In the late 1800s, Bodie grew to a town of nearly
8,000 in
So when Piatt - a civil engineer by trade who once worked at the state
historic park created at Bodie - published a detailed
history of the town in 2003, it was a crowning achievement for him. But the
debut of "Bodie: 'The Mines are Looking
Well'" did not quell his itch to publish more.
The result is the recent launch of www.bodiehistory.com. The newest Web site
designed by datzmedia of Brimfield was conceived as a
way to get previously unpublished essays about the workings of Bodie into a readily available form. Everyone may not share
the level of fascination that Piatt has maintained since first visiting Bodie in 1968. But New Englanders may access a window into
an industrial past unlike that for which their own mill towns are famous.
"What struck me as I worked on the site is the intensity of the
long-distance love affair Michael has for Bodie,"
said Bob Datz, proprietor of datzmedia.
"His willingness to share copyrighted scholarship prior to publication
reflects the passion he feels from afar."
Piatt's hands-on interests have also included
blacksmithing, which he studied on his own before working in the trade several
years ago at
The book itself includes a wider-ranging look at Bodie life before the boom finally declined in the early 1900s. The 288-page volume, including color photography, is published by North Bay Books. Links to order "Bodie: 'The Mines are Looking Well'" are easily accessible at the Bodie history Web site.
The Republican,
http://www.masslive.com/metroeastplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1130256637149390.xml&coll=1