— A Southwick Time Machine Original | Tribute Long before she became the legendary Ms. Newman of Southwick High School, Jean Margaret Trombla had already shown an extraordinary gift for words. She won national writing contests, studied journalism, published poetry, and even spent time working in Hollywood before finding her true calling in the classroom. This is the Southwick Time Machine's tribute to the late, great Ms. Newman. Jean Margaret Trombla’s story begins in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she was born on November 29, 1931, to Daniel C. Trombla and Margaret E. (Miller) Trombla. During this time, the Tromblas lived at 167 Massachusetts Avenue. Around 1932, they moved to 106 Amherst Street and eventually relocated to 194 School Street in Agawam. Jean grew up alongside her older brother, Alan J. Trombla. While living in Springfield, the family attended Hope Congregational Church.    Jean M. Trombla, circa 1944   In 1947, while a junior at Technical H...

  — A Southwick Time Machine Original   On a Tuesday, April 30, 1844, a grim discovery was made in the Connecticut River at Suffield. A body had been found floating in the river. Authorities believed the deceased was a man around fifty years old. He wore black pantaloons and a vest, but no coat. There was little to immediately identify him, though the contents of his pockets offered several clues. Among his possessions were a pocketbook marked "E. F. P. Jeffreys'," a three-bladed knife bearing the name Perkins, a pair of silver-bowed spectacles, a half-dollar piece, and a vial labeled "Moore's Essence of Life," a popular patent medicine of the era.   A bottle labeled "Essence of Life"   As was customary, a jury of inquest was assembled to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. After examining the body and evidence, the jurors returned a verdict of accidental drowning. The body appeared to have been in the river for several weeks. Beyo...

— A Southwick Time Machine Historical Record | Medical Mystery   Mary Bronson was the only daughter of John Bronson of Russell, Massachusetts. In 1845, the four-year-old fell ill and began complaining of distress in her stomach. Shortly after, she vomited a live toad, which remained alive for about twelve hours after being expelled from her stomach. The toad measured two and a half inches from its mouth to the end of its body, with its body and lower extremities measuring five inches and a circumference of three and a half inches. Whether the event occurred exactly as described is impossible to determine today, as no known medical examination survived. For Mary Bronson, however, the reported incident was only a brief episode in a much longer life.   An imagined 1800s medical school illustration of the toad's internal structure   Born on July 30, 1840, Mary spent her early years in Western Massachusetts. By the time she reached adulthood, she was living in Westfield, where...

Content Note: This account includes events that may be unsettling to some readers.   — A Southwick Time Machine Original Series | The Longyard   Paris Green: Poison in the Longyard   Duane A. Rising was born in Southwick, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1838. He married Estella G. Marvin in November 1858.  The couple initially lived on Estella's father's Southwick farm, where Duane earned a living as a peddler. Eventually, Duane purchased a large farm in the Long Yard section of Southwick, near the Suffield, Connecticut, line, where the couple raised their family.  The couple's children included William Henry, Arthur Duane, Edith Emeline, and Stella Emily. Another child, Herbert, known as “Herbie,” died in infancy at about six months old. Duane was well-known throughout the area. Folks said that he became “despondent at intervals.” During one of these periods, he took Paris Green. Paris Green, an arsenic compound used as a pigment, insecticide, and rodent pois...