Asa Waters Mansion, Millbury

Hospitality and Tourism Workshops Aim to Enrich Valley Experiences
Thirty five attendees gathered at the Asa Waters Mansion in Millbury, MA on May 10th for a Great Tours! workshop that focused on creating thematic tours. Max van Balgooy, Director of Interpretation and Education for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, led the workshop specifically designed for educators, interpreters and others responsible for tours at historic sites. The workshop fit in perfectly with the Heritage Corridor Commission’s commitment for providing training for our partner historical sites as they gear up for the Footsteps in History program. The very successful session was brought to the valley in partnership with the Corridor Commission, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Corridor Commission also helped to organize a series of 3-hour training sessions focused on Hospitality and Visitor Services led by Barbara Barnes, Tourism Services Manager of the Rhode Island Historical Society. She will focus on Serving the Visitor, Being Informed, and Providing Excellent Customer Service. Invitees include participants in the Footsteps in History program, historical sites, museums, visitor centers, members of the Blackstone Valley Interpreters Network, Tourism Committee members and others who have contact with visitors. A passport program is being developed to encourage all attendees to visit sites in the Blackstone River Valley. The first session was held on May 21st at the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, the second will be on June 9th at the E.N. Jenckes Store Museum in Douglas.

These sessions are funded under the Hospitality Training budget of the Heritage Corridor Commission and seats are still available. Contact Barbara Dixon for more information at 401-762-0250.

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The 2007 Class of the Blackstone Valley Youth Leadership Academy
On May 15, 2007, twenty four high school students from Massachusetts Blackstone Valley area high schools graduated from the Blackstone Valley Youth Leadership Academy (BVYLA). The BVYLA is a unique leadership program for students in the 9th and 10th grades that seeks to enhance the leadership skills of young people and strengthen their connection to the Blackstone Valley.

As part of the class, a service project is required and each student registers as a Volunteer in Parks volunteer. They then work in a team to coordinate the logistics of the project. This year’s class choose to coordinate an Earth Day Cleanup at River Bend Farm in Uxbridge, MA. The service project was held April 21, 2007, and over 40 parents, siblings, friends, and scouts joined in the clean up and Osprey awareness effort at the park. Working in partnership with the VIP program and the DCR staff at River Bend Farm, the 24 students in the BVYLA class spread woodchips on a heavily rooted stretch of the towpath, cleaned debris for the canal and towpath, cut brush and built an Osprey nesting platform. When the day was over a total of 310 volunteer hours were recorded and, using the value of a volunteer hour in the amount of $18.77, a grand total of $5,819.00 was contributed by the students in volunteer service time! Many thanks to Mary Lou Anderson for her outstanding leadership to the students as the BVYLA Coordinator.

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Vincent Farm, Mendon, MA

Heritage Landscape Inventory Fieldwork Complete
A wide range of landscapes – from farmsteads to railroad beds – were surveyed during the fieldwork portion of the Heritage Landscape Inventory project, which took place this spring. Staff from the Corridor Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation (DCR) and a professional landscape preservation team assessed those landscapes that participating communities identified as high priority, based on their significance and lack of long-term protection. Though each landscape has particular challenges, some issues are common throughout the Valley, such as the disappearance of farms and the complexity of revitalizing mill villages and industrial sites. 

Each of the participating towns will receive a reconnaissance report that outlines the community’s landscape history, describes the high priority heritage landscapes and threats to their preservation, discusses broader land planning issues, and provides preservation recommendations. In addition, the Corridor Commission, DCR and Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor are developing an initiative to provide municipal staff, volunteers and community members with training related to landscape preservation. Stay tuned for more information on these upcoming training opportunities.

For more information, contact Joanna Doherty, Community Planner at the Corridor Commission, at 401-762-0250 or e-mail us or visit the DCR’s web site.

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Tricentennial Park Hearing Highlighted Hub of Blackstone River Bikeway Development
A MassHighway hearing held on Wednesday, May 2, 2007, at the Sutton Town Hall reviewed the current and future plans for the development of Tricentennial Park on the Blackstone River at Blackstone Street in Sutton, MA. According to Thomas E. Ross, the Corridor’s Acting Executive Director, The Corridor has contributed $45,000 in design funds and MassHighway’s Enhancement Funds have designated $240,000 to build the park. The Town of Sutton has worked closely with all stakeholders in this project and have contributed countless hours to its success.

The public hearing provided the public with the opportunity to become fully acquainted with the Tricentennial Park project that consists of the construction of a park, parking lot, walkway, canoe access path, river overlook area, picnic areas, seating areas and landscaping. A project handout is available at www.mass.gov/mhd.

The Heritage Corridor Commission is looking forward to the completion of the park and subsequently the Blackstone River Bikeway project, acknowledging that the Bikeway is the major intermodal connection between Providence, Rhode Island and Worcester, Massachusetts. “We have a great start on building the bikeway with the completed segment from Worcester to Millbury,” Ross said. “We hope that beginning construction on Tricentennial Park will help jumpstart construction of the bikeway from Millbury south in Massachusetts. Most of the funding is in place through federal tax dollars that have been secured by our Senators and Congressmen and much of the planning has been completed. We need to see the design and construction schedule stepped up so that those living and working in the Blackstone Valley can begin to enjoy the benefits of the bikeway and we can connect to the Rhode Island section of the bikeway that will be completed in the near future.”

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