Happy Feet walkers to meet Monday
NORTHFIELD — The next Happy Feet walking group outing is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m.
Walkers will meet at 144 Pine Meadow Road off Route 63, next to the Riverview Picnic Area and pavilion. Participants will then walk along Pine Meadow Road up to Cabot Station. The route is approximately 3 miles round-trip, along the edge of the Connecticut River.
Dogs on leashes are welcome. Severe thunderstorms or heavy rain will cancel.
Registered nurses will be guest speakers at coffee social
NORTHFIELD — Meg Ryan and Lisa White, registered nurses who serve Northfield through the town’s membership in the Cooperative Public Health Service of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, will be the guest speakers during a coffee social at the Northfield Senior Center on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 10:30 a.m.
Aside from the drop-in hours that they offer at community sites, including the Northfield Senior Center every first Wednesday of the month from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and then at Squakheag Village from 3 to 4 p.m., Ryan and White work directly with local boards of health to monitor the occurrence of infectious illness throughout the 15-town Cooperative Public Health Service region; offer flu and COVID-19 vaccinations; provide community education about Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other chronic illnesses; and support communities in becoming more age-friendly, assuring services are welcoming and available to people of all ages and abilities.
Aug. 26: Cookie decorating with Barb King
NORTHFIELD — Barb King will lead a cookie decorating class at the Northfield Senior Center on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 10:30 a.m.
All materials will be provided. The cost is $5 per person to decorate four cookies and the class is limited to 12 participants. Advance registration is required by Tuesday, Aug. 19, by calling 413-498-2901, ext. 123.
Next Memory Cafe set for Aug. 27
NORTHFIELD — The Northfield Senior Center’s next monthly Memory Cafe will be held Wednesday, Aug. 27, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
This program provides support and socialization for adults dealing with memory-related issues and their caregivers. A light lunch will be provided.
RSVP by Aug. 20 by calling 413-498-2901, ext. 123. Seating is limited to 20 participants.
Local educator to speak on the Holocaust
NORTHFIELD — Megan O’Brien, an educator and director of residential life at The Bement School in Deerfield, will discuss her recent 12-day trip to European Holocaust sites on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m., at Northfield’s Trinitarian Congregational Church, located at 147 Main St. The program is part of the church’s 200th anniversary events.
“My mom (Carol O’Brien of Northfield) was talking to people and they ended up saying they’d love to hear more about it,” O’Brien said of how the idea for her presentation arose. “So this is an outlet for me to speak, even to four people.”
In her presentation, titled “The Power of Place: The Experience of an Educator on a Holocaust Trip,” O’Brien will recount the impact of firsthand experience and how she brings the concept of empathy into her ninth-grade world history classroom. To that end, O’Brien takes an average of two trips per year to different sites for professional development.
“As an educator,” O’Brien said, “I have found that it’s important to do two things: teach the difficult aspects of history that students may not always get to hear and also give voice to those who no longer are able to share their stories.”
One way O’Brien helps teens to relate to the Holocaust is called “Unpacking the Artifact,” a method developed by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. One example of such an artifact is a photo of a baby’s cap and jacket, donated to the museum by survivors. The story of these garments, which O’Brien will recount during her presentation, helps listeners to empathize with Holocaust victims.
“One thing I try to do in my classroom is to teach empathy,” she noted.
The program will include a question-and-answer period and a reception will follow.