WOC and WRLF present "a Layman's History of Williamstown's Trees" on 1/18 at 11 am in Paresky Aud.

WOC and the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation (WRLF) will be hosting a talk by Dustin Griffin titled “A Layman’s History of Williamstown’s Trees” on Saturday, January 18 at 11 a.m. at the Paresky Center Auditorium of Williams College.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

The illustrated lecture begins with the accounts of early travelers in 18th century, continues through the clearing of land for farms, and subsequent reforestation when farms were abandoned, the loss of trees to natural as well as human causes, tree planting projects, and the heyday of Main Street as a leafy avenue lined with majestic elms. It includes stories of famous old trees and photos of many of the biggest surviving trees today.

Since retiring ten years ago from a 40-year career as professor of English Literature, Dusty Griffin has been doing research and writing on topics in the local history of Williamstown. He is the author of Williamstown and Williams College: Explorations in Local History, published in 2018 by the University of Massachusetts Press. He was a long-time member of the board of trustees of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, and continues as a member of its Trails Committee. He and his wife live in Williamstown.  

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