Good Times in Goshen

Sunday, August 10, 2008



yesterday i hit a photographic jackpot — the good time stove company in nearby goshen, ma. not only is good time stove the place to find beautifully restored antique stoves of every size and shape (including stunning, vintage 1930’s gas kitchen stoves) but it’s also a landmark, thanks to the enormous tin man of goshen who welcomes visitors to the shop. built in 1955 to advertise a local fuel company, the tin man has been featured in the boston globe, the daily hampshire gazette, the berkshire eagle, and yankee magazine, as well as being a subject for bill griffith’s comic zippy the pinhead. you can read all about the towering tin man, including the story of how he got his sizable heart here on the good time stove company’s blog.


he’s awesome.


fascinating, random objects of rusty metal and painted wood embellish the outside of the shop - signs, tools, iron gates, wagon wheels, bikes, an old pair of wooden crutches, hand made bird feeders, defunct lawn mowers - melding together in a sculptural assemblage. beyond an arbor of rusty bicycles and swaying lady’s mantle, the three sisters garden stretches out from the shop and behind owner richard richardson’s home. not wanting to impose, i didn’t tour the gardens (this time) but they include windowed arbors, a stone and metal dragon, a 16×32′ water garden, a stone amphitheater, a sanctuary for meditation. you can tour all of them here.


i may never recycle another tin can.

after stopping here and looking around, i didn’t feel the need to travel farther (did i mention i was on my bike?) i was so creatively refreshed and inspired by the imaginative assemblages and joy de vive evident in the spotless shop full of carefully restored stoves and the surrounding artful gardens. i only wish i lived next door!