It was gratifying to see Greenfield’s somewhat impromptu Community Picnic on the Town Common was able to stand in for the town’s much larger and much more involved Free Harvest Supper, which was suspended this year because its stalwart volunteers were burned out.
The “bring-your-own picnic fare” event earlier this month was intended to allow the harvest supper volunteers a break from the exhausting work involved, without actually breaking with the food-on-the-common tradition that is 12 years old now.
“We decided this year, since the free Harvest Supper was cancelled, we wanted to do something anyway. None of us had the time to do a real Harvest Supper, but people can pull together food for a picnic,” explained Nicole Letourneau, chief instigator of the picnic that drew about three dozen.
“I can see quite a few volunteers from the Free Harvest Supper are sitting down and eating,” Letourneau said. “Maybe that’s what they needed — kind of a break. I know a lot of people that did it and had tons of work. They probably needed a break.”
That, and some new volunteers, and maybe the town can resurrect its free supper. If not, we like picnics, too.
The program at Hawlemont Regional Elementary School that encourages students to learn about agriculture while studying reading, writing and arithmetic is spreading to Mohawk.
Students at the Mohawk Trail Regional School interested in a career in agriculture may soon be able to get their start while still in high school.
School officials are planning to create a career path for secondary students to study sustainable agriculture and food systems. The program would be in collaboration with Greenfield Community College and with local farms willing to work with students.
The school has a planning grant to develop the program and hopes to follow up with an application for the $150,000 needed to grow the program.
In high school, students will have the opportunity to enroll in school-based agricultural science courses, take dual-enrollment, school-year and summer courses at Greenfield Community College and participate in farming internships.
What a great opportunity tailored to contemporary needs and true to the county’s agriculture roots.
Nice planning and work by Warwick firefighters and local excavator Don Matthews. They’ve recently installed a fire hydrant on Route 78 to tap a private pond for quick access in case of nearby fires. Plans involve installing at least three more before next summer in a town that has no municipal water system. Fire Chief Ron Gates says it will revolutionize how his volunteers respond to fires.
No longer will they waste time and risk limb trying to draft water from ponds or rivers, especially in winter, which brings the danger of falling through ice-covered ponds.
Said Gates: “You’re going to cut down a lot of time trying to cut through ice. Even during the summer — now we just pull up to the hydrant and start pumping.
Installation of the hydrants has been made possible by a state Department of Conservation and Recreation matching grant for $2,000, which the department received earlier this year. The Warwick Fire Department was able to match the contribution with its own money.
Gates hopes eventually to have between eight and 10 hydrants. Kudos to the Warwick firefighters for finding a way to serve their neighbors even better.
Greenfield’s new community center will be named after John Zon, a man who in his retirement launched a vigorous, volunteer career as a tireless advocate for the elderly. The planned center will house the town’s senior center programs but also serve as a gathering place for other community groups, a dual role that many feel will serve the town well in tight financial times.
While others were unhappy that Zon’s name was not attached to a standalone senior center, we think that Zon, who grew up in the Great Depression and through WWII rationing and sacrifice, would appreciate the move and accept the honor humbly.