Here are brief thoughts on recent happenings in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.
Even though school is closed for at least another month, students in the Warwick Community School Garden Club can see their hard work on display next to the millstone in the town center.
The potted tulips and daffodils that would ordinarily stay on school grounds were transported up the street not only to provide them with more visibility, but also in hopes of lifting residents’ spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents will be greeted by the flowers’ burst of color, as well as prayer or intention flags that encircle the flowers.
“We’re all trying to just spread some joy, and not just here in our town,” said Garden Club Coordinator Tracey Kirley, who has lived in Warwick for 30 years.
Kirley encourages residents to contribute to the project by adding their own flags, which are decorated with drawings and/or encouraging words. Flexing our creative muscles is a perfect way to keep our minds active while we practice social distancing, as is taking a walk to the center of town to see the positivity that is thriving there. Props to Kirley and the Gardening Club for sharing the fruits of their labor with the town during these trying times.
The logic is the same in Deerfield, where the six-man group informally known as the Mount Sugarloaf Lighting Crew decided to turn the lights on the popular Christmas tree back on, albeit out of season.
Sixty-one-year-old Paul Olszewski said he read an online news article about communities around the country turning on holiday lights to spread some cheer during the global pandemic, and decided to do the same in Deerfield.
“I’m ecstatic,” Olszewski said. “I said, ‘My god, we need light, we need hope, we need normalcy.’”
We couldn’t agree more, and we thank the members of the Mount Sugarloaf Lighting Crew for doing their part to try to provide us with just that: light, hope and normalcy.
In this time of uncertainty, information is without a doubt one of our most valuable commodities. We are here for you, continuing to do our part to bring you the news you need. But we also commend other organizations that are finding new avenues for spreading information during these unprecedented times.
One such group is Common Good, which launched a free online “Offers & Needs” bulletin board where anyone in the valley — or the entire nation, for that matter— can offer or ask for help where they live.
The idea is simple: connecting people who need help during the pandemic to the people who are providing it. Ivan Ussach of Warwick said whether someone needs a home-cooked meal, a ride to the pharmacy or an hour of child care during this time of social distancing, it’s up to everyone to make sure everyone has what they need.
This concept is crucial now, especially for people who may not have family living locally who could lend a hand. Still, we suspect it will continue to be a much-needed service once the pandemic passes, too.