PAGE 57
SPRING 2018 ISSUE 01 / VOL . 03
The Museum of Springfield History features a major display of Indian motorcycles , which were made in Springfield , as well as others , like this V-twin Yale .
A side trip to Springfield ’ s interesting Museum Quadrangle allowed me to have a look at the Indian motorcycle exhibit in the Museum of Springfield History . The city was well known for making motorcycles and cars in the early part of the last century , the most famous being the Indian . Other Massachusetts motorcycle marques were the Pope in Westfield , Iver-Johnson in Fitchburg , Marsh-Metz in Brockton and Royal in Worcester , to name just a few . The Duryea brothers were building cars in Springfield as early as 1893 .
After a couple of nights in Northampton , I angled east to see other friends in Shutesbury , then west to Old Deerfield and the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls , puttering along the local roads in third and fourth gear . The Glide is an excellent puttering machine , and equally happy to stay in the fast lane on the Interstates . The Shelburne Bridge was built in 1908 , but the arrival of better roads and heavy trucks caused it to be closed to traffic 20 years later . Since it also carried the main water line , it was not destroyed . After falling into general decrepitude , the bridge was adopted by a local group that prettified it with many flowering plants , and it has become a major tourist attraction since then .
A minor storm was headed east while I was going west on the Mohawk Trail ( State