Wachusett Mountain

Another recollection (Don Whittemore). I remember going up to Wachusett Mtn. when the old hotel was still there on the top. A few times I was able to go inside. When the hotel was still on the mountain, it made quite a distinctive shape to the mountain from a distance. When I was quite young, I remember going up on the mountain with my father when a civil air patrol would be watching planes that flew over - probably the latter 1940s or early 1950s. There were sheets with profiles of many different types of planes. Perhaps radar was not as good then as later so the patrol still served some purpose. Also, about the time I was in the later part of elementary school or in high school, I remember that many people and scientists went to the top of the mountain to view a solar eclipse. Some of the scientists had some special equipment. It turned out to be a disappointment for many because it was cloudy. All it did was to get dark and turn light again. In high school, I would sometimes ride up the "up" road on my bicycle from my home and then zoom down the "down" road back to my house. I also climbed the mountain several times on trails. In the winter I would occasionally ski on the mountain (before the ski area was built there were two narrow amateur ski trails, one intermediate and one expert. Many times I would get a ride to the mountain and then I had to hike up the trail to ski down - one really appreciated lifts after that.  Other times, I would get a ride with someone else driving up the mountain when the roads were plowed.