ahead. At Bridge Street, I noted a 0 mile marker for Route 30, clearing up doubts arising from the maps as to where that point is.

Now came the bridge that the street name referred to, as I went over the Quinsigamond River. Across on the right I observed the Washington Mills Company building, dating to 1868.

To the left I passed a former church, currently housing the Grafton Thrift Shop, a karate school and other businesses. Looking eastward down Ray Street, I saw on its right side the Post Office Pub, with large parking facilities.

Entering a commercial block, I saw a hardware store, an antique shop, and other businesses. The Grafton Coffee Shop (with a Coke sign) attracted my attention, but I decided there was no time for anything more than a quick drink.

Right away, however, I came to East Street and saw on the right hand corner a variety store, Dave's North End. Wondering whether this name meant that Grafton as well as Boston has a North End (a supposition not confirmed by USGS), I went in and got a Nestle's Quik chocolate milk. (A delivery person was actually putting these products onto the shelf.) I sat on the front stairs while I drank this and examined my map.

This was my turn east, and I still had some distance to go into and through Westborough before I was to turn north and pick up Route 9. Across the street I could see Sam's, a service station and construction on Watervale Street (Route 30), where I planned to be again some day (as noted before, this walk has been done) following that highway westward. The construction, I realized, was connected with the building of the new commuter rail station in Grafton - an act whose completion (slated for 1999, but not come to pass as of this day of writing) I was eagerly awaiting, as it promised to solve the question of reaching state highways and municipalities in this area.

After a few minutes, I then headed off on East Street, down which I could see greenery ahead. To the right I observed, at 4 East Street, the Village Craftsmen, a furniture restoration and finishing firm dating to 1969.

Now both sides of East were residential. I was on the left, odd-numbered side. At 13, on the corner of Prospect Street, was a house for sale. At 19, the sidewalk ended.

To the left I could glimpse the Pine Grove Cemetery, down Prospect and along Watervale. On the right I saw a brief strip of undeveloped land.

I crossed Big Bummet Brook, which looked very dry. On the left appeared another of those blue and white signs, this one announcing Hayes Pond, at about the driveway of a house that appeared to be 25 East Street.

Across on the right was seen a dirt road, with an open gate. A sign indicated that this led to a "Primary Water Supply Area". (Arrow and USGS have this road, the latter showing it to lead to a pumping station. USGS displays a swamp just south of there, with Big Bummett joining the Quinsigamond River, together with various small bodies of water.)

I followed a left curve of East. It was shady now, with homes on both sides. Now I encountered Hayes Pond on my left. It looked rather small and was mostly covered with algae and lily pads. It surroundings seemed to be all private property.

At 47, I saw a rather nice-looking older homes. Snow Road was opposite on the right. Continuing, I observed rather smaller houses. I went uphill and followed a left curve.

Up ahead was what appeared to be a large barn. At the right came Kaye Circle, with a poster for a lost cat. (I supposed that this was not likely to be the found cat I had read about back in Millbury!)

I was passing land that long ago had been farms. To my left, opposite 72 on the right, was a field behind a stone wall. At Apple Ridge Road, on the other side, East curved left, going uphill. At 77, just opposite Apple Ridge, was an attractive older home, presumably once the center of a farm here.

I helped a woman motorist who was looking for Tufts Veterinary School. The very extensive grounds of this institution, which I would see in 1998 when doing the Route 30 walk previously referred to, are just north and east of here.

In the one other time in my life that I know I was in North Grafton, I went along that Route 30, traversing that Tufts area, with a colleague of mine from the former Boston Neighborhood Development and Employment Agency. Our boss, the agency's fiscal director, who was a great stickler for accounting principles, had sent us to examine the books of a defunct hospital - I can no longer remember its name - in conjunction with a federal audit. Our destination was a state medical records center in the closed Grafton State Hospital, containing  patient records for doctors no longer in business, as well as the documents of hospitals no longer operating. Traveling in a more than usually decrepit City of Boston car through winter snows, we went (as I recollect) north around Tufts Veterinary, passed what apparently was a state police training center for attack dogs, and found the unheated hospital building in which the records were (not very well) kept, having been giving access by a rather disbelieving state employee. Incredibly, I found some of the hospital's financial journals on some upper stack. However, as our somewhat ambiguous report to Mr. Cooley observed, although perhaps in theory the data thus found could have been reconstructed from this source, as a practical matter it was probably impossible to answer the questions at issue. So we were not sent back again.

I do not think that Joel Gould and I were at the time unaware the "North Grafton" hospital was actually in Shrewsbury, just over the town line. I remember that we ate on the way back at White's Corner Restaurant, in Southborough at Route 9; this still exists, and the locality, I have learned, is in fact White's Corner, a stop on the Peter Pan Route 9 local bus.

To my left was observed undeveloped land, while there were houses on the right. I saw a tree house in the woods on the left. At 96 East, I reached a crest.

I followed a left and a right curve. The trees' shade provided some relief from the hot sun. At 107, I noted on my left a large house in a clearing, with a No Trespassing sign.

The other end of Apple Ridge Road and East Street was passed on the right. (According to the Universal Map, the Tufts grounds were now on my left.) Then I came to the end of East at Institute Road, a name presumably referring to Tufts. Here was a large street island with trees.

I now went south, seeing woods to the left and houses to the right. The former I hoped might provide the opportunity for a comfort stop, but there appeared no trail or other means to effectuate this aim. Then there were houses on both sides, and I could feel the sun's heat again. I was passed by a woman jogging.

I reached a hilltop around the houses number 6 and 4 Institute, being attacked by bugs here. The street curved left and then right, going downhill. At 2, I encountered a tied barking dog.

Reaching another intersection with a street island containing tall trees, I went east (left) on Wesson Road. I saw woods on the left, but a sign on a tree indicated that the property was available from Westward Homes.

At 6, I noticed a home with a rock in front of it. Then I came on my left to Axtell Brook, again identified by one of those white on blue signs. It looked virtually all dried up.

I followed a S-shaped curve, with houses on both sides of the street. Ahead I saw a marker denoting Axtell Corner.

Pierce's History has a lot of Axtells in it. Daniel Axtell was a Minute Man in 1775. Thomas Axtell was the first name on the 1803 Grafton tax poll. Seth Axtell was a corporal in the Civil War, in which Cyrus Axtell also fought in the artillery.

At this intersection, I went left, following Wesson Road, which goes north here as North Street goes south. I went up to a crest, then followed a right curve downhill.

At 18, I saw a nice old home that I imagined might have belonged to the Axtells. Then both sides of the road showed undeveloped wetlands, but soon there houses left and right.

The street curved left. At 31, I passed Art Carlson's Nursery, noting rows of shrubs. Outside, two men were sitting in chairs talking. Obviously, the rule that I had observed, to the effect that pairs of conversationalists tend to hang out around places of work, applied not just in the City of Worcester. Rather, I seemed to have discovered a Sociological Law of Worcester County.

After a left curve, I saw on the right just past 34 a sign "Equestrian Crossing". Here there was a scenic vista of a field that (unfortunately) turned out to be for sale.

Then came another field on the left; having rocks in it, it seemed less attractive. Past that, I viewed a vegetable patch and some chickens at 47. This was another example of the decay of agriculture in Massachusetts, as I then noted a former farmhouse and various buildings. What once must have been a farm sign was down, and a seemingly rusted Caterpillar bulldozer added to the somewhat melancholy appearance.

On the right was undeveloped forested land now. Wesson curved left and then right; and I proceeded slowly upward. At 59 I saw a red barn now a garage, with a basketball hoop.

I curved right, continuing uphill. To my left I saw an overgrown farm field, with stone walls. On the right was woods.

Now I came to Willard Street on the left. A sign indicated that one takes this way to the Willard Clock Museum. Opposite, at 68, was a home for sale.

Both sides of the road became residential. I pursued a right curve upward; then the street leveled off and curved left. The humidity and the hot sun had me quite thirsty again.

At 80 was a road to the Christian Hill Farm. As usual, I surmised whether this indicated a place name. (USGS does indeed show a hill here but does not name it. And, though there are six summits in Massachusetts with that name in the GNIS database, none of them is here.)  I made a left curve, going further upward.

Reaching a relative crest, I saw to my left a cultivated field with a view of hills to the north. To the right was another field that I thought might also have still been used for agricultural purposes, but tall shrubs along the road blocked my view.

I observed a former farmhouse at 93; called Windy Acres, it is the home of the Foyes. Opposite on the right, at 94, was an old white house with a red barn.

Coming to an intersection, I saw just before this an old stone building on the right. A sign read "Houlden Farm - Produce, Hay".

Wesson Road now ended, and I proceeded east on Old Westboro Road. To my left, at 139 was the Houlden homestead, followed by a cultivated field, with trees visible behind it.

I made a right turn and saw on my right, at 142, a distinctive, large and attractive home. The sun was now behind clouds and there was a cool breeze. Ahead of me was a view of trees.

I passed the end of the field on my left, which proved to be growing corn. At 149 on that side was a brick house with nice landscaping.

I went downhill to a right curve. At 150 was a good looking red contemporary home. Both sides now showed attractive houses; then there was wooded wetlands left and right.

Next I saw on the left what seemed to be vacant farmland, with the remains of an old stone wall. Fending off another insect attack here, I checked my watch and learned that I had done over four hours.

On my left I saw a paddock. No horses were out, but a sign told people, "Please Don't Feed" them. This was just before Glen Street, which I now crossed on the left.

There were houses left and right again. On the right I passed Stoneybrook Drive. To the left I saw the Grafton Children's Day Care and Preschool Center, a home-operated business.

A patch of undeveloped land went by on the left, and I then curved left, with the road leveling off. Now there homes on the left and vacant land on the right. Adams Road, with a sign for Lazy Acres, then appeared on the right.

To my left, at 200, was Hall's Corner Auto Body Works. (This is how intersections get place names, but I find no indication that Hall has achieved such status. Rather, I find Dave's Auto Body on the Internet at this address.)  Both sides of Old Westboro became residential again.

A left curve began at 201, as the road sloped downhill. There was undeveloped land on the left side now. At 210 came a right curve. It was cooler now, though the sun was back out.

Passing 212 on my right, I waved to a silent dog. Then I passed wooded land on both sides. To the left I saw some stone walls; to the right, there seemed to be a field behind the trees.

Nearing a crest, I could see a large house ahead to the left. I saw a field on that side, with some trees cleared along the road; on the right, trees had been cut down along a hill. (The USGS map shows the contours of an unnamed summit here, straddling the Grafton-Westborough boundary.)

I followed a right curve and went down and then up. Then I came to the Westborough town line, Old Westboro Street becoming West Main Street. To the right I saw fine homes.

According to the Encyclopedia of New England, Westborough was first settled around 1675, the area originally being named Chauncey. The present municipality was set off from Marlborough and incorporated with its present name in 1717.

This source gives its population as 13,619. Early industries included shoes and straw products, particularly hats. In the early part of this century the production of abrasives became economically important. Since the date of that work (1985), high technology, centered around Route 9, has flourished. The regions south of that highway and the northeast corner are primarily residential.

On the left I went by Jasper Street, on which large colonial homes were evident. Then both sides of West Main were filled with these, my least favorite type of residence. I wished that I had a magic wand to transform them back into forest.

Now came Benjamin Drive on the left, with more similar homes, and then Kendall Circle, with still more. I felt the sun again, as I passed 265 on the left, reaching a region of smaller homes. However, I noted another colonial at 262 on the other side.

Coming to a hilltop, I curved right as I passed the other end of Kendall Circle opposite 257 on the left. Pinecrest Drive (a dead end street) was passed on my side, and I noted the colonials ending on the right, other forms of residences now appearing on both sides.

After a while more the road curved left at 237, leveling; then it curved back right. I saw an intersection ahead; it proved to be Adams Street, running south. A sign indicating that there were "new homes" on it.

On the left, at 239, I saw an older home that perhaps was once a farmhouse. I went sloping down, curving right, left and then right again, reaching Oldham Road on the opposite side.

I had been noticing that some passing cars had their headlights on. It seemed somewhat early for this, but evidently this was my first observation of a new trend. I went sloping upward, following a left and then a right curve. At 207 I saw for sale an attractive white home with black shutters.

I crossed Heywood Drive on my left; uphill on this street, which connects to Nourse Street (Route 30), I could see new homes. At 203, opposite Wheeler Road on the right, West Main curved left.

I believe this region is part of the Ward Corner locality, the actual intersection with that name apparently being just north of here. At least it is there on the Arrow map; the GNIS database does not have it, listing only another such place name  in Chelmsford. I have since collected that place: see (some day) West from Lowell via Route 110 below.

Now I reached Eli Whitney Street, onto which I turned, now going southeast. I was still in residential territory; on the left, at 2, I saw a new attractive green colonial. (I will give these praise when merited, much as I prefer farmland or woods!)

On the same side I passed a field with a loam pile and orange flags. There were houses on the right. I was feeling very hot and thirsty, but there seemed no prospect of getting a drink until I reached Route 135, still some distance away.

To the left I observed a field that seemed as if formerly an orchard. There was a wire fence by the road. At 10, opposite Joanne Drive on the right, was a large new home.

Vacant, weedy land was now on my left; there was a fence with a gate. Behind this was a field. The right side appeared to be overgrown farmland.

My pace had degenerated to a stagger. There was a breeze, but I still felt the heat of the sun; the fact that my course was now uphill didn't help, either. But mostly dehydration was taking its toll.

The road curved left. At 34 on the left, toward the hilltop, was a large brown house. I saw some plants - perhaps a vegetable patch - on that side. At the summit I then came to a old white house (number 36). A sign told me that this was the "Birthplace of Eli Whitney", giving his dates, 1765 to 1825. (The History of Worcester County has a picture has a picture of "the old Eli Whitney birthplace house" facing page 68. As it notes, when Whitney was born what is now Westborough was part of Marlborough.)

The street name had been an unappreciated clue as to this historical highlight of my walk. I wasn't even aware of Whitney's Massachusetts origin, much less the specific town. But I was in no mood to savor the inestimable inventor's inhabitance. On I trudged, going downhill and then curving right.

For a while both sides showed vacant land, but, just before the intersection with Old Colony Drive (left) and Breen Road (right), houses began again on the right. On the left side now was a kind of vista with a school ahead uphill and hills visible northward in the background. (I guess that these would be Vinal Hill and Whitney Hill.)

I walked upward, seeing trees ahead. A sidewalk went off to the left and uphill (maybe to the schoolyard?), and I saw a kid on a bicycle headed along it. Now I went downhill; despite a cool breeze, I was really dragging.

I went by the school, Annie Fales Elementary. There were cars parked in front, and two people were outside talking. I was unsure whether this constituted another example of the Sociological Law of Worcester County, since they might not have been workers.

Now both sides had houses. I reached Ruggles Street, taking a right onto this per my game plan and being reminded of the similarly named thoroughfare in Boston. Across, at 114 Ruggles was an 1808 home.

I followed the rolling uphill course of Ruggles. This was more former farm country, as shown by the old stone walls and by a field that I passed to my left. Now I came to the corner of Mt. Pleasant Street.

Here was a Massachusetts Tercentenary sign, indicating that this was once the Old Connecticut Path, where "An Indian trail left the road here to go over Fay Hill." (Rand McNally and USGS more generously call this Fay Mountain.)

I remembered this! It occurred to me (what had escaped me in planning my route) that I had gone south on Ruggles Street on a walk to Upton. However, this very brief repetition quickly ended as I proceeded east (thinking erroneously that this direction was north) on Mt. Pleasant.

To the left was the remains of a farm; on the right were houses. The farmland ended at 55, at which I saw a small odd residence. I went along curving left and then right.

Now I saw woods on the left, new homes on the right. Then I observed a swimming pool and a house to the left; this was on Deerslayer Lane. To the right here was a semi-vista of open space.

I made a sharp curve right and went by Deerslayer (which connects to Ruggles) on the left. Both sides of Mt. Pleasant had houses now.  I had now been walking five and a quarter hours. I came to a right curve and went steeply uphill. To the right was some land for sale; then both sides contained residential property. Past 48 on the right there was a field.

On the left I saw houses in the woods, with an old stone wall by the road. At 44 a right curve began. Next I passed some woods on the left, followed by more houses.  I saw a former farmhouse on the right (number 40) dating to "circa 1854", now the home of the Smiths. Ahead of me was a downhill view.

At 31 I passed a driveway, appearing almost like a road, to a house that I had just seen. Here also was a truck from F. N. Murphy (of Weston). A sign identified Lot 6A of "The Crossing".

A yellow "circa 1790" home was seen to the right at 36. My course now went winding downhill. To my left I went by Edward Brigham Way (not on my Rand-McNally map, nor on my 1994 Arrow Metro Worcester atlas, but shown on the 1996 Universal atlas). On this were large colonials; a stone wall proclaimed this development to be "The Crossing at Brigham Rise". (I do not take "developers' names" as localities unless there is some sanction from maps. Still, this but this rather unusual use of "rise" as a topographic term is notable.)

On the right I now saw smaller homes. Mt. Pleasant made a left curve, going rather steeply downhill, at 25. Homes continued to my right, while on the other side were woods with a stone wall.

There was a cool breeze, but I was still suffering from dehydration. I made a brief foray into the woods for a comfort stop, returning to the highway with the hope that I would soon get to Route 135, where I assumed there would be some place where I could get something to drink. I began another winding descent, with a view of the road ahead.

I reached Warren Street, with a notice about "New Homes". My game plan was to follow this to Belknap Street, avoiding 135 for a while, since this is to be covered on a future walk (Route 135 South from Westborough). However, I overruled that scheme based on the need for liquid refreshment and the advisability to taking a shorter course when behind on time, the latter factor beginning to seem of concern now. In any case, Warren looked like a rather steep uphill that would have been exhausting given my condition.

Perhaps I should have re-routed this walk to stay on 135 and revised the one planned for the future along it, which probably will not occur until 2000 or later. But if between now and then the MBTA, having introduced local stops along the Worcester commuter rail, ends the subsidy for the Peter Pan Route 9 bus, this one will have to be changed anyhow.

Opposite Warren the woods ended to the left, and I noted a driveway and a "Posted Private Property" sign. Now I arrived at South Street; looking up and down 135, I saw no commercial establishment.  But at least I was taking a quicker course, and surely (I thought) some place where I could get a drink would show up.

Across the street was a sign for Jack Straw Gardens, "the perennial people". The sun was out as I headed south on 135 (east in "route" terms), which was residential in character here. At 133 South on the right I saw an old house that looked as if its inhabitants had once been farmhands.

"Necessarily" dashing hopes concerning Route 135 and getting a drink, I now followed the game plan and left this as it turned east on Hopkinton Road, and continued straight on Upton Road. On the left of Hopkinton I saw Linda's Doggie Playland, offering "Doggie Daycare and Hotel". To the right of it was a pleasant view of a cultivated field with trees around it. A sign here indicated that I was twelve miles from Framingham.

It was 1:15 PM as I proceeded south on Upton. At 8, the road made a right curve. The field, now on my left, proved to be mostly fallow. I observed a small red barn next to a white house at 18.

There were patches of tar in cracks in the street along here. I was attacked again by bugs, as I passed undeveloped land left and right. Then on the left was some wooded land, formerly farmland.

Crossing Morse Street, I noted to the right what appeared to be a power substation. I now went left (east) on Morse, at which there was a sign offering new homes. I went twisting uphill, observing new development with large colonials.

This seemed to have the name of a new street here (not on Arrow, but on Universal), Piccadilly Way. It was not clear which was Morse and which Piccadilly. I decided (correctly) to bear left, as uphill on the right were huge new houses on a hill; therefore, that way figured to be the new street. (Piccadilly Way seems to be too new for Internet map searches, though one of these somehow responds with the correct area.)

In the April 8-May 11, 1999 issue of the Boston Metro West/Northwest edition of Harmon Homes  (which, for reasons not apparent to me, bills itself as the "Nation's Leading Real Estate Magazine") appeared an ad by the Ernie Houde Team (that should be a period, not a slash, after www, Ernie!), an agent owned company of Dallamora Realtors, offering a home in the "most desirable" Westborough subdivision of Piccadilly Mill.   This large "custom colonial" (with a three-door attached side garage), on a lot of 3400 square feet, was offered at $469, 900 - i. e., about $100,000 over the minimum for a houses in this development as quoted by the last link.

At a house numbered 16, a cat started at me; behind here was a downhill scenic view. Since this was an older home and since the street here looked old, I felt confirmation that I was on Morse.

There was a field to the right. At 18 on the left was an older home, possibly once a farmhouse. Again I was bothered by insects.

Now there were homes on the left and undeveloped land on the right. I passed a 1755 house at 22 to my left; this very nice building was now the home of the Kellers. I continued uphill, bearing left.

At 26 I saw a new cape, with a dog barking at me from a front window. I gave one bark back, keeping my remarks brief when I noticed that there people around. I reached the hilltop, at 41, which was not visible (though a sign indicating it was for sale was) on the right.

Passing both newer and older homes on both sides of Morse, I went winding downhill. I went by the other end of Piccadilly Way, on which was a notice "Open House" as well as a street sign, now unneeded proof that I had been on Morse. (I see from the Internet that this road is not entirely residential, as I would have thought.) Another sign told me "Road Construction Ahead".

I had now accomplished six hours. The end plan for the walk was somewhat open, the key question being when to turn north to reach Route 9. I determined that I would do this when I reached Hopkinton, the next town east.

At 46, I saw an old white house with a barn. I went downhill, following a right curve. I heard a sound that seemed to indicate construction activity; I thought it might be coming from Hopkinton Road (Route 135) just to the north.

Then I saw that route. The noise, it turned out, was from a recycling plant, also responsible for a notable smell. The name of the firm, Hovey (visible on their trucks), made me wonder if it was operated by the same family which the pond of that name honored.

I turned right on Hopkinton, seeing on both sides undeveloped land probably once agricultural. I checked my map and figured out the way north to Route 9, estimating that it would take somewhat over an hour to finish the walk.

Now I saw a house - at 69, to my right. On the other side was a very weedy field with a fence and a gate. I continued along a left curve, apparently going over Piccadilly Brook without noticing it. (The stream is shown here on Arrow and USGS. So Piccadilly is a name of old standing name, not just a developer's recent invention, though GNIS has only the brook, not the subdivision.)

I passed a very old abandoned home to the right. Here I had a view of field and hills in the background. Then I entered Hopkinton, Route 135 becoming that town's Wood Street.

The three-volume History of Middlesex County (Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Company, 1890), another tome typical of that era, with D. Hamilton Hurd as supervising editor (whom, however,  an Internet source describes as "not entirely reliable," at least with regard to genealogy - a conclusion supported in at least one finding ), has a section on Hopkinton by Clement Meserve. It gives the Nipmuck name of Quansigomog for this settlement, which was incorporated as a town on December 13, 1715.

The town was named after Edward Hopkins, who migrated from England in 1637, settled in Connecticut and became its governor, and returned to his native country, where he died in 1657. Hopkins in his will left five hundred pounds for (in Meserve's words) "support of the students in the grammar and divinity schools in Cambridge" and for the "purchase of books to be given to meritorious students at Harvard College".

Hopkinton became a fashionable resort after 1816 when the Hopkinton Mineral Springs ("situated west of Lake Whitehall") were discovered. Today it is most famous for the start of the Boston Marathon.

I observed a large field on the right, then another one on the left. I passed another large field to my, behind which I could see trailers and other indications of recycling activity. (However, USGS shows a sand and gravel pit here.) The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) was now discernible ahead.

To the left there was a vista with hills. (Possibly I was able to see all the way to Newtons Hill in eastern Westborough.) In the distance I glimpsed what I thought might be a hotel; a water tank could be seen in the far background.

The sun was back out. I now passed houses on the right. Now being on an "off-area" of the Arrow Worcester map, on which the streets were not marked, I pulled out a photocopied version of the Universal map for Hopkinton, having taken this precaution against going astray. Once again I fended off an insect attack.

Next on the left was the Town of Hopkinton Recycling Center. I noticed many Hovey signs in the lot. On the right I went by a road marked "Turnpike Service Center", with the warning "Do Not Enter Official Use Only". This two lane street could be seen running tree-lined to the horizon.

Now there were woods on both sides of Wood, which seemed appropriate, though I supposed the street might actually reflect a surname. I went under the Turnpike, there being no interchange here, as I stuffed the Arrow map back into my pack. Another, gated access road was on the left past the overpass; the admonition here was that anyone using it would be forced to pay a toll equal to that for the whole length of the Turnpike.

At North Street, I left 135 (destined, as noted, to be repeated along here), turning left onto this street, which actually runs east. This was a narrow, curvy road; on both sides there was undeveloped land. Then I passed some clustered homes, there being two sets of four, one after the other.

To the left I was still seeing vacant land, the Turnpike being observable back through the trees. It was very hot, the sun being out again. At 35 I saw a nice yellow colonial with green shutters.

I viewed a field in back of the trees along my left. I made a right curve, going sharply uphill. More bugs attacked me!

There were houses among the trees on the right now. To the left I saw a field in back of the woods, with a wire fence. Then a stone wall perpendicular to the street marked the end of the field, this side now being just woodland again.

I came to a hilltop at 12 (the house of that number not being visible from the road) and went downhill as I passed a home at 15. By now I was wondering what had happened to Fruit Street, my next turn, which seemed overdue.

On the left I saw a building that at first I thought was barn but proved to be another Hovey recycling plant, this one for paper recycling. A house in front of this was numbered 18. (North thus seems to be one of those streets where the numbering has gotten out of sequence.)

It was 2:00 PM now. At 8 was an attractive, apparently old, residence with a barn-garage. I went downhill, following the curving path of the street. I thought I could see Fruit Street now.

For a brief stretch, wetlands were seen on both sides. To the right appeared to be a brook or pond. (USGS does have a tiny unnamed body of water here.) At 3 was a nice-looking new yellow colonial.

To the left I observed what seemed to be an overgrown former farm field. Feeling a cool breeze, I now turned north on Fruit Street. I was slowing down, but I still had a way to go to Route 9.

This area was residential, with traces of former agricultural land use. I actually saw a farm on my right now - or perhaps an ex-farm, though some of it appeared under cultivation. Fruit made a right curve, and I saw woods on left.

It was clear now that, if I was to get the 3:00 bus, I would have to speed up; but whether I had the ability to do so was another question. I finally broke down and opened the aseptic juice container in my pack. My policy is not to consume of this ration unless near the journey's end or in dire emergency, the former condition clearly applied and the latter was arguably valid also.

To my right I passed a little pond, at which I observed a solitary angler. More of the same farm field could be seen here. I now crossed Whitehall Brook.

Now there were homes on both sides of Fruit, starting at 131 on my left. I resumed use of the Arrow Worcester map again, my course to Flanders Road back in Westborough being apparent even on its unmarked portion. Differences in scale between the Universal and Arrow maps had apparently confused my time outlook.

I went uphill. To the right I saw a pretty home, with an "Equestrian Crossing" sign. Number 128, it had an old red barn and some gates; this was the Stickney residence. An old stone marker here indicated that Woodville was to the south and Southboro to the north.

I reached a hillcrest, observing a "Road Narrow" sign at 132. At Colonnade Drive on my left came a sharp right curve. (Universal has this as "The Colonnade"; it is not on Arrow, nor can I find it on the Internet, all the map search engines also being awry on Fruit Street numbers too.)  To the left I now saw woods behind a stone wall.

On my right, as I made a curve in that direction, I saw a field with two horses; this turned out to be Maple Knoll Farm, which boards horses; a vacancy was noted. A small old red farm building here had a downright beautiful appearance. Across the street was a gray farm building, also quite picturesque; here, there seemed to be only traces of a farm field.

I followed a sharp left curve and then passed Roosevelt Road on my left. This had large new homes on, as did Huckleberry Road, which I next passed on the right. Ahead I could see what I deludedly (presumably through the wish to get to the walk's end) took to be a railroad bridge presaging the reappearance of Westborough.

For a short stretch both sides of the street contained woods; then there were houses left and right. Then came the other end of the circling Huckleberry Road. I passed 173 opposite this on my left, after which there was undeveloped land on each side for a brief period.

Now I went over, not a railroad bridge, but I-495, with I-90 and an interchange visible just to the north. But for some reason I had these interstates reversed in my mind. This misapprehension allowed me to believe that I had in fact time to spare, but I kept hurrying anyhow. (To do so at the end is one of my general principles, the wisdom of which possibly is based on my frequently having, as I did now, false locational beliefs.)

I passed a colonial home at 176 on my right. Next came woods lefts and right, followed by houses on both sides. On the right, opposite 207 was Saddle Hill Road. I wished now I had continued with the Universal map, the schematic nature of this section of the Arrow map adding to my confusion. But making another switch would have taken a bit of time, and I did want to lose any. (The grounds of the Saddle Hill Country Club are shown here on maps, but I did not observe this.)

I viewed woods on each side of the road, with a stone wall along the right. I was now experiencing an eerie feeling. Where, I wondered, was I-495, clinging to the misbelief that it had been I-90 that I had crossed? Ahead I could see a fence.

Now I saw on the left a sign indicating that there was an MDC Watershed here, with various prohibitions. On the right the land was posted as "Private Property No Trespassing"; another sign indicated that firearms were in use. The users proved to be the Southboro Rod and Gun Club, according to another sign on the fence here.

This reference to Southboro added greatly to my geographic perplexity. But now I observed the railroad tracks ahead, and suddenly my illusions were lifted. As I grasped my true location, it seemed evident that my quest for the 3:00 was hopeless, but characteristically that did now keep me from continuing with it.

Stubbornness seems to be a generic trait in both my paternal and maternal ancestries. However, the value of not giving in just because it seems impossible to make a certain bus or train time arguably is apparent in these narratives. In any case, I prefer such exertion to dawdling in wait of later transportation; this may be related to Cathy's rule, at this point of somewhat diminished authority, that I am supposed to be back in town no later than 6:00 PM.

Having crossed the tracks and then the Sudbury River, I was now again in Westborough. The name Fruit Street continued in that municipality, but quickly I came to Flanders Road, at which I made a left turn. Across the street I noted a rock outcrop.

I followed a right curve of Flanders and then went through the I-90 overpass, seeing vacant land on both sides of the road here. I had now done seven hours and was hurrying so fast as to inhibit taking notes.

On the left I passed Erie Plastics. A man and a woman were sitting out in front. So the sociological law of Worcester County did not require the two outside persons to be of the same sex! (Note that no such instances were observed in Hopkinton, which is in Middlesex County.)

Dover Instruments was on the right, while on the other side was a large North American Van Lines operation and then, at 191, a Sygma plant. I came to the top of a hill, where land was advertised for sale, zoned residential.

I went by the Bath Outlet House, a home operated business to my left. On the other side I saw two homes. At 173 on the left was something called KBQ. I-495 could now be seen ahead of me; my turn was just before this. Determined to make the 3:00 bus if possible, I was now virtually running.

At 169 was the Whitney Farm. I did not detect any agricultural activity, and, while there are farms in Westborough, this would appear to be a residence rather than a business. Next I saw little ponds on both sides of Flanders. (These appear to be connected by a stream shown on Arrow and USGS flowing from north of here into the Sudbury River to the south.)

To the left was a road that signage told me led to installations of Cumberland Farms and of Gulf Oil. Now I saw Washington Street just in front. I ran across to the other side of Flanders and continued running, or as close as I could to that, down Washington, the last leg to Route 9. It was now 2:50; but I was actually rather confident, for I knew that this Peter Pan bus runs quite late.

The bus line's schedule gives highly optimistic arrival times along Route 9. No doubt it is proper policy to list the earliest possible such data, which would be based on the assumption that there is no traffic. So Peter Pan allows five minutes for the bus to get from the Worcester terminal across the border into Shrewsbury - an impossibility, really. As it is, normal traffic would allow one to add about half an hour to these timings. Still, by "pretending" that I needed to be at Route 9 by 3:00 PM I ensured a pace fast enough to get me there by the actual arrival time.

As I hurried along Washington, I went by wetlands on either side. Then on the right came a business that I have been unable to trace on the Internet.  Now I saw a field to my left with I-495 behind it. A sign on this highway said it was half a mile to Route 9. I groaned inwardly at this, thinking that I could never do that distance in the fifteen minutes or so that I estimated would be needed. As I kept trying, however, I had a burst of optimism; I even tried to imagine maybe some rounding off had been made in computing that distance, so that things were more favorable than they appeared!

The right side now had houses, then I passed a business named OTEY. On the left I passed Alden Electronics, at which I saw satellite dishes. On the other side I noted Camerota Truck Parts.

I raced uphill. The highway was still visible to the left, as I went by undeveloped land on both sides of the street. Then on the left I saw a large building occupied by Vmark Software. This was in a way an indication that I was near to Route 9, which contains the Westboro hi-tech section.

Through the trees I now detected - was it Route 9 or had I-495 turned in front of me? As I followed a right curve, which took me unawares into Southborough, I saw it was the former. I was really running now - confidently, however, for the 3:00 PM bus seemed a virtual certainty.

Now I came to a commercial building to the right, housing Data General. (The New England Real Estate Journal for July 16- July 22, 1999 carried an advertisement by Integrated Builders, citing their work on these 200,000 square foot facility.) At 3:10, I was at Route 9, beside the Southboro Office Plaza, at 352 Turnpike Road (or Boston-Worcester Turnpike, as Arrow and Universal style Route 9 here). This name made clear, which I apparently had not realized in my planning, that I had in fact reached my sixth municipality of the day.

Southborough (like Westborough, frequently spelled in shortened form, but officially in the longer version) is one of the wealthier Massachusetts towns. Predominantly residential, even Route 9 is along it  not as commercially developed as in its neighbors.  The History of Worcester County says that the early settlement was called Stony Brook and the northern part received the name Cow Commons. The town was incorporated in 1727.  This book notes that 300 acres were added to Southborough from Framingham in 1786, but in 1835 it lost 16 acres to Westborough in a boundary dispute.

Closing the walk at seven and a half hours and gasping for breath, I contemplated my position. The bus should be by in fifteen minutes or so, I thought. While it might take more, there was no time to go looking for someplace to get a drink, badly as I needed more liquid refreshment. But where exactly was I, anyhow?

When I first took this bus, some years before, I had heard the driver tell people that it worked under a flag-down system. But more recently I had somehow come to the belief that Peter Pan was more fussy about stops. Looking at these in the schedule, I supposed (rightly) that I was somewhere between those designated as Lyman Street and White's Corner. It was too risky to go east or west looking for these; hence I decided to stay put and hope that the bus would stop if I waved at it.

So I waited. Three-thirty went by and then three-forty-five. This was not only more than thirty minutes behind schedule but quite more than any prior experience could suggest regarding Peter Pan lateness.. Gradually, I faced up to the fact that something was wrong. I walked east, found a phone booth, and called Peter Pan.

What a surprise! There was no 3:00 bus any more: the MBTA had killed the subsidy. Fortunately, the 5:00 PM bus remained.

This shows the importance of having up to date schedules. Apparently the change had occurred only weeks before. Now that all bus companies seem to be on the Internet mistakes such as this ought to be less likely to happen. It is true that hardly anybody seemed to take the 3:00 PM local; once I was the only passenger.

Since I had deemed the walk ended, the reader will be spared the details of how, to fill up time, I trudged east along Route 9. I stopped for a drink twice and wound up getting the 5:00 PM bus (typically behind schedule) at Fayville.

I had better not say how many passengers there were lest the MBTA kill this one, too! I did notice one man whom I have seen every time I have taken this or the 9:00 AM from Boston; he evidently works in Southboro. Indeed, the cancellation of the 3:00 PM was discussed on this ride, and this gentleman (who said that it had happened before) predicted - incorrectly - that there would be protests and the MBTA would restore it.

The merits of such underutilized transportation services can be debated, though naturally I am all in favor of public transportation. But, as noted before, I would suspect that the MBTA may indeed eliminate the 5:00 PM local too once the local commuter rail stations between Framingham and Worcester are in place. As it is, the elimination of the 3:00 PM poses a threat to my walking in that area: if I do not plan right and miss the 5:00 PM, there is hardly any backup other than a cab ride that would probably run around a hundred dollars.

The beginning and end of this walk suffered from poor planning, but overall it was still a good one, with a new municipality and new localities and with scenic and historic interest. Possibly the most discouraging theme, a frequent one on these expeditions, is the visible mutation of farmland and natural space into residential housing. Paradoxically, the very forces that make available the public transportation that I use for these adventures are responsible for this trend, which I find so depressing.

Name: Grafton

Path: Worcester - Grafton - Hopkinton - Southboro

Note: Beginning Route 122

Date: August 6, 1997

Time: 7.5 hours

Weather: Clouds and sunshine; warm, rather humid, but many cool breezes

Roadkill: (none)

Municipalities: Worcester, Millbury, Grafton (182), Westboro, Hopkinton, Southboro

Localities: Lenihan Square, Powers Square, Kelly Square, Flynn Square, Lonergan Square, Vernon Hill, Mierzejencki Square, Bolduc Square, Kirminos Square, Oak Hill, Migauckas Square, Maleskas Square, Posner Square, Billings Square, Kasevich Square, Stoney Hill, Moylan Square, Grafton Hill, Setaro Square, Supernos Squarre, East Millbury, Millbury Junction, Gilbran Square, O’Connell Square, North Grafton, Maplewood [Grafton], Hovey Pond, Quinasigmond River, Big Bummett Brook, Hayes Pond, Axtell Brook, Axtell Corner, Whitehall Brook

Highlight: Hovey Pond and Quinasigmond River

Lowlight: Cancellation of 3:00 PM Worcester to Boston local bus

Historical highlight: Eli Whitney birthplace, Westboro

New walks: SE from Worcester

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(c) 1999 James Murphy
Last edited August 29, 1999