by Jay Ducharme
(All text and images copyright Jay Ducharme 2022)

INSTALLATION AT HERITAGE PARK I met up with Mel at the Holyoke Heritage Park Visitor's Center on July 12 to discuss where the model would be displayed. He said the park had recently undergone a review by the state ADA office and needed better compliance. I thought that was perversely amusing, since the state itself had built the building. Mel told me about another Visitor's Center in the state that was a brand new construction, and absurdly it just failed its ADA review. So obviously there was something that needed tweaking in Boston's review process. But because of all this, Mel wasn't sure about locating the model on the second level. Although there was an elevator to get there, evidently the state felt that wasn't good enough. Ironically, there was no easy way for someone in a wheelchair to get to the first level either, since the building entrance was located between the first and second floors. So that left us with the lobby, which is where Charlie (Mel's predecessor) had wanted the display to be located. At that time the lobby was pretty cluttered, with three scraggly 12-foot-high trees in giant planters and a haphazard collection of wooden benches, plus a long row of glass display cases. Mel was eager to get rid of the trees, which really didn't look all that good anyway. We talked about where in the lobby the display could go. Given that we'd need to ensure that a wheelchair could easily navigate around the entire model, the only place to accommodate that need would be the center of the lobby. The model would be the first thing people would see as they entered. One big benefit was that the lobby would be more closely monitored than other areas of the building. I began construction of the model base. My concept was to make a plywood box that would fit underneath the model's edge. I'd assemble the box with angle braces that could be bolted into the floor. When the model was placed on top of the box, I could screw it in place so it couldn't be moved. I found appropriate braces online. Years ago I had created a replica of the 1960s Mountain Park billboard (which is at the top of this page) to make merchandise for the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round. I tweaked the design and ordered a vinyl version of it that was 3 feet long so I could mount it to the front and rear of the box as my "ballyhoo". I had a big-box store cut finished plywood sheets for me, since I couldn't fit 4'x8' sheets in our car. I gasped at the price: $67 per sheet. That's about three times the cost of a few years ago. I found it amusing that you could no longer get the old standard of 3/4" thick plywood. In another example of "shrinkflation", plywood sheets were now sold 1/32" thinner. After a few weeks, the hardware and banners arrived. I knew how much abuse displays can get, so I purposely ordered really beefy hardware. I attached most of the braces to the end pieces, so when the time came I could transport the box flat and then assemble it onsite. I decided to paint the box grey to match the model base and banner. And I figured that I should also add a kickplate to the bottom edge. The more I examined the wood, the more I noticed the numerous imperfections in the supposedly top-quality wood. There was a lot of wood putty, and the manufacturer didn't even try to smooth it out. There were missing chunks and uneven sections. So I got some wood putty and filled in all of the gaps. That took a few days, gradually building it up and sanding it smooth. When that was done, I primed all the wood with a roller. I got some good quality grey semi-gloss paint and a few days later gave it a coat of grey. A few days after that I put on a second coat. I made sure I covered the edge that was going to sit on the floor (along with the brackets there) to help seal it against any moisture. The Visitor's Center had problems with roof leaks in the past, and I didn't want bare wood to wick up any water, nor have the brackets start to rust. I didn't want to just tack the banners onto the front. That would look ... tacky. So I got some carpet transition strips (at an absurd $17 for a 6 foot section). And I decided there was no need for two banners. The one on the back would be facing the glass display cabinets, so it wouldn't really be seen. Just one on the front was plenty. I cut the aluminum strips to fit like a picture frame around the banner. The strips came with matching nails. They were much too long, so I had to cut each one down to three-quarters of an inch. Naturally, I had to screw something up. When I cut the top and bottom pieces, I had the bevel positioned on the outside. When I cut the side pieces, I had the bevel on the inside. This is why I never became a professional tradesman: I generally suck at it. I had a realization that it would be a bad idea to bring the pieces of the base to Heritage Park and assemble it there. Given how inaccurate my craftsmanship was, there was a high probability that after assembling it on-site, I'd discover that the model didn't fit onto it. So I decided to assemble the base at home so I could test-fit everything. It didn't take me too long to put it all together. I was fortunate in that when I completed assembling it, I had just one screw to spare. The base weighed a lot more than I expected, which was a good thing. I figured I'd add the molding around the base when it was at the park. But as it was, it didn't look too bad. The next challenge I ran into was getting the base up to Heritage Park. I contacted several of my friends to help me 1) put the model on top to make sure it fit, and 2) hoist the base out of the basement and get it into our Subaru. But none of them were available. Karen said she could help me if the base had handles on it. So I bought some crate handles (more heavy steel hardware) and attached them to the inside ends of the base. We tried lifting it up, but it was still far too heavy for us. So instead, I strapped it to a hand truck, then we heaved it up the basement stairs that way. It was physically extremely challenging. Karen pushed the hand truck from below while I pulled from above. Ironically, we never used the handles. When we finally got it outside, we hoisted it into our Subaru, across a tarp I had set down inside it. The hatch wouldn't close so I had to strap it down. And on August 24, I brought it up to Heritage Park. Mel met me at the Visitor's Center. He had a hand truck there and we wheeled it inside the building. He had cleared out most of the clutter. We moved a few more things around and settled on where the base would go. He said he wanted to attach the base to the floor with just three screws. I was hoping for at least four bolts, and preferably more. He had a hammer drill and Tapcom screws. We centered the base and lined it up parallel with the bricks on the floor. We marked off the bracket positions and then he drilled three holes in the floor: one on each end and then one in the front. The first screw snapped off halfway in. So he had to redrill that one. The floor's brick inlay seemed to be the problem. Even the hammer drill had trouble cutting through it. I suggested putting washers on the screws so that they'd hold more securely. After a few minutes, the screws were installed and the base was in place. It would be another week before I could return with the model. Something else on the model that had been bugging me was the fence around the mini-golf course. There wasn't just a fence enclosing the east side; there was also a leafy hedge that ran along the sidewalk leading to the blue pavilion (the former location of the Tap Room and ballroom). I had a lot of the powdery green flecks left over from the cheap trees I had bought. But I knew I couldn't congeal them properly into anything resembling bushes. So I rummaged around my model railroad accessories and found a set of scenic H0 scale bushes. The pliable leafy material on them was perfect, and I was able to peel it cleanly off of their plastic branches. I ran a bead of 3-in-1 glue along the base of the mini-golf fence and smushed the leafy material into it. It looked pretty decent when I was done. I also fixed a few broken ties along the roller coaster track. I knew I wasn't going to have time to attempt to place railing along the track. I also knew there were sections of track that didn't look quite right. I could easily have spent a few more months tweaking everything on the model. But on Wednesday, August 31, I put the wood cover onto the model. Karen and I carried it out of the basement and put it into the Subaru and I brought it up to Heritage Park. Once again, Mel met me as I drove up next to the Visitor's Center. We carried the model into the lobby, removed the cover and then set the model down onto the base. It didn't fit. My end dropped into place, but his end (on the left of the model) wouldn't. The model base wasn't the problem. It turned out that I hadn't built the model square. The back left corner angled in about a quarter inch. When I had measured the model's inside diameter for the base, I measured only along one side and assumed I had built it square. But Mel got a knife and began whittling away at the wood under the model. He'd shave some off, then we'd test fit it again. We kept repeating that process until the model began to seat properly. But it still wouldn't settle all the way down. So I told Mel to get me a hammer. He brought me one, along with a piece of 1x4 wrapped in cloth. And I began hammering away on the stubborn corner. I wouldn't need to screw the model onto the base; once it was finally in place, it would take a sledgehammer to remove it. Another welcome side effect was that those cheap trees began shaking off all their loose material. By the time I was finished hammering, the model was covered with green flecks. I also unfortunately shook loose the two Tempest umbrellas that had broken a few months earlier. Fortunately, Nancy, one of the workers at the Visitor's Center, had a hot glue gun and I was able to quickly reattach them. Then a vacuum cleaner in reverse cleared all the flecks off the model. Next, Mel brought out the plexiglass cover that FLN-MAR had made. It was still shrouded in bubble wrap. So we peeled it all off to reveal a beautifully crafted cover with welded beveled edges. It was a work of art. Mel got us some rubber gloves so we wouldn't mark it up. We gently lowered it in place and it fit perfectly. I drilled two small holes into each end and inserted a screw with a fender washer to hold the cover in place. And with that, the model was finally completed. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely stick with 3D printing for all the buildings in the park. It would have allowed me much more precision and flexibility. But still, there was something visually interesting about the various textures on the model because of the mixed media. The buildings made of card stock felt "older" somehow. My aim in building the model was to give future generations a glimpse of the magical park that graced Holyoke for nearly a century, and give them an appreciation for what the city once had. Hopefully, I was able to achieve that. But that will be for future generations to determine. Although the model was now done, there were still the two seven-foot-tall Mt. Park display panels I was going to create, plus the display cabinet that I was going to stock with memorabilia. But those were for another day. Mel and Nancy decided to have a "reveal" of the new lobby on Saturday, October 1, which would mark 35 years since Mountain Park closed forever. Hopefully, the display will be a fitting tribute to the shady getaway on the side of Mount Tom that still remains such an important part of my own history. Addendum: The panels turned out really well. The October 1 unveiling brought about 20 people to the Visitor's Center. Nancy at Heritage Park had covered the model with a silky black cloth. I gave a brief presentation and whipped the cloth off to applause. The people gathered were very appreciative and had some wonderful stories about the park. It was a wonderful event and Mel was pleased. So I hope the display will continue to enthrall generations of visitors.