Here are brief thoughts on some of the events taking place around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area.
We are a bit late on this one, but happy 90th birthday to the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.
The bridge was once part of a trolley system that moved freight over the Deerfield River between the towns of Buckland, Shelburne and Colrain. When that ended, Antoinette Burnham came up with the idea to turn the bridge into a walking garden. The Shelburne Falls Women’s Club took it on, transforming the bridge in 1929.
Now, the lovingly cared-for blooming plants and bushes draw people from all over to take photos and just be inspired by what grows there. For locals, it’s a scenic walk.
And for the village, the Bridge of Flowers is a big draw for tourists, who also visit local businesses on both sides of the river.
A celebration was held earlier this fall. And we join those who noted the Bridge of Flowers’ milestone in saying long may it bloom.
Sometimes people don’t take a direct route when it comes to their education. They drop out before they finish high school, and later, when they find that not having that diploma is a hinderance, they try again when they are older.
And it’s not always easy. Life gets more complicated.
So, congratulations are in order for the 53 people who earned their High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) and a diploma. A ceremony was held last month at Greenfield Community College.
The Literacy Project assists students who want to get their HiSET, which is an alternative to the GED, with classes in Greenfield, Northampton, Amherst, Ware and Orange.
Students move at their own pace to prepare for the exams in math, reading, writing, science and social studies that will qualify them.
“We see students from 16 to 60 and older,” Elizabeth Byrne, a teacher at The Literacy Project in Greenfield, said at graduation. “This is one of the most rewarding, most optimistic things I’ve ever done.”
Here’s to a job well done, graduates.
Maple sugaring season in Franklin County is a bona-fide sign that winter is winding down. Afterall, maple trees need days above freezing and at night, below for the sap to run. And sugarers must work hard collecting the sap and boiling it down — sometimes through the night.
Recently Howard and Jeanne Boyden’s efforts and maple products were rewarded when they scored big in the North American Maple Syrup Council’s international competition.
The Boydens, who have a sugarhouse in Conway, took first for both their maple candy and maple cream, second place for granulated maple sugar and third for the golden graded delicate syrup.
They were up against some stiff competition with 75 entries in each category from the U.S. and Canada.
Speaking to a reporter over the phone, Howard Boyden said, “We’ve been doing this a long time. We’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years, and that’s how you learn and get better.”
Kudos to the Boydens.
We are fans of programs that encourage student-athletes to be involved in their community.
At Frontier Regional School, juniors and seniors visit the district’s elementary schools to read on four consecutive Fridays each fall. One of them may even don the Red Hawks’ mascot costume.
This program has been going on for 10 years, so many of the readers once had books read to them.
“It’s a full circle kind of thing,” said Frontier Vice Principal Scott Dredge, who started the reading program when he was football coach.
Go Red Hawks.