By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
WESTHAMPTON - On the front porch of the South Road home he and his wife have shared for more than 20 years, Daniel Krug points out the special windows he had installed to improve his view of Mount Holyoke. It is a view he will miss dearly when he moves out.
With plans to relocate soon to his son's house on Northwest Road in Westhampton, where the couple will stay until their new digs are ready in Westhampton Woods, the town's senior housing complex, Krug was more than happy to give a visitor a tour of his home and the treasures he has filled it with over the years.
Brushing past the cardboard boxes piled near the front door, Krug, 86, presented each room one by one, pausing along the way to talk about the hundreds of items he has acquired during a life spent collecting pieces of local history.
Family keepsakes
Whether it be his collection of military buttons, some of which were stitched onto the uniforms of soldiers who fought for our nation's independence in the Revolutionary War, or the vintage model cars and black-and-white pictures of trains lining the wall in his basement, Krug's home is filled to the brim with relics from the Valley's not-so-distant past.
In preparation for his big move, Krug has begun unloading some of his treasures. A traveling collector bought the bulk of his prized button collection, which was passed down to him from his mother.
"My grandmother lived to be 90 and she passed her button collection down to my mother, who then lived to be 106 before passing them along to me," Krug said with a smile. "But some button collector came through here the other day and just completely wiped me out."
Ironically enough, Krug, who has had a lifelong love for antique buttons, will soon leave a home that was constructed in 1821 as a water-powered wooden button factory.
"You see where the bearing was for the water wheel?" Krug asked as he pointed to a holed plank on his basement wall. "There is a brook on the other side of my property and the owner would re-route the water into the house and the water wheel was set up right here in the basement."
Although the majority of his buttons are gone, Krug was happy to show off his collection of antique model cars and original photographs of some of the first automobiles to have putted their way across the Pioneer Valley.
Knocking the dust off a picture of a 1923 Model T, Krug reminisces about a time when he owned one of them and proudly drove it in Chesterfield's annual Fourth of July parade.
When asked to pick his favorite for a photo, Krug quickly chose a framed advertisement for a 1912 Brush Runabout, depicting a young couple using the vehicle to visit a syrup-making operation.
"This one is my favorites because I made syrup in Chesterfield for 36 years - just like this," Krug said, pointing to a shack in the background surrounded by workers boiling syrup. "And these here are a couple of city folks who wanted to see how the operation works."
The feel of history
Moving on to the next stop on his tour, Krug opens a box filled with framed photographs of old trains that criss-crossed the region before revealing his last remaining military buttons, labeled by date and conflict.
Krug, a World War II veteran who crossed the Atlanic 11 times during his service, points out each button, which range from the Revolutionary War to the American Merchant Marines.
"These were all worn by American soldiers," Krug said as he traced his fingers along the outside of a glass case. "These right here are some of my favorites."
Although he will have less space once he moves into his new digs at Westhampton Woods, Krug said he still plans to pursue his latest hobby.
Lining up a row of golf balls, Krug was glad to show off an artificial putting green that he constructed in his basement as a way of improving his short game.
As he sinks ball after ball, Krug proudly recounts how he recently shot a single-round 83 at Westfield's East Mountain Golf Course, a score he called "pretty good" for someone of his age.
Originally from South Hadley, Krug has lived in Westhampton for 63 years. His wife, Jessie, has lived in the town for more than 82 years.
"I am going to miss this place," Krug said looking out over his front porch. "Soon we'll be all packed up."
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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