Thank you for your replies to the My Turn column I wrote at the end of August, “Basic needs are hard to find in Greenfield.” If you recall, I explained how Greenfield had nothing to offer to me in terms of getting my kids prepared for their fall semesters at college. My main point was to demonstrate the frustration residents have around the lack of access to necessary goods in Greenfield which has constantly forced me to spend all of my money out of town (retail dollars, meal money and related hotel costs).
As a quick follow up, I just had another recent experience that I must share. The other day, I finally got to visit both kids! For my first leg of my trip I headed South to Trader Joe’s in Hadley to buy some of their favorite groceries and then I was off to Enfield, Connecticut which has every store you could imagine. We stocked up on a few essentials, grabbed lunch and headed over to our final destination which was West Hartford. If you ever want to see an absolutely booming, beautiful downtown, go to West Hartford; you will NOT be disappointed! What a remarkable comparison in terms of what our “city” of Greenfield has to offer. Every parking place was filled, all the high-quality restaurants were packed (with amazing outside dining options), and you could shop in a clean area that was not full of panhandlers or tall weeds consuming the brick areas at all the intersections.
In response to Tim Grader’s Sept. 11 column [“Greenfield’s economic development requires community buy-in“], he tells us Greenfield residents to just keep being patient; good things are coming our way! Sorry sir, but most of the people who actually live here have lost their patience; we just want places to go shopping and we have waited long enough! Also, I think the writer is forgetting about the socio-economic make up of this area; people have limited incomes and non-existent transportation options. By the way, I never said that my solution is “any chain store that will come,” but I can guarantee you that most residents in Greenfield would welcome any opportunity for some retail options. There are ways to incorporate tasteful plazas with shops, hotels and restaurants that blend into the local landscape.
In regards to John Guenther’s letter [“I love Greenfield and its agendas“], it is not even close to reality. The letters states, in summation, that if I don’t like it I can leave, but if the writer is the type that fully embraces diversity of opinions and welcomes all perspectives, why not entertain mine?
Once again, this weekend I had to leave town to spend my money on basic shopping needs. I’m not sure if or when Greenfield will finally wake-up, but this “city” is circling the drain.
Jen Davenport lives in Greenfield.