GEENFIELD — The iconic red Roundhouse at the Franklin County Fairgrounds will have a fresh look come next year’s fair.
Mike Nelson, president of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, said painting the Roundhouse is just one part of the many months’ worth of work that’s been done in preparation for reopening the fairgrounds next spring.
“We’re trying to get the fairgrounds in a really great position for 2021,” Nelson said.
Although the agricultural society typically holds the Franklin County Fair in September, the annual event was canceled this year due to the pandemic.
Earlier in the spring, some plumbing work on the grounds was completed, and other buildings received their own “makeovers.” On Saturday morning, the agricultural society met to “freshen up” the paint on the Roundhouse.
“It’s 120 years old,” Nelson said. “Given its historical value, it’s important to us to preserve it for years to come.”
The last time the Roundhouse had a paint job was about 10 years ago, he said, when the it underwent a full renovation, which included an exterior paint job.
Nelson said he pressure washed the building earlier in the week, but Saturday was the first day of painting. Buckets of paint were donated by r.k. Miles, a construction company out of Hatfield.
Nelson and the Franklin County Agricultural Society were joined on Saturday by organizers of Roll On In, the drive-in concert series that was held at the fairgrounds over the summer before it was ultimately shut down by the Board of Health.
“As bad as it was for us, it was bad for them,” said Joel MacKenzie, who put together the socially distanced, drive-in concert venue, with the help of his partner, Spencer Lavoie. “This was (the agricultural society’s) big project … so this was the next best thing we could do to help.”
MacKenzie said event organizers intended to help with the painting project prior to kicking off the concert series.
“Even though we got canceled, we decided to keep our commitment,” he said. “Even though we aren’t here anymore, we wanted to help.”
MacKenzie said it was their way of giving back to not only the fairgrounds, but Greenfield and everyone who made the concert possible — even for those two short weeks.
“Despite it not working out, we thoroughly enjoyed being part of the community here,” MacKenzie said, noting the help he had from the police and fire departments, the mayor, and everyone at the Franklin County Agricultural Society. “We recognize how difficult of a financial time it is now, and we wouldn’t want to see this fairgrounds go away, to fall into disrepair.”
As an added thank you, he said, Roll On In provided lunch to anyone who helped out in the effort on Saturday.
Others, both from the community and from the agricultural society, also volunteered their time on Saturday, whether it was by painting or offering a hand in other areas of the fairgrounds.
“I just like giving back to my community,” said lifelong Greenfield resident Janet Seredejko. “I know they’ve had issues because of it being closed, so if there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”
Linsey Paulson, a member of the agricultural society who grew up going to the Franklin County Fair each year, said restoring the Roundhouse was an important task.
“I think it’s important to keep events like this going, because it keeps us tied to the past of the area,” she said.
Nelson said on Saturday that he didn’t expect the job to be quite finished by the end of the day.
“This is a big project,” he said. “It’s going to take a while.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne