Here are some brief thoughts on some of the events making news from around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area:
Sophie Fritz of Northfield was born on the same day, same month, same year as the Queen of England, and now they have more than that in common.
They are pen pals of sorts. Sophie Fritz, who has lived in Northfield since 1951, and Queen Elizabeth II celebrated their 92nd birthdays April 21.
Because Elizabeth II had been a public figure since they both were children, Fritz said that she has always been aware of the queen.
Fritz’s friend Allyssa Alger sent a letter to the queen on Fritz’s behalf for her birthday, thinking the odds of getting a reply were slim. But not that slim apparently.
“Dear Mrs. Alger,” begins the reply, which came signed by Susan Hussey, Queen Elizabeth’s Lady-in-Waiting, “The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for your letter, from which Her Majesty was interested to learn that your good friend, Sophie Fritz, will be celebrating her 92nd birthday soon.”
Academy at Charlemont students are always on the lookout for community service projects, and some of them found one recently at Greenfield’s Green River Swimming and Recreation Area. Several students spent time working for the public works department to make the park ready for the summer, handling chores like cleaning silt from ledges, stairwells and picnic tables as part of the schools’ Community Service Day.
We love Montague’s “Good Music Makes Good Neighbors” event.
Sixteen bands and 36 musicians will perform at six homes in Montague from noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday. Organizers Nicole Nemec and Matthew Duncan describe the event as “Franklin County’s answer to Boston’s Porchfest,” at which various houses in different neighborhood host bands on their porches and patios.
This is the fourth time for the “musical house tour of the porches and patios of Montague Center.” Each venue hosts two to four different musical groups, which play for 40 minutes.
It’s a celebration of spring renewal and it’s technically free, but please leave a donation to make it worthwhile for the musicians to return next spring.
Nan Williams of Rowe and her children deserve a shout-out for donating 94 acres of forested land to the Franklin Land Trust, a nonprofit organization based in Shelburne Falls that owns and cares for natural land in perpetuity.
As a former quarry in the Hoosac Tunnel area of Rowe, the land is now entirely wooded and contains habitat for a wide range of plants and animals.
Williams is an avid hiker, historian and writer who has documented the history of the Town of Rowe, many of the plants on her property and throughout the town, and hundreds of hikes that appeared in the Rowe Goal Post, a monthly town newsletter.
“Spending time on this land has been a joy for me, and we are thrilled that this special land will be conserved for everyone to enjoy in the future,” Williams told the Recorder.
KUDOS to Carrie Hale, who was tapped by President Bob Pura as Greenfield Community College’s honoree for the state’s annual “29 Who Shine” award.
Hale traveled to the Statehouse in Boston to receive the award from Gov. Charlie Baker and the state Department of Higher Education. She was in the company of 28 other awardees from the state’s public campuses.
“Being in the room with these people, and the governor encouraged me to continue doing what I’m doing and to keep reaching that much higher,” said Hale, who is flirting with a perfect 4.0 grade average.
Hale plans to transfer her credits from GCC to a university so she can pursue a degree, likely in engineering, with a minor in math.
POLICE, firefighters, EMTs — and funeral directors — appreciate the horrors of a senseless drunken driving accident. Recently, Orange’s emergency responders tried to drive the lesson home for Mahar Regional High School juniors and seniors through a realistic mock accident, featuring fellow students as “victims.”
With prom and graduation approaching, Orange firefighter and paramedic Meghan Ahearn said students should make smart decisions, especially during a time when many alcohol related fatalities happen.
Good advice.