Here are brief thoughts on some of the events taking place around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area.
It’s that time of year again. Students are headed back to the classrooms to fill their heads with knowledge, make new friends and acquire new skills.
Over the past week, we’ve had stories from every school district outlining the changes in staff and programming at the elementary, middle and high schools, as well as at Greenfield Community College. We can feel the excitement among administrators, who are eager to mix things up for their students’ benefit.
Like the freshly sharpened pencils that students will haul to school in their backpacks, a new school year is a time to start fresh. We’re inspired by the energy of both administrators and students, and wish everyone a fun, learning-filled year.
Warwick always knows how to wrap up a delightful season of Old Home Days with enthusiasm, charisma and utter creativity.
Watching the cardboard boat race, called the “Corregatta,” never disappoints — even if a paddler sinks a little sooner than he or she would have liked. It’s even celebrated, with a prize for the first boat to sink.
Then there’s the fireman’s muster, where area departments can come together for good-natured, friendly competition, through a job that usually involves meeting in times of trouble. And, of course, there’s the satellite dish toss — though we certainly hope the clunky conveyors of slow internet become less and less common in Franklin County.
There’s no doubt about it; Warwick offers Old Home Days unlike any other. It’s a town-wide tradition that we are lucky devoted residents, like Larry Carey, sought to revive in the mid-1990s.
The Grange life isn’t quite what it used to be. Though local chapters of the fraternal organization were once abundant, we now have Whately Grange No. 414, Shelburne Grange No. 68 and Guiding Star Grange No. 1 in Greenfield.
In this case, though, their strength is not measured in number, but in the commitment of the remaining Grange members.
That much was obvious on Aug. 24, when the Shelburne Grange offered its 73rd annual fair featuring arts and crafts, music, local food and fun. For the organizers, it’s all about community.
“You can come and see people you haven’t seen in years here,” said Barbara Giguere, Shelburne Grange Fair president. “It’s about that sense of community.”
We’d especially like to recognize one particularly committed soul, who has, for 39 impressive years, helped to ensure the Shelburne Grange Fair is a success: Penny Novack, perhaps better known as Pocket Lady Penny. Her role involves donning a large apron with pockets filled with children’s toys, which she distributes to the delight of her young recipients.
Novack said one of the most enjoyable parts about doing the event is recognizing some of the children that get prizes — and telling them, sometimes to surprise, that she was around giving their parents toys when they were children at the Shelburne Grange Fair years ago.
That’s a touching story, and certainly something to be proud of. Take a bow, Pocket Lady Penny.