This year’s Quabbin History Calendar is the 40th annual edition, and it could also be the final one.

J.R. Greene has produced a calendar every year since the mid-1980s and, as a result, is running out of photos of the towns and villages that were flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir in the late 1930s.

“It’s getting tougher and tougher to find winter photos for January and February,” he said. “I’ve gone through all the town halls and stores — even most of the roadside stands.”

An act of the state Legislature disincorporated Dana, Prescott, Enfield and Greenwich on April 28, 1938, allowing for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation first took numerous black-and-white photographs of the disincorporated towns for posterity before the flooding occurred.

When you do the math, Greene has used at least 480 of these photos in his calendars. The 2025 edition includes images of a school, a summer camp, a sawmill and two meat wagons.

“The theme of this calendar is to honor the villages of the former Swift and Ware River valleys, and their way of life,” Greene wrote on an introductory first page. “This calendar is dedicated to the memory of the people who once lived in those places.”

The bound calendar’s cover once again includes a photo of Enfield Town Hall, the site of the Farewell Ball on April 27, 1938, when some residents danced the night away before their four towns were officially disincorporated at the stroke of midnight. The disincorporation displaced 2,500 people, and 34 cemeteries — consisting of 7,613 graves — were removed, as were 31½ miles of railroad. Thirty-six miles of highway were relocated and 242 miles were abandoned.

Greene, 69, makes his living as a collectibles dealer specializing in ephemera, or materials that were written or printed without the intent of being preserved or collected, such as letters, postcards, booklets and pamphlets. But he mentioned he had Highland Press in Athol print fewer copies because sales were down 10% last year. He also said it takes a great deal work to determine when the retail outlets he uses run low on his products. This often requires him to drive to various smaller stores throughout the region to check their inventory.

“It’s a lot of running around to do this,” Greene said.

The calendar retails for $16.95 and is available at outlets throughout Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, including World Eye Bookshop and Federal Street Books in Greenfield. Anyone who is interested in purchasing a copy can also send Greene an email at jrg01331@webtv.net, though sales tax and shipping costs are added if a calendar is ordered through the mail.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.