Video clip of the water, wildlife, and garbage at Mill River (ca. 1991)

Item Information

Title:
Video clip of the water, wildlife, and garbage at Mill River (ca. 1991)
Description:
Video clip of the water, wildlife, and garbage at Mill River in 1991. The lake is closed off. The video is the recorders trying to get video of the lake behind the yellow caution tape that says, "Fire Line Do Not Cross," and orange gates that say, "Closed." There are close-up videos of the garbage and medical waste in the lake including baby blocks, flammable oil cans, and a turtle sitting on a pile of plastic. There are children riding their bikes through the area that is suppose to be closed off. There is an empty garbage can in the grassy area near the lake that has a sign on it that says, "Pitch In Springfield Clean Up Program." The video is about 10 minutes long. The video starts with about 5 seconds of colored bars. The end of the video is about 30 seconds of an extended black screen. This tape seems to be a continuation of the tape, "Lake Massasoit Medical Waste I #16." The tape is listed as "Lake Massasoit Medical Waste II #17" and comes from a series of 28 Betacam video tapes that is believed to be raw video that may have been used in the documentary "The Lost River: The story of the Mill River". In 1809, Lake Massasoit was formed by the army by damming the Mill River. The purpose of the dam was to ensure a constant flow of water downstream for the Springfield Armory “Watershops.” The Springfield Armory was America’s first and last National Armory, formed in 1777 and continuing production up until 1968. The formerly named Watershops Pond has 7 miles of shoreline and covers 186 acres. From 1892-1900, the buildings of Springfield College began to come about, and the name was changed to Lake Massasoit by Springfield College officials. The name came from a local hotel, the Massasoit House, owned by Marvin Chapin, a generous benefactor of the college. In 1920, the college purchased a large area of land on the upper end of the pond, and called it the “Freshman Camp.” Since the college was formed, students, faculty and visitors have used the Pond for sailing, swimming, ice skating and fishing. However, the lake was officially closed for swimming in 1984 when the lake was said to be unhealthy.
Date:
[1991?]
Format:
Film/Video
Genre:
Betacam
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Subjects:
Springfield College
Springfield College--Campus
Lake Massasoit
Springfield (Mass.)
Lakes & ponds
Pollution
Audiovisual materials
Rivers
Gates
Medical equipment & supplies
Fire
Oil spills
Blocks (Toys)
Turtles
Children
Bicycles & tricycles
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Extent:
00:10:24
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/23297
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Identifier:
rg149-03-01-24-021