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Town
Spotlight: Ashfield
By
Eve Brown-Waite
April
4, 2001
This
week we shine our spotlight on Ashfield, for three very
good reasons. 1) I needed an excuse to get up there and
try Country Pie Pizza. 2) It starts with an A.
3) I was overdue for my annual pilgrimage to the
birthplace of Cecil B. DeMille. Carole Groman, who has
lived in Ashfield for 17 years and is no worse for the
wear, volunteered to be our virtual tour guide of this
quaint little town.
When
we left Greenfield it was a bright clear day. A splendid
day for a road trip, we thought. We arrived in Ashfield
20 minutes later ensconced in our own little blizzard.
Ashfield: a little like being inside of a snowglobe! So
we ducked inside Elmer's General Store – an
interesting mix of local products and local history. They are known for their great sandwiches, baked goods and
warm, friendly service. And their nearly famous Sunday
Brunch is back! Stop by on Sunday from 8 to 11:30 a.m.
and see what's on the menu (and on the shelves).
Next
stop was the famous Country Pie Pizza – where, I'd
been told, I could find the best pizza in Franklin
County. We had a hard time finding the place, since its
sign blew away in a recent storm. But we found our way
to Ashfield Hardware & Supply, and then followed our
noses to Country Pie right next door. In fact, Ashfield
Hardware & Supply is a great place to browse while
you're waiting for your pizza. For those of you not
particularly turned on by hardware (but really, who
isn't?), it's still a great place to browse. Sure
they've got hardware, but they've also got candy, toys
(the good wooden kind that hardly anyone sells
anymore!), games, birdseed and feeders, rubber boots in
assorted bright colors and, of course, fresh local eggs!
According
to Nancy Hoff and Laura Bessette, owners of Ashfield
Hardware & Supply, the two top-selling, year-round,
most frequently asked for items are duct tape and hose
clamps. So now you know what really holds Ashfield
together! Between the duct tape and the candy, I
literally had to drag my husband and my kids out of
there. But the pizza next door was worth the dragging.
Country Pie is definitely among the best (maybe even THE
best ... but I hate to commit) pizza in the county.
As
she served us our pizza, Jessi Lanoue told me what makes
Ashfield special. "Everyone here is one of a kind,
" she said. "I've lived here all my life. And
I'm fortunate to live here."
Our
tour guide, Carole, agrees that Ashfield is a special
place. "There are lots of artisans and craftspeople
and even a small book publisher in town. We have a great
lake and park, Gray's Sugarhouse with its rustic,
natural ambience, and two golf courses. I've got
to go to the post office to pick up my own mail, but I
can walk outside my door at night and see the
stars."
So
visit Ashfield: where the mail is not delivered to your
door but the Big Dipper is.
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