The National Park not as good as the Springfield Museum

Easthampton, MA
Northampton/Springfield KOA

I drove over here yesterday--yes the weather was perfect.  As we were coming through town, the road came to a "T".  There was a warning that there was an 11 foot underpass.  Unfortunately, the sign didn't mention if it was to our left or right.  I followed the GPS hoping we made the correct turn.  I'm glad I didn't remember that I had it in auto mode instead of the RV mode that is suppose to avoid low underpasses.  

I went into the campground office to register and tossed the keys to Bill when I came out.  Our escort lead us straight up this dirt road and you had to dodge trees everywhere.  It wasn't a straight road and thankfully we learned later that it was a one way.  No way could two vehicles meet on that road. 

Today we drove to Springfield to tour the National Springfield Armory.  It sounded like something Bill would really enjoy.  We love the National Parks but this wasn't well done.  I was really disappointed.  One of the rangers was very friendly and tried to make it a great experience.  

I made sure I took a photo of Bill before he went in.  I figured we'd be there all day.  

The arsenal was selected for it's location as it was inland and difficult for the British to get there hands on it. It was established in 1777.  George Washington said, "if we are to secure peace one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity it must be known that we are at all times ready for war."

In 1794 the federal government chose to manufacture its own muskets so that they would be completely independent of having to use foreign firearms.  Springfield and Harper's Ferry were selected to be the armories.  

Before the lathe was invented, production of a musket stock took 14 hours to produce.  By 1950 a worker could produce one stock per man per minute.  

It's amazing how the factory advanced, progressing through the years as seen by the development of its machinery.

 The Women Ordinance Workers (WOW) wore these kerchiefs.  They were worn to boost morale during the war, but it actually helped keep their hair from getting caught in the machinery. 






I guess I thought there would have been more information on the building, the industrial revolution, and the workers.

I thought this was an interesting mishap display.  The top musket was struck by lightning.  

There was a video, but it never played the entire time we were there.  I asked the park ranger and he said he'd turn it on for us.  No announcement was made so others could view it and so we were the only ones in the theater.  

I thought this gun from the Tuskegee Airman--Red Tails was historical and different. 

This was impressive, but the only description on the whole thing was called the organ of muskets and a poem that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote.  I wanted to know how many guns were on there.  I finally went back up to the desk and asked how many muskets were on the organ.  I was told that rack had 645 on it, but if it were full could hold 1,100.  This is how they stored them.  

I don't know if you can see from this photo how many inside rows there are.  

There were displays on WW1, WW2, Korean, Viet Nam, and other military encounters .  I might I also mention that these were all in excellent condition.  

This was the spiral staircase in the Armory tower.  I had no idea what it was until I returned home and read it in the brochure.  There was nothing that told you what it was in the building.  

I was so disappointed for Bill.  I wanted to surprise him with this National Park that I thought with his love of history would be perfect.  It wasn't horrible, but we've seen so many that were done better.  

The Armory was used for 174 years and became a National Park in 1974.

We were finished so quickly that we made another stop, but I'll save it for tomorrow.

Turtle Safely...........