One month ago, a tornado caused serious damage to buildings in Conway and Goshen, MA. Fortunately, no one in Conway or Goshen was hurt, but the area suffered severe damage including the loss of a 300-year-old barn, roof damage to the United Congregational Church in downtown Conway, and hundreds of felled trees. According to Masslive, this was the first tornado in February since official tornado statistics began to be kept in 1950.
Our Conway campus, which is currently used for administrative offices and as a field station for students, miraculously escaped major structural damage from the many trees, mostly white pines, that fell on the property. After a $20,000 tree cleanup and a visit from Eversource, power is restored and the campus is once again accessible. The following photographs by Mollie Babize ’84 show the dramatic aftermath of the tornado on our campus. The header photograph above was taken in the town of Conway by Dave Weber ’15.
Mature white pines, knocked down by the 100-mile-per-hour winds, completely blocked access to the driveway. Photo: Mollie Babize ’84
Power lines on campus snapped at the base, but power was restored within a few days. Photo: Mollie Babize ’84
The sturdy shed withstood the young maple tree that snapped on top of it. Photo: Mollie Babize ’84
Pine branches from a fallen tree grazed the sliding glass doors in Studio B. Photo: Mollie Babize ’84
The Conway campus building survived without structural damage.
If you are interested in helping us with ongoing efforts to clean up the Conway campus, please contact campus manager Dave Weber.
UPDATE:
All of the potentially hazardous tree cleanup has been completed, but there is a great deal of small debris to gather up as well as some minor driveway repair needed in the wake of the heavy traffic of trucks and machinery.
We will be holding a volunteer workday Sunday, April 30th from 10:00-2:00 to tackle these remaining tasks. We will have a number of rakes, shovels, tarps, and at least one wheelbarrow available. We will provide pizza, salad, and assorted local beverages for your enjoyment afterwards!
If you are interested in participating, please RSVP so that we can make sure to have enough food and drink for everyone. If you have any questions, please contact campus manager Dave Weber.