Good Golly…Missed Trolley Presentation

Special Event!

Good Golly….Missed Trolley

Presentation on the Huckleberry Trolley Line

Sunday March 22nd at 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Parking: Chester Railway Museum, 10 Prospect Street, Chester, MA 01011

Our 2026 Educational series continues with a historical presentation

Join special guest, Steve Cormier, local author of three Hilltown History books. The Sacrificial Land, Life and Times of Parley B. Hutchins, and now, Good Golly…Missed Trolley.

A power point presentation surrounding Good Golly…Missed Trolley, will cover the evolution and impact of the trolley system which progressed to the electric trolley that revolutionized mass urban travel. The presentation will focus on the direct impact that trolley systems once had within Western Massachusetts. The “Hilltown Delima” will be discussed; a lack of trolley service within this greater area, which contributed to population loss and economic despair. Unfortunately, the Huckleberry line would not provide the service that the Hilltown area desperately needed. Presentation will also cover the New Haven Railroad’s numerous monopoly attempts to control overall transportation in the western part of the state.

Trolley photos: George Ford Collection. The Good Golly book will be for sale at the event.

All events are free for our members; all are welcome and donations are appreciated. Suggested donation is $15. Registration is NOT required.

Please email westernmasshilltownhikers@aol.com or call/text 413-302-0312 if you have any questions. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube. See all our events, maps, blog and photos at www.hilltownhikers.com 

Learn about Steve here…

My working career was as a manufacturing sales representative, working for various paper mills. In 2016, my wife and I decided to “downsize” from our longstanding home in Connecticut.  We wanted to stay in New England. We were fortunate to find a nice location adjacent to the middle branch of the Westfield River, here in Huntington.

My “writing career” began in 2022 at the age of 74. Watching too much news… I was fed up with the high price of gas…..”is there a conspiracy between a political party and oil companies to drive up prices to make the incumbent party look bad to swing the elections in the upcoming mid -terms”? 

This thought inspired me to write my first book…Oil Change. Obviously fiction….had a lot of fun writing it and was very proud of how it came out.  Maybe a sequel!? Oil Change came out 9/22.

My next book, Life and Times of Parley B. Hutchins, came out exactly a year later, 9/23. My inspiration for this book was seeing wooden beams in the middle branch in an area of my property.  It appeared there may have been a mill located here at one time. Through research, found out that a man named Parley Hutchins manufactured wooden bowls there and lived on the property in which we are now located.  In researching Parley Hutchins, I discovered that he was murdered at his mill site in 1880. His murder remained unsolved. I thought to myself…”this would make a great book” !

The Sacrificial Land came out on 10/24.  Spending much time researching Parley; I became interested in further researching the Hilltown area. I spent some time at the Chester Museum and was fortunate to meet Jean Bush at the museum. Jean Elder Bush was born and raised in Littleville. Her family tree, the Elder’s , go back to the original settlers of the area. Jean had fond memories of Littleville, having left at age 18 when she married. Jean had four large binder photos of Littleville, including the dam construction. Talking to Jean, seeing her photos, researching the Littleville and Knightville Dam project and why they were built….inspired me to write The Sacrificial Land. 

Good Golly….Missed Trolley, my fourth book, was finished on Valentines day, February 14, 2026. A year in the making; it was inspired by a good friend, Bill McVeigh. Bill is a “local historian” within the area. Bill came up with the suggestion of writing a book on the local trolley systems. He had a good amount of material on the subject that he lent me.  The more I researched, the more excited I got over how much of an impact the trolley had on the turn of the 20th century generation.  I am really happy how Good Golly…Missed Trolley came out, especially how it relates to what I call the “Hilltown Delima”. 

Want to hike every weekend year round? Become a Hilltown Hiker Member! Get access to our private Messenger Group Text with hike and event announcements that are member exclusive events.  You can sign up securely with a credit card on our shopping page here 

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Tees, hoodies, hats, patches, water bottles and safety vests will be for sale by donation at the event.  See all our events, maps, blog and photos at www.hilltownhikers.com Please keep our beautiful places clean and carry in and carry out.

Donate here:

Via our website Western Mass Hilltown Hikers

Via Paypal at paypal.me/hilltownhikers 

Via Venmo:  @hilltownhikers

Via Square: Home | Western Mass Hilltown Hikers (square.site)  

GROUP HIKES AND TOURS SINCE 2010

Mission Statement:  Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes to engage in all legal activities relating to the development, maintenance and operation of historical properties and tours, recreational hiking and outdoor adventure in Western Massachusetts.  Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, Inc. provides monthly, guided group tours of historical hiking destinations in various locations of Western Massachusetts. We also provide volunteer trail maintenance for trails, maintain our historic conserved properties and provide educational presentations to other civic groups, non-profit organizations, libraries and schools.  We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization incorporated in the State of Massachusetts. Tax ID #86-2532249