By Samantha Bridgman

   Every square inch of Massachusetts belongs to a municipality and since 2007, Pete and Deb Lincoln have been traversing the state in search of unknown nooks and crannies.

    "You can't make this stuff up," said Pete Lincoln of the material in the couple's presentation "Purgatory to Podunk" being hosted by the Lunenburg Public Library Monday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

    This is the Lincoln's first time speaking to an audience at the Library. Previously the two held a presentation at the Historical Society to mostly Society members.

    "We normally visit historical societies, libraries or senior centers, but we have found that libraries are the best places to put on ‘Purgatory to Podunk’," said Deb who with Pete, has brought the presentation to 40 towns in Massachusetts, among them Tewksbury, Quincy, Peabody and Reading.

    The project was born of a whim while the couple were in Denver to see their beloved Red Sox win the World Series in 2007. They did a Google search for Massachusetts and were rewarded with a map that showed each of the state's 351 towns and cities.

    "I had never heard of some of the places on the map… we've lived in 9 different towns but found at least 70 that we had no idea existed," said Pete who made a list of all the places they'd never been.

    "We said, 'We ought to check all these out, it could be fun," said Pete.

    The idea quickly expanded from the original list to include the entire state, yet excluded heavily traveled tourist spots such as Sturbridge Village and the Freedom Trail. Plans were made and the couple began their travels in November 2007. The epic trip across Massachusetts took seven months and each visit yielded fun photos and a endless facts that required a spreadsheet to document each of the 351 destinations.

    "Deb organized it all, she's in charge of the tidbits that we gathered," said Pete.

Debbie Lincoln stands beside the Lunenburg town seal. Even though the Lincolns have traveled all across Massachusetts and say they’ll continue to explore the state’s nooks and crannies, they are happy to call Lunenburg home.

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