Here we are in the dog days of summer. But COVID-19 and regulations from the governor’s office to keep the pandemic in check have put many of the activities we associate with this month on hold.
In other cases, residents of Franklin County and North Quabbin have had to adjust to the new norm — wearing face masks and keeping six feet from the next person. Or watching an event within the comfort of a vehicle or on a computer screen.
Unfortunately many community events have been canceled altogether with the hopeful statement: We’ll see ya next year.
Let’s take a look back at the pages of the Recorder to August 2019 and see a sampling of what happened then and what we’re missing now.
■ The Fill the Belly Bus Community Drive collected 7,400 pounds of food to stock the shelves of food pantries in the county — a record-breaking collection. Unfortunately, this year the need has intensified, so the Franklin County Hunger Task Force of the Community Action Pioneer Valley will be taking a different approach. Franklin County Hunger Action Week with numerous activities will be held Sept. 20 through 26 to raise awareness and money for this cause.
■One of the highlights of last year’s Pocumtuck Homelands Festival in Montague was the hand-carving of a traditional dugout canoe called a mishoon. At Unity Park, Jonathan Perry of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe and three crew members used fire and an adze to scrape and carve an 18-foot white pine tree as it burned. This year, the festival was not held but the finished mishoon was launched on the Connecticut River.
■Some time between the late hours of Aug. 1 and early hours of Aug. 2, two large portraits of makeup designer, Emmy-nominated visual artist and drag queen Joe Dulude II that hung on the former First National Bank on Bank Row for the previous month were destroyed. That prompted an overnight vigil on the Greenfield Common with Dulude’s images projected onto the building’s façade. The theme was: “Love will overcome fear.”
■Mayoral candidates Brickett Allis, Sheila Gilmour and Roxann Wedegartner participated in a forum sponsored by The Recorder and aired on GCTV with a remote broadcast at Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center. Their campaigns were in full swing prior to the Sept. 10 primary, in which the field was to be narrowed to two candidates on the ballot.
■Louis Serafini broke the record at the 41st Bridge of Flowers Classic by running the 8K course in 24 minutes and 25 seconds. His run smashed the previous record of 25:13 set during the previous year’s inaugural 8K course through the village of Shelburne Falls. “I got out fast,” Serafini said. “I was comfortable and made sure I had a good buffer.”
■The Heath Fair celebrated year 102 with such down-home events at the antique tractor parade, homemade lemonade and Hager’s Farm’s fried dough. The three-day event drew fair-goers who had been attending for generations — both as volunteers and patrons. Unfortunately, like Old Home Days in Montague and Warwick, the fair was canceled this year.
■Thomas Aquinas College’s Northfield campus welcomed its first students — 30 sophomores, who transferred from its West Coast campus, and 30 freshmen. The 217-acre campus had been mostly unoccupied since Northfield Mount Hermon School, the previous occupant, consolidated to its Gill campus in 2005. Director of Admissions Jon Daly said he has enjoyed seeing the Northfield campus energized by student presence. According to the college’s website, Thomas Aquinas plans to resume in-person classes this month.
■The Valley Flyer passenger train made its first run at the end of the month. At 5:45 a.m., Greenfield Mayor William Martin, future Mayor Wedegartner and Sen. Jo Comerford boarded the train, which travels along the Connecticut River making stops in Greenfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Springfield with connections in New Haven, Conn. to New York City. The goal was to make it easier for local residents to conduct business and pleasure in the Big Apple and visa versa for people there. However, according to Amtrak’s website, many trains across the country are currently operating on adjusted schedules due to the pandemic, including the Valley Flyer. The most up-to-date schedules are available when booking a trip.