From http://www.chesterhistoricalsociety.org  —

Exciting lineup for The Rabbit Maranville (Springfield, MA) Chapter’s Sept. 26 meeting!  Please note that Howard Bryant will appear in person and Steve Kettman by Skype.  Here is Maranville President Jim Winston’s email with details:

SOCIETY for AMERICAN BASEBALL RESEARCH

SABR

WALTER RABBIT MARANVILLE CHAPTER

SPRINGFIELD MASSACHUSETTS

Next Meeting – Monday September 26, 2016

TIME:                                    7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.

WHERE:                               Bears Den – Lower Level of the Campus Center

Western New England University

1215 Wilbraham Road

Springfield, MA 01119

REGISTRATION FEE:      $5.00

SPEAKERS:         HOWARD BRYANT: will be presenting about all topics of baseball, including the Boston Red Sox.

Howard Bryant writes weekly columns for ESPN.com and is often a panelist on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters.” Mr. Bryant is the author of “Shut Out-A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston”;  “The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron” and “Legends: The Best Players, Games and Teams in Baseball.”

STEVE KETTMAN: Will be presenting on his books: “One Day at Fenway” and “Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball & Revived the Mets.”

Refreshments will be served and there will be a new selection of  baseball books, hats, and other baseball related items for sale.

If you have any questions, please call the following:

Steve Manioudakis (President)         413-427-4681 or stavkim@charter.net

Jim Winston (VP/Secretary)             413-584-1110 or james@jameswinsonlaw.com

From the East and West (Boston, Albany) via the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90):

Leave the Mass. Pike at Exit 6. Turn left onto I-291. Take Exit 5 off I-291 (“Route 20-A West to East Springfield”). Bear right at the end of the exit ramp on Page Blvd. Take the left at the first light onto Roosevelt Ave. Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles to the intersection with Wilbraham Road (fifth traffic light). Turn left onto Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles through the second light. Turn right into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 5.6 miles from Mass. Pike.)

From the North via Interstate 91:

Leave I-91 at Exit 8, (“Ludlow, Boston 1-291”). Travel to Exit 5B, (“East Springfield”). Turn right off of the ramp onto Page Blvd. At the first traffic light, turn left onto Roosevelt Ave. Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles to the intersection with Wilbraham Road (fifth traffic light). Turn left onto to Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles through the second light. Turn right into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 8.6 miles from I-91)

From the South via Interstate 91:

Leave I-91 at Exit 2 (“East Longmeadow”). Follow signs (“Route 83”) to the light at the intersection of Longhill and Sumner Ave. Turn right onto umner Ave. Travel straight on Sumner Ave. (which becomes Allen St.) to the traffic light at the intersection of Allen St. and Bradley Road (3.2 miles). Turn left onto radley Road and travel 1.6 miles to Wilbraham Rd. and turn right. Travel 0.2 miles and turn right, into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 5.7 miles from I-91.)

The Insurer that guaranteed the construction of Dunkin Donuts Park has finally finished its due diligence and will move forward to complete the ballpark.  Here is Steven Goode’s story in today’s Hartford Courant:

– See more at: http://digitaledition.courant.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=42b0c3d5-1917-4335-a5ca-ad11b68df2bf&t=1473251379180#sthash.UNphNoak.dpuf

Roy Blount, author of 24 books and longtime Sports Illustrated Senior Contributor, will speak at the Mark Twain house in November.  You may remember his piece on the 1969 Cubs.  Here is the press release from the MTH…..

# Roy Blount Jr.: A “Mark My Words” Event

Thursday, November 17, 6:00 p.m. VIP Reception – 7:30 p.m. Event

The Mark Twain House & Museum is pleased to present acclaimed author Roy Blount Jr.for a Mark My Words event. Blount will read from his latest book, Save Room for Pie, a lively compendium of essays, poems, songs, limericks, and news stories (both fake and real) about food. Blount will speak at the Lincoln Financial Auditorium in The Mark Twain House & Museum on Thursday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m., preceded by a VIP reception at 6:00 p.m.

Roy Blount Jr. is a highly accomplished writer with a versatile and distinctly humorous style. His subjects have ranged from the Pittsburgh Steelers (About Three Bricks Shy of a Load ) toDuck Soup, the Marx Brothers’ war satire  (Hail, Hail Euphoria!) to two delightful examinations of words, usage, and letters themselves (Alphabet Juice and Alphabetter Juice).

His second book, Crackers, prompted Norman Mailer to say, “Page for page, Roy Blount is as funny as anyone I’ve read in a long time.”

Blount is a panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me, ex-president of the Authors Guild, a member of PEN and the Fellowship of Southern Authors, a New York Public Library Literary Lion, a Boston Public Library Literary Light, a usage consultant to the American Heritage Dictionary, and an original member of the Rock Bottom Remainders.

Copies of Save Room for Pie will be available for purchase.

The Mark Twain House & Museum’s Mark My Words series is generously sponsored by The Hartford, Wish You Well Foundation, and Hoffman Auto Group.

$25.00 MTH&M Members – Advance ticket sales for members only will be available on Thursday, September 8 at 10:00 a.m.

$30.00 General Public – On sale Monday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m.

$75 VIP Reception with Roy – Save room for pie, coffee, and conversation from 6:00 to 7:00. VIP tickets include priority seating for the 7:30 event.