First Day in Northampton!

I'm finally here! It took altogether about 12 hours of traveling on Sunday, but I made it. The journey was fraught with delays, rude people, and terrible customer service, but I made it! 

When I got to the hotel, I ordered a pizza, which was delicious. Those who appreciate irony will enjoy this: all day I had said the one thing I wanted was to take a bubble bath; when I got to my room, I realized it doesn't have a damn tub! Nevertheless, the shower felt amazing, the bed is huge and comfortable, and I got to watch my Sunday night PBS British costume dramas in peace. 

Today, I relaxed in the morning, then close to lunch time decided to venture out in Northampton. The hotel staff last night was extremely hospitable, and they gave me a map of the town. 

Northampton is tiny. In a way, it reminds me of some English villages I visited in the UK because everything is so compact. You really don't need a car at all in this town. One thing that struck me was other than a Starbucks and a CVS, all of the businesses are local. It was refreshing to be in a town without McDonald's golden arches poking up every few blocks. 

As I got into town, I noticed a small bookstore, and of course I had to go there first! As you can see, it was gloriously disorganized, a beautiful mess of a salute to the greatness of the printed word:

I adored that store and stayed as long as my resistance to temptation would allow. It's probably a good thing I don't live here because the majority of my income would be spent at this shop! I looked through the literature section mostly and found some terrific stuff, most of which I put back, which took a Herculean amount of effort. In the end, I settled on a new translation of The Princess de Cleves, which is considered one of the most important works in the germination of the novel as a form of literature. I read it in a French literature class in college and adored it. My own copy disappeared several years ago, so it's great to have one again. As for the second purchase, that was a surprise for a friend. In case she's reading this, it will remain top secret for now. Sorry!

After leaving the bookshop, I roamed Main Street again. I cannot stress enough how tiny this town is. I'm surprised it isn't the setting for more movies because it is so perfect for it. 

When I started getting hungry, I discovered a chowder restaurant. Having loved clam chowder for ages, I decided to have some REAL chowder in New England! The place was a little hole in the wall, which I liked, and the girls who worked there were very sweet. I had a cup of their seafood chowder, which has clams, shrimp, and lobster in it--so delicious. 

After lunch, I asked the girls where I could buy a scarf. See, it's pretty damn cold here compared to what I'm used to in mid-May. It was in the 90s last week in South Carolina; when I was walking around today, the temperature was in the upper 40s and it was WINDY. I'm talking about-to-get-blown-down-the-street kind of windy. I had to take off my head band because it almost got blown off my head. 

After I bought my much-needed scarf, I decided to head to Smith College. Situated in the middle of town, which really means Northampton is built around it, Smith is a gorgeous campus. As you can see, the lovely (but chilly!) spring weather enhanced the campus's natural beauty: 

Many famous alumnae attended Smith, including Sylvia Plath, Gloria Steinem, and...Margaret Mitchell. I believe it is one of the oldest women's colleges in the United States, and it is definitely one of the most reputable. In fact, Smith has held this renown for a long time: Margaret Mitchell's mother, Maybelle Mitchell, insisted on her attending Smith. A passionate feminist, Maybelle was one of the most prominent Suffragettes in the Southeast and was part of the generation that got women the vote. I'll write more about Margaret Mitchell and her year at Smith tomorrow, for that is when I will be at the Smith College Archives to view their collection! Fun times to come!

I walked all over the campus, which did not take too long as it, like everything else in Northampton, is small. As I walked around, I kept trying to picture Gloria Steinem here as an undergrad in the '50s or Margaret Mitchell here in during World War I. This campus is so gorgeous and oozes history to the point where these kinds of thoughts are impossible not to have. 

Eventually, after taking an ungodly amount of pictures, I went to Smith's main library, the Neilson Library. 

When I walked in, I was struck by the lovely old-fashioned architecture in the foyer. My first thought was, "This is how a library should look." However, after asking the girl at the circulation desk a few questions, I did some exploring on my own, and my opinion changed. 

Undoubtedly, Smith has a fantastic collection of books and special materials. Yet, it's not laid out well. The library is far more difficult to navigate than Thomas Cooper - indeed, more than any library I've ever been to (including ones in the UK). The shelving is ugly, and the library only has three floors, two of which go underground. Moreover, it is mostly these two underground floors that house all of the books; the main floor mostly has computers and study areas, along with a few reference materials. Although Thomas Cooper at USC goes underground, too, there are signs all over the place telling you where to go. At Smith, you have to work to find a description of what is on which floor, and the one sign they do have is in such microscopic print that I struggled to read it. Also, it's barely lit! 

The light you see in the first picture is down the center of the shelves, and it's the only light! They have NO LIGHTS along their shelves! Look at how dark the second picture is: the majority of the library is like that. Even on their main floor, there are barely any lights. Aside from the fact that having a dark library makes reading difficult, there are so many accessibility and safety issues they have evidently not considered. Students who are visually impaired, students who need glasses, students with mobility issues and use wheelchairs, walkers, or any other kinds of devices - I could go on and on about the liability issues and potential ADA violations this darkness is courting. In addition, the library is incredibly difficult to enter if you are in a wheelchair or use a similar device to walk. I was really shocked that a college with such a high reputation, one that prides itself on championing equality, is so negligent in the design of their library. 

Nevertheless, I stayed there for a while and looked around (although I use "looked" loosely, considering how dark it is), and I searched their catalog and finding aids for material on Margaret Mitchell. Not wanting to look like an unprepared jackass when I go to the archives, I thought it best to find the location of everything I need beforehand. 

After I left the library, I wandered the campus some more and found some other interesting things. As part of Smith's athletics and extracurricular activities, there is a pond with a lovely boathouse. It is closed right now, but I went down and took some pictures anyway. I barely caught the little duck as he flew away:

I wandered a bit more around campus and continued to find real gems of architecture. These two pictures show the back of their College Center, which I guess is kind of the epicenter of campus. I love the way the ivy grows on the brick. 

The Smith College Archives were marked with a clear sign, although that clarity is not consistent once you enter the building, sadly. And I have no idea why they refer to the lower levels of the library as the "Alumnae Gymnasium." (I'll try to remember to ask tomorrow.) Still, I really enjoy the classic look of their architecture and the signs. 

Having a map of campus in the middle is quite useful, too. 

These pictures show the courtyard that is in the middle of campus. It's like a lovely meadow in the middle of campus, and the middle of Northampton. There were many people out walking. Although some were obviously students, there were older people, people with babies, pretty much people from any walk of life enjoying the campus and the lovely spring day. 

On another note, I'm not sure what these buildings are for (classes? administration?), but they are lovely. 

As my brother's name is Burt, I got a kick out of this building. 

The Lanning Fountain, which is in the center of Smith's campus, is very ornate and elegant. It celebrates the life of Smith Alumna Mary Tomlinson Lanning, which you can read about here. 

There is also a rock garden on campus. Of course, the first person I thought of was Uncle Jimmy, who was a geologist and lived to collect rocks. I felt very sad when I saw this because I can't tell him about it. Nevertheless, it was worth savoring for its beauty. 

After leaving Smith, I visited Northampton's public library, the Forbes Library. 

It was lovely inside, but perhaps not the most accessible library I've ever seen. I was not there very long, but I will re-visit tomorrow for a more in-depth post (and more pictures!). It is also the site of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum, which I did not know until I saw it inside. I did not take pictures of the inside mostly because by that point I had been walking around town for almost four hours and wanted to get back to the hotel. 

Overall, today was absolutely lovely. I had a wonderful time exploring Northampton and am excited about doing some research tomorrow. More stories to come!

For now, so long!

Laura