I enjoyed the debut column by Joe Gannon earlier this month, and look forward to more of them.
However, please inform Gannon that he ought to familiarize himself with local geography if he is going to write about the region.
Tell him that there is no Mount Skinner in Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke, named after its discoverer in the 1600s, has considerable fame. The town of Holyoke, Mount Holyoke College, the Holyoke mountain range (which is the only mountain range east of the Mississippi River that runs east and west, instead of north and south) all are named after the mountain.
Casual visitors are probably misled by the road sign, “Skinner State Park,” which points to the mountain. B.F. Skinner, founder of the Skinner Silks and Satins factory in Holyoke, bought the famous Mountain House and its surrounding territory and later donated it to the state of Massachusetts to form a park which bears his name.
He also built The Orchards Golf Course, near the base of the mountain, for the use of his daughter. The entire 18-hole course was later donated to Mount Holyoke College.
Curtis Smith
South Hadley
The author is an emeritus professor at Mount Holyoke College.