Whenever we take on new challenges in life, we just never know where they will lead us - especially if we are curious and keep our eyes wide open as we amble along. Michael Tougias grew up in western Massachusetts - the son of a father who, according to Michael, was a ‘blue collar historian.’ As an adult, Michael worked in the business community while spending much of his free time hiking and exploring lesser known areas of the state. He then wrote about some of his favorite hikes and quiet places in his books Quiet Places in Massachusetts, Nature Walks in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, Exploring the Hidden Charles, and New England Wild Places. This could have been the end of the story, but Michael was curious, kept his eyes wide open, and never forgot his father, the ‘blue collar historian.’

As he ambled about the state and through MetroWest, Michael often ran into old historic markers, battle sites, or references to King Philip’s War in the most unlikely places. Curious, he began ten years ago to visit all the sites affiliated with the war and to collect all the data he could find. The result is his latest book, Until I Have No Country, a historical novel built around all the facts he compiled over ten years.

In a phone interview, Michael shared that if this war was one of the most violent of the Indian Wars and if one of its biggest battles occurred in Longmeadow where he grew up, just why had he hardly heard of it. Growing up in Simsbury, Connecticut in the fifties where there were caves used by the Indians during King Philip’s War, I had a similar experience. Most of us learn colonial history from the Mayflower to the Pilgrims to the Revolution. Just perhaps, we decided, people living in our New England communities and writing our schools textbooks just didn’t want to remember or to tell this story. There’s pain in the telling.

From explorer Coronado’s clash with Zuni warriors at the pueblo of Hawikuh in 1540, to 1890 when United States cavalry troops virtually wiped out a band of Sioux at Wounded Knee, the Indian Wars raged. One of the most violent conflicts, however, was King Philip’s War of 1675-76 in New England. Unlike the clashes, however, at the pueblo of Hawikuh and at Wounded Knee, King Philip’s War knew no one specific place or border.

In sporadic and unpredictable fashion, towns such as Marlborough were torched and fifty of ninety English villages attacked. Sudbury’s Captain Wadsworth and his troops were lured into a trap and most were killed. Michael Tougias explained that Medfield experienced one of the most dramatic attacks along what is now route 109 when a farmer went to his barn to pitch hay. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an Indian moccasin nestled in the hay. Realizing that the rest of the Indian hid underneath and that there were probably many more Indians in the barn, he pretended not to see and left promptly. He fled with his family just in time, for many Medfield residents were subsequently killed.

In Framingham, in the park at Mount Wayte, a boulder marks the site of the Eames farm where an attack occurred on February 1, 1676. Mrs. Eames and several of her children were killed and others taken captive. All tolled, six hundred colonists and three thousand Indians lost their lives. Many peaceful Indians such as Rhode Island’s Narragansett, who had nothing to do with the war, were killed for some settlers feared all Indians.

Michael Tougias looks forward to sharing his research of King Philip’s War and to showing slides of the battle sites, historic markers, and maps. He has suggestions for visiting some of our states road-side history. Come to Old Edgell Library at the corner of Oak and Edgell Road on Sunday, January 17th at 2 pm to hear more. See you there!

To reach me, call 620-6440 or E-Mail at elsadave@ultranet.com.

Anyone who would like to be interviewed about their memories of Framingham in the 20’s and 30’s should call the Framingham Historical Society at 872-3780. Through theWe Are History Project , we hope to fill the society archives with stories from Framingham’s neighborhoods - A Common View of the past.

Framingham Historical Society Museum is in the Old Academy at the corner of Vernon and Grove Streets. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm. Admission $5, under 12 FREE. (508-872-3780)