South Hadley Massachusetts

I spent my early years in South Hadley, Massachusetts. My father lamented that South Hadley was such a parochial place, though he would never have used the word parochial. He was from Holyoke, across the river from South Hadley and he never felt accepted in the more rural community.

Actually, by the time I was going to school most of the farmland was converted to homes for the World War Two vets who were all dreaming of a home with a parcel of land. The town came to be known as a “bedroom” community for the men who worked in the industry of Holyoke and Springfield. My dad could make all kinds of off color remarks about living in a “bedroom” community and he would make my mother blush.

Dad was French and could make just about anyone blush, my mother was Irish and the standards she established for herself were quite a bit more reserved than those my father held himself to.

South Hadley boasted two major accomplishments, it was the site of the first canal ever in the United States though you really had to look for the canal by the time I came along, and it is where Mount Holyoke College has its campus. I couldn't understand the attraction of Mount Holyoke until I was in my teens and I found out it was an all girls college, then it just kind of hit me.

I was raised on the River. The Connecticut River flowed between South Hadley and Holyoke. Our extended Irish family had a cabin on the River, we all just called it the “camp.” The camp boasted a living room with fireplace, a kitchen, a second story bedroom with about eight beds in it, and a screened in porch. There was a dock down the stone steps at the Rivers edge and that is where we kept the boats.

We had two small motor boats and a longer boat that my grandfather had converted into a sailboat. One of the small boats and the sailboat were actually built by my grandfather and were in the fine tradition of the boats on the Shannon River in Ireland. I probably spent 30% of all the time during my summer months in the River or in one of those boats until I was 15 years old. My uncle Andy built a home on that land and he lives there today.

Our cabin had no electricity until uncle John bought a generator when I was about 13. The cabin had an outhouse and never had any running water of any kind. We carried water up in an old milk urn. The cabin was a perfect place for us boys, I never could understand why the girls didn't like it too much. To us boys the Kennedy's had nothing on us.

I went to school at the Woodlawn School, it was built I suppose, during the eighteen hundreds. The building is still being used today. Students in Massachusetts dream about going to Harvard or Yale or Mt. Holyoke College. Many buildings on those campuses are much older. I am still amazed when people in other areas where I have lived want to tear down schools that were built during the seventies because they are so old.

I learned to hunt, fish, swim, live, and love in South Hadley. The town will always have a special place in my heart. The Bridge Cafe in neighboring Chicopee has the best pizza on the planet, the River has the best fish, the people of South Hadley know what is important; their God, their families, and the values that they learned in the beautiful and historic Pioneer Valley, where older buildings and older people are always treasured.

Places On My Mind: Brevard, North Carolina

Places On My Mind: Brevard, North Carolina

The Beauty of Brevard, North Carolina

Brevard has many beautiful things about it, too many things to cover with my limited ability in this limited space.  Still, I promised to try in an earlier post so here are some of my views on the city of Brevard, North Carolina.

Things I like about Brevard include the Brevard Music Festival. There are seven summer weeks in Brevard when world class talent descends on the small town to work magic with their voices and their music. In the past years artists like cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinists Joshua Bell and Midori, pianists André Watts and Emanuel Ax, soprano Renée Fleming and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade have appeared on stage in this city of only about six thousand people.

The downtown area of Brevard boasts activities as diverse as the monthly gathering of peace activists, mostly older people who hold a peace vigil one Saturday in each month. Often braving bad weather, these caring people assemble with their signs to remind us that there are wars going on. Our young people are in harm's way and we could all be working more for peace in the world. The street scene changes on Tuesday as Brevard hosts the evening “Dancing in the Street.” The downtown is closed on Tuesday night, the band plays and the people dance. The downtown streets are actually closed quite often to host various runs, a soapbox derby, a White Squirrel Festival, (Brevard is home to many white squirrels), and all of the classic reasons for closing the city and celebrating, things like Halloween, the Fourth of July and such.

There is a guy who stands at the corner of Main and Broad Streets in front of the Courthouse, with a Bible in his hand. He waves at you and wishes for you to have a good day. If you speak to him, he'll tell you that he has been called by God to stand there and that it is his ministry. I like that guy, I like that he does what he does. I like it that most of the local people wave back to him.

There is a small college in Brevard, (Brevard College, Methodist), with a fledgling football program, sometimes the defeats are embarrassing to watch. I like that the team exists, that the players play, that the effort is made. Having cheered for my son's losing team throughout his high school career, I am perfectly able to cheer loudly for a losing effort and I see the value in the game, the effort, the sport.

The Davidson River offers some of the best trout fishing anywhere in the East. There are bears in the area, daviaupost.blogspot.com/search/label/bears, and I have very much enjoyed my interactions with the bears. There is majesty in Brevard, great panoramic views around each bend. White water rafting, nature trails galore, great equestrian opportunities and wonderful faith congregations. My wife and I felt very welcome in every church we visited while seeking a church home. We found that church home in a place that we could both embrace though she was raised Lutheran and I was raised in a Catholic family.

My wife has enjoyed her involvement with the local AAUW, (American Association of University Women), chapter. The small community has the largest chapter in the state and the ladies do important work as they organize a massive book sale each year. The proceeds from that sale go largely to provide scholarship money for girls in the area and the money is really significant for many girls who aspire to graduate from one of the local colleges. My wife's involvement with the AAUW has been good for both the organization and for her as she has made many new friends through her work with the AAUW.

Brevard is a place that cares, with a free clinic and free pharmacy, those experiencing hard times have a place to turn to for medical care. The city boasts a charity called the Bread of Life, an organization that feeds those who have no good place to turn.  So very many people in Brevard care about those in need and I like that about the community.

 There are many good people in Brevard, it is an idyllic place in many ways and while the community has some problems, those problems are far from being beyond solution.