MONTAGUE — A team of “fixers” wants to help you fix that broken lamp or mend that hole in your sweater at the free Franklin County Repair Event at Franklin County Technical School on Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This is the second year the event has been hosted by the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District in conjunction with Franklin Tech. The “fixers” are a group of residents, Franklin Tech students and instructors, and representatives from local businesses who will be at stations doing their best to help fix what comes before them.
Services that will be available include small electrical repairs; tool, knife, mower blade and chainsaw chain sharpening; regluing and wood repairs; and clothing mending. Minor bicycle repairs that don’t require parts will be offered by Sadie’s Bikes.
Jan Ameen, executive director of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District, said that last year was a hit for the first free repair event, with around 60 people coming through. The hope is to bring in even more people this year.
“I’m really hoping we’ll break 100 this year,” Ameen said.
Ameen said that the concept of a free repair day was something that she’d seen in other parts of the state and even locally. Northfield’s Dickinson Memorial Library and Colrain’s Griswold Memorial Library have also sponsored repair day events.
Inspired by this, and after hearing interest from a member town to organize one of these repair days, Ameen said she wanted to set up a repair day that all members of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District could participate in. She worked with Franklin Tech’s Adult Education Coordinator Justin Lawrence to pull it all together.
“Our mission is waste reduction,” Ameen explained when asked about the community value this type of event brings. “We want people throwing out less stuff, and so this was just a beautiful combination of serving the community, having the tech school students show off their knowledge, their skills, having community fixers … just come out and show how they can fix things, and then having people not throw it out in their trash or bring it to the transfer station.”
Ameen said the 2025 event was such a success that, this year, additional fixers will be in attendance to support the electrical repair demand, along with more tools available for sharpening, and a new station will be added for minor jewelry repairs. Additionally, Ameen pointed out the clothing mending option provided by staff with Swanson’s Fabrics, adding another layer of repair options.
A tradition from last year that will continue is the bell ringing whenever a fix is completed — an aspect of the repair day that Ameen said she enjoyed the most for the joy it brought people who had something repaired.
“It just creates this really happy experience for people,” Ameen said.
This won’t be the only opportunity to attend a free repair day event.
The “West County Fix-it Day” is scheduled for Saturday, June 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Colrain Central School. Then on Saturday, June 27, Conway Grammar School will host a repair day, with more information to come on the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District‘s website.
