'Loch Nash Monster' sighting in Easthampton is the talk of the town

Published: Monday, January 31, 2011, 7:15 PM
Updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 7:59 AM
Patrick Johnson, The Republican By Patrick Johnson, The Republican

EASTHAMPTON - Scotland is famous for its mythical Loch Ness Monster; Easthampton has the “Loch Nash Monster,” and it’s no myth.

Since Sunday, Nashawannuck Pond in the center of Easthampton has been graced by a multi-stage snowbeast in the shape of a sea serpent.

Dubbed the "Loch Nash Monster," the creature immediately attracted the attention of hundreds of passersby, and the local media.

WWLP did a piece on it Sunday night that Yahoo news linked to. abc40 sent a crew out on Monday afternoon.

Easthampton resident Patrick Brough said the snow sculpture is the product of a spontaneous display of community pride.

Brough, who maintains the Easthampton Good News page on Facebook posted on a whim Saturday afternoon that he was looking for volunteers to help build a snowman on the frozen pond.

By Sunday, Brough said his plan for a traditional snowman evolved into the multi-sectioned sea monster, while the call to to action took hold among people in town, he said.

“We had 10-20 people helping out,” Brough said.

“We must have had six families, there was me and my two kids, John Atwater and his kids, Tom Connor and his kids,” he said. “There were four or five people that I never even met.”

One woman came out of the blue to deliver cups of hot chocolate, he said.

It took about 3 1/2 hours, from 11 a.m. until about 2:30 p.m., he said. The finishing touch was to apply green food coloring to give it a monster-like hue.

As they were building it and it began to take shape, passing cars on Cottage Street started honking their horns in support, he said.

Brough said when he dropped his kids off and grabbed his camera to go back for some pictures, he found word of the monster was already spreading.

“When I go back, there were probably 20 people on Williston and Cottage streets with cameras taking pictures,”

The interest in the Loch Nash Monster, both before and after the build, is a reminder of the community pride in Easthampton, he said.

“It’s just such a feel-good thing,” he said.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/loch_nash_monster_sighting_is.html