My friend Lainey and I are in the middle of a “photo safari” visiting every city and town in Massachusetts, taking photos along the way. This column talks about some of our favorites. This month: Mendon.
Most of my life I just assumed the Southwick Zoo was in Southwick. It’s not. It wasn’t until I actually attempted to go that I found out the zoo is 80 miles east of Southwick in Mendon. Mendon is one of those small towns southwest of Boston where, for the most part, nothing ever happened. They came close in 1789 when George Washington almost slept there. According to town folklore and a Blackstone Heritage Corridor Mendon walking tour map, George Washington was denied a room at an unnamed inn by the innkeeper’s wife. That was probably wasn’t a good business decision and I can’t imagine how the rest of their marriage went, but the town became famous for it.
A notable person born in Mendon is Lydia Chapin who in 1756, according to the New England Historical Society, became the British Colonies of the New World’s first legal woman voter, when she voted in an Uxbridge town meeting. She later became Lydia Taft when she married into the Taft dynasty. Which reminds me, there are some wicked fancy houses in Mendon. If you enjoy getting your socks knocked off by huge gated houses check out Blackstone Street and Inman Hill.
According to their own website, America’s most beloved drive-in is Mendon Twin Drive-in. The Andelman brothers of The Phantom Gourmet purchased it in 2014. It has the two biggest movie screens in the state and of course the food is great, too. Check mendondrivein.com for movie times.
No one can miss Miss Mendon Diner. It is bright red and one of the only places in town to eat until 9 p.m. You’ll know you are there when you see the horse-drawn lunch wagon at the corner of the parking lot on Uxbridge Road across from the zoo-themed miniature golfing place.
The Southwick Zoo is the reason why I, and I believe some of the 148,520 people who checked in on the Southwick Zoo’s Facebook page, go to Mendon. Southwick Zoo is Massachusetts’ largest zoo with 300 acres that began as a dairy farm on the Southwick homestead in 1803. Justin F. Southwick started collecting exotic poultry in the 1930s. In 1953 they sold of the dairy herd to concentrate on birds. In 1963 the family opened the zoo. The zoo is still family-owned and they have over 750 animals of over 100 species. My favorite things at the zoo are: the goat petting zoo where the cute chubby little goats insist they are half starved; Deer Forest where the deer are tame enough to take selfies with you; the black swans, because of the movie “Black Swan”; the sloths because we ate snacks watching these seriously cute creatures watch us.
Right now, (you can not delay) the zoo is featuring a Winter Wonderland event that ends this Sunday. It takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4:30 – 9:30 p.m. Enjoy the holiday lights while you ride the train through Deer Forest, a.k.a. “the enchanted forest.” Visit Santa at his house and meet his friends in the petting zoo. There is also an Adventure Maze where you can find Rudy the Reindeer and a Gingerbread Bakery where you can purchase tasty treats.
This year’s live entertainment is Cirque de Holiday, three 20-minute shows a night of magic, acrobats, juggling and balancing.
After this great event the zoo will be closed till the season begins again April 6. www.southwickszoo.com.
And something did legit happen in Mendon — Aerosmith performed their first public performance. According to ultimateclassicrock.com, On November 6, 1970, Aerosmith played Nipmuc Regional High School (now Miscoe Hill Middle School) and music destiny was set in motion. Steven Tyler’s mother, who worked in a nearby school, pulled some strings and the band got hired and paid $50. Music destiny was set in motion and eventually Mendon got its dot on the map.
Michelle Pontbriant works in the Gazette’s circulation department. Follow along with her photo safari at
facebook.com/laineyandmichelle.