Local News for Northampton

Bowe has more than 300 glass milk bottles, the oldest dating to 1891.

The Republican / Michael S. GordonJohn F. Bowe, of the Florence section of Northampton, shows off his collection of historic glass milk bottles on display in the farm museum building Monday at the Three County Fair.

NORTHAMPTON – A few years ago, John F. Bowe had 10 glass milk bottles, and his wife wanted to know what he was planning to do with them.

She said she was hoping he’d trash them. But instead, he told her, “I think I’ll start collecting.”

Now Bowe, who lives in the Florence section, has more than 300, and each bottle has a story.

Bowe spent four days at the Three County Fair here showcasing bottles from Hampshire County farmers, processors and milkmen. Beginning Thursday he’ll be at the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield displaying bottles with a Franklin County connection for the four days of the fair.

Bowe, who was wearing a black baseball cap with the words “Got Milk Bottles?” emblazoned on the front and a white shirt with the same question on the back in black, retired from AT&T 13 years ago. He began collecting bottles about 4½ years ago.

“Half the fun of collecting the bottle is the history,” he said. Once he gets a bottle, he learns as much as he can about it through visits to local libraries. He picked up a bottle just last week after meeting someone last month at the annual Cummington Fair who saw his display.

The bottle said P.W. Groff, South Amherst. P.W.’s father had a dairy before and after the five years P.W. sold milk. Bowe said he doesn’t now why the son got out of the business. Groff Park in Amherst was named for the family after a gift of the land.

The oldest bottle in his collection dates to 1891 from Herdsdale in Florence, a processing business started by a city attorney D.W. Bond.

His newest is from Mapleline Farm, which delivers milk in glass bottles today from its Hadley farm.

Bowe said some people think milk had always been delivered in bottles, but the first bottle didn’t come into being until the 1870s.

Before that, a milkman would have a milk can full of milk that he’d ladle into a milk pitcher or bottle in the family’s house.

Sometimes people would bring a jug to a neighborhood dairy and get the milk there.

The first patent for a paper cone bottle came in 1911, he said.

He said he loves it when people come to the display and ask for a specific bottle. Chances are, he has it. He said earlier this weekend a man asked about a Michonski milk bottle, ran out of the building and came back with seven family members to see the bottle from the Easthampton farm. He said people have been asking him what he thinks about raw milk. “I think it’s great,” he said. He thinks milk loses a lot in the pasteurizing process.

Under a proposed state regulation, people can continue to purchase raw milk from farms where it’s for sale but won’t be able to join groups that allow them to pay another member a small fee to purchase the raw milk for them and drop it off for pickup.

Bowe said he likes the fair tour to showcase bottle history. “It keeps me busy.”

For more information or about his collection visit his website: http://gotmilkbottles.webs.com.

The Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety has given the structure its highest rating for danger.

The Republican file photo / Don TreegerThis is the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir Dam in Northampton, seen last winter.

NORTHAMPTON – The City Council once again postponed a vote on a resolution to save the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir Dam Thursday, saying that the matter needs more public discussion.

The resolution was on the Aug. 19 council agenda, but the council continued the matter pending further study. The city-owned dam was built in 1883 to create a water supply for the city, but it has not served that purpose since 1905. The state Office of Dam Safety has given the structure its highest rating for danger, saying it could take out the next dam at Roberts Meadow Reservoir if it breaches, endangering up to 280 homes in Leeds.

However, the Friends of the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir Dam believes that low-lying farmland below the dam would serve as a floodplain, preventing the water from overwhelming the lower dam. The group has also identified the dam as a potential source of hydroelectric power that could provide enough electricity to serve 25 to 30 homes. In addition, supporters of the dam say it is core habitat for various species of salamanders, beetles and dragonflies, some of which are designated “of special concern.”

The Board of Public Works takes issue with some of the group’s conclusions and says that performing the necessary studies to investigate them would cost the city $100,000 in engineering fees.

On Thursday, Ward 6 Councilor Marianne L. LaBarge asked the council to postpone the vote again, saying she is concerned about the potential cost. People speaking both for and against the resolution during the public comment segment asked that the Board of Public Works schedule a public forum on the matter. LaBarge agreed.

“We need to give both sides the opportunity to bring forth all the information they have,” she said.

Mayor Mary Clare Higgins said she cannot direct the Board of Public Works to organize a public forum but suggested bringing together members of the board and the Friends group with the city’s energy officer, Christopher Mason.

The matter was continued because Ward 2 Councilor Paul Spector, one of the co-sponsors, could not be present.

NORTHAMPTON – The city council has once again put off a resolution to stop funding military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and to ask congressional representatives to vote against further funding for those campaigns.

Paul Spector

The item was first put on the agenda in June but was referred to several committees and further delayed because not all councilors were present at meetings.

The matter was continued again Thursday because Ward 2 Councilor Paul D. Spector, one of the co-sponsors, could not be present, although three of the eight councilors in attendance said they were ready to vote on the matter.