Past Columns Archive #1 -
June 1999 --> January 2000
Archive #2
February 2000 --> June 2000
Archive #3
September 2000 --> May 2001
Archive #4
June 2001 --> February 2004
Longmeadow, Massachusetts
This column includes articles of local interest, on a myriad of topics of local interest written by Betsy Huber Port. As a writer, parent, and resident of the Town of Longmeadow for many years she covers many areas. Betsy welcomes comments or suggestions from readers.
Tree City USA
We love Longmeadow’s Trees! Our town has received the official designation as “Tree City USA” for most of the past ten years. Mature and elegant, the various trees of Longmeadow line every street, road and lane in town. With a heavy heart and worried mind we went turned in at nine p.m. on Saturday, October 29th listening to the Halloween Blizzard’s icy snow crack and snap limbs, branches and completely topple trees! Bark split, trunks thudded; the sounds were loud and haunting. As a tree hugger and homeowner, I just prayed that none of the trees in our yard would slam into our house. We were lucky, but it was not a peaceful sleep.
The Halloween Storm of 2011 was actually called Alfred, although I read in the Longmeadow News someone called it Albert! The name does not matter, but the date did…I do not ever remember a winter storm in October! In the last half century, there has not been an October N’or Easter that anyone I know can recall.
Now, it is six weeks later and the clean up is still ongoing. FEMA funds will help to pay for a portion of the work putting the town back together again, but we will pay the rest. It was such a mess that storm chasers from the south came our way to find lucrative work cutting hanging limbs and sawing trees that blocked sidewalks and thoroughfares. Healthy trees were lost because they were still full of leaves that caught the ice and broke non-rotten branches. In some cases the dead trees fell or were uprooted. Neighbors lost fences, cars, and even roofs to the storm. Isn’t it ironic that the tornado and hurricane were not as damaging as the October blizzard? What a year we have had!
The problem is this: many of the neighborhoods here were built up in the 1920s and 30s. Young saplings were planted along “tree belts” and surrounding the new construction. Many mature trees are actually at the end of their life spans and have a limited time on this earth. The town has a responsibility to trim and prune their own trees, and these numbers are staggering! Thanks to the DPW for doing such a good job!
We planted a beautiful Japanese maple tree about ten years ago and a yellowwood tree about seven years ago near our house. Their shade and colorful leaves attract various birds and keep our home cool. We sit in the backyard under the yellowwood and enjoy the shade in the summertime. Both trees were hurt and lost branches but we knocked icy snow off the branches to save them. They may look different but they are survivors.
Speaking of survivors – The town’s holiday tree has had a makeover this year. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah or another December holiday, the centerpiece of the holiday season is the lighted tree near the First Church on the green. For over fifteen years I have admired it. This year it is especially beautiful but smaller. It seems that it had experienced serious damage in the Halloween storm and could not be saved. The top was removed, about halfway up, and the top was moved a little westward, towards the center of the green off Williams Street. It is shorter, wider and just as special…yet we must plant a new evergreen for the years to come. That is, unless the doom and gloom of 12-21-12 actually is a reality…Can we really believe the Mayan Myth? I hope not!
December 21, 2011
Previous Columns
Repaving Longmeadow
The Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore
Our Generation
My Menagerie
Winter Wonderland - or not?
Endings and Beginnings
The Waiting Game
A Disappointing Meeting
Green Dreams
2008 Musings at Betsy's Corner
The Cost of this Terrible War
The Road to Nowhere
Remember When?
Simplify - Simplify - Simplify!
Asleep At The Wheel/ Wake Up Longmmeadow!
Be Safe and Watch Out!!
Like a Death in the Family
Autumn Drive
Having It All
Longmeadow's Messy Streets
Reminiscing With The Old Emerson Archives
Anti-Mansionization in Longmeadow
Water, Water Everywhere!
A Piece of America We Should Save in Longmeadow
Consider Chandler Avenue's Impact on the Historic Town Green
End of Summer
Trimming of the Trees
Counting the Bugs
My Occupation
Who Was John Warner Barber?
Demolition Delay on the Warrant in 2005
Speeding Through Longmeadow
Our Town At A Crossroad
Tanks A Lot
The Obstacle Course
Big Y Remembers Old Longmeadow
Springfield Postcards
Groovy Gravestones
As The Train Passes By
Autumn In The New England Air
Thanks for your patience since I have not posted a new on-line column in Betsy’s Corner since April 2010. That does not mean that I have been away; it just means that gathering ideas and making observations takes time in between ministering to others’ needs. So what’s up in Longmeadow these days? Despite the protracted and discouraging downturn in the nation’s economy and a flat post-bubble real estate market, our town seams to be in fairly decent financial shape for now. The new LHS construction is gradually giving new life to the uninspiring slab-like late 1950s structure and well-worn local thoroughfares have been fixed.
This recession or depression seems endless, yet Federal and state money was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Money is being spent, yet we are in fact borrowing from our future! Funds are being used to support local infrastructure jobs, including repaving deteriorated streets; and we had some good ones! It’s a bit of a mixed blessing. Encouraging as it is, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the irony here. Quality of life in any town or village is multi-factorial. Case in point: Converse Street. Beat up by heavy trucks and strewn by potholes from icy frigid winters, it was long overdue for restorative work. Converse is overwhelmed with traffic at rush hours. The pitted patchwork texture along the length of the state road slowed vehicles down. Converse Street was bumpy and treacherous! Now it is sleek and smooth and our main east-west thoroughfare is like a high-speed track. Instead of the finish line we have the stop light at Laurel Street!
Cars and trucks zoom along at unsafe speeds. Has anyone tried to cross Converse at 7:30 am lately? This simple maneuver has become difficult and dangerous or altogether impossible. Traversing the artery from the south side into Colony Hills is a question of luck and good timing, some mornings allowing for an opportune crossing, other times forcing a quick turn east on Converse to find an accessible way north. Good luck to pedestrians, and especially school children on foot attempting this at intersections without traffic lights. Is this progress? Over the decades, the lack of strategic traffic planning has resulted in our main roads getting very congested with folks going to I-91 from the eastern suburbs. We have observed a progressively increasing volume of commuter traffic snarling our town’s major streets, despite flex-time and working at home. This will get worse when the economy improves along with more homes sales to the east. Some side roads still need attention before we get another bad winter.
Now for a word on weather. After record snowfalls earlier in the year, we had a surprising tornado on the first of June. Only three miles north of us, in the area near Red Rose Pizza and the McDuffie School, our Springfield neighbors got the worst of it! Parts of Monson, Wilbraham and East Longmeadow were hit quite hard! It is still unbelievable what happened next. In the month of August we felt the Washington, D.C. earthquake and then waited for a hurricane to make it’s way up the east coast. Irene struck with a force, but our town of Longmeadow was missed again! It is sobering to see the damage nearby areas endured. It has been quite a year. We are fortunate if all we needed so far is some repaving and renovation.
October 20, 2011
Don’t you like to sleep with the windows open? On a cool Spring night, the sound of the train passing by our town echoes through the breeze. On a very windy night it is quite loud. It is a reminder of time passing and days gone by, like an antique clock striking the hour. I wish the train would stop here in Longmeadow like it used to.
Long ago, residents of this small farming community could hop on the train, or even take a trolley up or down Longmeadow Street to the City of Springfield, the Hartford area, or point farther away. Now we are linked by cars, highways, the interstate highway system and the computer’s internet. Times have changed and they will change some more!
How long was Longmeadow linked to the outside world via train track? Well, history tells us it was almost 100 years. The World War II era ended the trolleys, when the metal from the tracks was used for the war effort. The local train travel ended in the 40’s, but our curator remembers traveling from NY City’s Penn Station to Longmeadow to surprise her parents on a snowy Christmas Eve in the 1950s. The engineer stopped at the long forgotten Longmeadow stop to let her off…calling it a flag stop.
The invention of the automobile ended the need for train travel, since drivers wanted independence. But I still miss the train! It would be a welcome relief to hop on a train in Longmeadow and travel to Boston, Manhattan or even Northampton via Amtrack trains, or maybe high speed rail in the future! From the 1840s to the beginning of the 1940s the train connected us to the outside world! Many of us would welcome its return!
April 2010
We are half a century on this earth - and it was not the same place where we landed long ago. The entire world and changed, and America is going through a very bad recession now. Dire reports and gloomy articles in the news are challenging my internal optimistic attitude. That is why I have stopped reading the daily paper and keep pessimists at bay.
I am questioning the resiliency of our government to help the economy recover and protect the middle class taxpayer. Too many people are loosing their jobs and small businesses are closing down. The America of my childhood is a memory, and unfortunately our children will be saddled with a national debt that will be hard to bear.Yes, we were born in the 1950s, were Flower Children in the 1960s when the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Woodstock provided distraction from the turmoil of the Viet Nam war, we were Dazed and Confused in the 70s as styles, morals and lifestyles morphed and conservatism faded into the past. In the 1980s we worked in a wild and crazy decade of greed and inflation, and many of us married and settled down with kids in the 1990s as we delayed childbearing for a while. In the 2000s we continued to grow up and face challenges in an age of Internet connectivity and cell phones forever changing the way we communicate and relate to others.
What has changed in Longmeadow? It is still a beautiful place to raise a family and educate children, but forces beyond our control have changed the demographics. People are living longer and costs are rising. Will we be able to fix-up the high school and other school buildings? What are the priorities for the community? It is a historic place, full of special examples of period architecture in the Pioneer Valley. How will we protect our special place for future generations? Consider how our grandchildren will live and what their needs will be. It is scary to project that far into the future, but it is necessary. I am sure my parents never realized how different our experiences would be from theirs. We have progressed, yes but what have we lost? Are you participating in making the changes you want to see in this town and do you appreciate this special corner of Massachusetts on the long and winding Connecticut River?
February 15, 2010
Maybe it all started in 2004 or maybe it really began in my early childhood. I have always had an on again off again relationship with animals. We have had all kinds of pets over the years, and now we have a new puppy.
First it was the four goldfish when I turned 4 in 1963. That's how I learned about death - which was not the intended lesson. My parents wanted me to enjoy my four little pets for my birthday and learn about taking care of others. But one by one, night after night they died. Within a week the fish bowl was empty. It took almost 40 years until I got a real fish tank for our kids. It was pretty traumatic, but I survived the loss of those orange fishes. I guess its all part of growing up and accepting loss. That's what we all must do.
My favorite book was called "A Fish Out of Water" by P.D. Eastman; and it was part of the Dr. Seuss series in the easy reader's collection. After fish, my parents moved on to turtles and they were very small ones. I named them Jack and Jill and prophetically they ended up walking up the hill and away from our house! They had been around for well over a year, when one day they escaped from their bowl while sunning in the backyard. The problem was they never came down the hill and went somewhere into oblivion. I wonder what ever became of them.
Then I briefly had a pet salamander - or was it a chameleon? It came home in a shoe box from a Caribbean vacation…probably an illegal activity these days with air transport regulations being much stricter. I don't think that warm weather creature enjoyed the frigid New York suburbs in February. He didn't last long.
We then turned to mammals. Sam and Schmo were a hamster and a guinea pig respectively. Katy the Cat, Patrick Henry the Shetland Sheepdog who was born on the 4th of July, was a very patriotic and neurotic dog. He was chosen by my parents since I had loved the Lassie TV show as a child and he was a miniature collie-type dog. Both the cat and the dog lasted well over a decade and became fixtures in our family. Pets are the glue that keeps a family unit close.
When I moved away to college my permanent cold disappeared, low and behold…it returned when I went back home on vacations. I was allergic to the cat and maybe the dog. Antihistamines would forever be my companion when going to see my parents.
I moved away and never wanted pets. Boo-boo kitty wandered into my parents' life and stayed for ages. I was hardly ever at my parent's house, so the cat allergy didn't get in the way of my life. I did not miss having a dog to cuddle with. My parents got a Dalmatian puppy named Patches when I had our first child…so it was fun and we watched the Disney movie "101 Dalmatians" about a million times. Now they have Shadow the black Labrador. Our kids love to visit the dog but I was not ready to have a dog in our life, and neither did my husband. Too much work! Too much attention needed! And the most important question…would the kids help?
Let's fast forward to 2008. We have five tropical fish, one bunny named Pedro and the newest member of the family is Ruby. She is a golden retriever puppy full of love and energy - just what we need right now as we prepare to launch our oldest child. I wonder how I will handle it all, the walking, the training, the vet visits, the fun and the work.
Somehow…it's all falling into place. Now we have more animals than people in our home. It may not be an animal farm - but it's a suburban menagerie that completes our family. Just don't look at our messy house!
Winter Wonderland - or not? I am just not cut out for the New England winters anymore! No I am not! Every year the effect of the cold and snow makes me want to hibernate, hiding inside and avoiding any travel. January and February are just too icy and snowy around here! Why would anyone want to get in a car and drive on these roads? I learned of a 59 car pile up on a slick New England highway over the weekend!
Today it was 19 degrees and I went out without gloves. Boots, layers, coats, hats, mittens…they all clutter our hallway and mudroom….but this a.m. my gloves were not to be found. I really do like beach and bathing suit weather better - it suits me- I hate the frigid temps and I love the sun and water! How can anyone have a sunny personality when the world is covered in thick snow and ice? Our yard looks like the Alaskan tundra these days!
Why are we raising kids in this environment? Why must we scrape caked on ice off the cars and walk the dog on slick sidewalks? The answer is simple - this is where we live - for now - but for how long? Will our future include Florida or California…at least on a part time basis? Will I transform into a snowbird for part of each year?
The winter gives us a hostile environment to deal with, yet spring, summer and autumn are all glorious in Longmeadow! Three out of four ain't bad, right? I am only miserable for a few months…almost unable to wake up on a cold morning. I just want to hide under the covers! It gets worse and worse every year…could it be that I am aging and old age and snowy ice do not go together?
Looking forward to buds on the trees, the first snowdrops and crocus sightings in late March or early April give me hope! Love and hope are all we need…and a strong winter sun to melt the blues away. The bright sun shining through the front windows helps me to remember that it is all just a cycle of life and renewal. We do get to start over again in the springtime! Treasure those little moments of winter that warm the soul. Just wandering through my neighborhood at night, looking at the holiday lights on the trees and gazing at the big beautiful full moon is heartening. Our puppy dog Ruby sure enjoys a good walk at any time of the day or night…but she wears a warm coat all the time. Remember to bundle up and find those mittens before you go out!
January 11, 2009
Endings and Beginnings A blast of cold air blew down Broadway from the north and sent a chill through my body. Another cold day in Manhattan - and here I was at the center of Times Square. It took almost fifty years for me to become a tourist, and now I truly feel like one. I am an ex-New Yorker and the electricity of the city is in my blood. It felt good to be back, but now I'm a true visitor buying half price theater tickets for a play and waiting in a massive line. Recently, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to see where the huddled masses from the past came to America.
It is a pull and push sort of thing, like the ying and yang of my existence. I love the pulse of the city, the thrill of the snowflake covered holiday windows and the big tree at Rockefeller Center. Just walking down Fifth Avenue near St. Patrick's Cathedral brings back countless memories and sensations from the 1980s. It was the perfect place for me when I was a carefree younger woman in my 20s.
But now, things have changed, and I realize that I have changed as well. After the theater, shopping, walking, people watching and dodging the construction barricades I stop and remember where I really live and who I am now. I am no longer the same person, I'm the mother of two teenagers and my responsibilities include a puppy, a bunny, five fish, a house that is our cozy home, a yard, a garden, and a husband - this is a different life! The city is no place to raise a family! It is unaffordable and the suburban countryside is a better lifestyle for us now.
How did I ever make the transition from city girl to New England woman? Well, it sure wasn't easy! The path was full of hard choices and detours that are for sure. All of us carry baggage from our past, both positive and negative from years of growth and maturity. Some of the twists and turns can tie a person up in knots - or it can be clear sailing on a clear crystal lake in cloudless sunshine for awhile. It's never smooth all the time, but some people weather the bumps better and seem to age less.
All of us experience confusion at forks in the road. Some of interludes or detours are dangerous and tricky, but as we push on, we realize that those hard parts make us stronger.
I am a woman at mid-life, approaching the half century mark and wondering how to navigate the next few years in a terrible economy. The view ahead isn't all that clear, looks like a storm overhead, at least that's what the politicians and newscasters predict. This is a phase of endings and beginnings, saying goodbye to the year ending in December and saying hello to new challenges ahead as our children grow up and move out. As Rosanne Rosannadanna used to say "it's always something!"
December 9, 2008
The Waiting Game Patience is a virtue they say. Well, I am practicing the art of patience by learning how to wait. My mantra is peace, Om…whatever….. The pile has grown almost two feet high; in fact it's over 22 inches now. The words of inspiration are printed on each brochure, invitation, application and fact sheet. "Apply now! Explore, Think, Plan! Create your future now! These are the positive messages printed on college and university literature.
Our daughter is applying to college!
We are all waiting!
The stress level waxes and wanes as the clocks tick.
We are waiting for the acceptances to roll in….and maybe she will apply to some more.Now we just wait for fate, destiny and luck to decide our high schooler's future. She has made her cake, it has risen, and now a college experience will be the "frosting" before she gets to experience the real world of grown-up adulthood. What kind of world will she encounter after four years in college? There are days that I have completely lost confidence in the American Economic System. The Republicans, under Bush and Cheney have let our debt rise to astonishing levels! Now what will the Democrats do? I fear for our children and grandchildren. What a mess to inherit!
Was it all so much simpler in 1976 when I was applying to college? Yes and No. Location and reputation always mattered, in addition to the quality of the professors and the curriculum, but were we all blind to the unforeseen forces of economics? Salaries? Grants? What did any of us know? It was long before the internet and my life revolved around handwritten letters, phone calls and not email, texting and cell phones. We did not even have answering machines!
So we wait. Please love our daughter as much as we do! Take her! She's amazing, bright, talented and hardworking, capable and kind - just what you want! We wait! Keep your fingers crossed and try not to be neurotic, stressed out and insane! No, I'm not crazy, but yes the system is!
All the seniors applying are motivated and want the same opportunities as our daughter - but the world is scarier and more competitive now! It is more fragile and confusing!
Breathe!
Wait!
Practice the art of patience!
This too shall pass…..are we ready for the next milestone to occur? Then we will be waiting for something else…graduate schools, jobs, grandchildren? All in due time. Patience is just part of the game.Happy Thanksgiving one and all!
November 22, 2008
A DISAPPOINTING MEETING The last Tuesday night in April was a late one in the quiet little Town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts. No, I did not attend a party, but there was a gathering of over 200 souls in the high school. There were a smattering of intellectually curious students, but most of the folks in attendance were older folks like me in the 40 plus age group. Sad to say, many of us are approaching 50 plus and that means AARP material!
The 20-somethings and the 30-somethings were doing their own things, somewhere else, either at work or at home. Making dinner, traveling, commuting, caring for children…no time to attend the slowest and most painful town meeting of the 21st Century (in my humble opinion.)
The whole night was SLOW and painfully embarrassing to our "educated" community. I attribute that to the Town Leadership's apparent "lack of a clue" and their obvious "lack of preparedness" on the debatable issues. Who's on first? Who's running the show? She said, and then he said…..What kind of budget do we really want anyway? Balanced or unbalanced? The whole thing was out of kilter and definitely out of whack! Are the leaders of this idyllic oasis of a community out of their minds? What ever happened to communication and the art of listening to the other side!?
Did you stay home and watch it on television? After enduring over two grueling hours of nasty, rude and almost unruly discussion we had only wrestled with the first 6 articles on the warrant! I escaped the confines of the school gymnasium and went home. From 10:15 until after 11 pm I watched the gladiators on my television screen. Many did not have their scripts written out….it was all ad-lib. At least our excellent and eloquent moderator kept his head and steered people in the right direction, keeping them under control!
It is an inefficient and antiquated process! I love democracy and the fairness and openness that are the intent of the New England town meeting, but I am sincerely afraid that our system is failing us. It did not work last week! It is evident and obvious to me that we need to fix the format and hold our leaders accountable to a higher standard.
First of all, everyone needs to agree that the numbers are correct before the warrant is printed! Secondly, the information must not be misleading! And third, time management must be a priority! Longwinded and directionless speakers must be put out of their misery with a specific time limit. Let's ensure that people can be home by 10 pm. It is disrespectful to expect the citizens of our town to stay out so late, without even providing some form of refreshment. For some, it may have been an entertaining evening, but for me, I left frustrated, bored and confused. Town meetings are important but we should not be asked to waste our precious time with an ill-planned warrant and ill prepared elected and/or appointed officials.
May 1, 2008
GREEN DREAMS Picture this!
The halls of Longmeadow High School are clean and new! All the windows and doors close and open easily. The heating and cooling systems are state of the art! All the lockers are brand new. This is not a dream…this is exactly the way it was circa 1960. That was almost 50 years ago!Fast forward to 2008 and today the facility and school grounds both need some love and care. But there is no budget to keep the building and the surrounding fields in proper shape. We must not give up - let's get creative and find a way to fund what we need! We are talking infrastructure and computer systems….are we also talking about a new structure?
Inflation is part of the problem. Things just cost too much these days! Prices keep going up and we must work harder to make ends meet. Saving for college and retirement feels like a constant struggle.
We must find new ways to fund school building issues and the poor condition of our grass practice and playing fields. I have been told that $11,000 is our total budget to care for our numerous field hockey, football, lacrosse and baseball fields. For a town that is obsessed with sports - the condition of our fields is an embarrassment! What can we do?
First, lets do what is best for our kids. Let's think of what they want and what they need. Organic fertilizers are needed - no toxic products on our soil! Some community members wish for an artificial turf - let's do more research to see if it's cost effective. Let's find a way to look for private sources to fix our fields, since state aid is dwindling. Our sports teams can be proud of our fields and facilities.
I dream of lush, green well-cared for fields around town and new or renovated school buildings. The elementary schools were repaired, restored and added to. What can be done with the two middle schools and high school? We also need to fix the Community House and the Longmeadow Town Hall…the list of building projects seems endless!
Think outside the box!
Get creative! Let's raise private funds for our schools - outside of the LEEF foundation…let's try new things!
We need to find new sources of funding for future generations, without increasing real estate taxes. Where there is a will - there is a way!April 29, 2008
2008 MUSINGS AT BETSY'S CORNER So, here we are. It's 2008 and that means's that forty years ago I was 8. It is impossible to wrap my arms around the idea that 1968 was four decades ago!!!! So much has happened….
That memorable year of 1968 was full of good and bad. Great music and great tragedy fill my brain banks. It was a year before the Woodstock Music Festival mud and merriment. The awful deaths of Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy and all those American soldiers were in the news constantly! I recall the feel of anxiety as I visualize the old TV images flashing before my young eyes. It was also the year that someone tried to kill Andy Warhol! Why would anyone assassinate an artist you ask? Well, that is a long story for another day. In 1988 I helped to orchestrate the auction of Warhol's estate collection…and that will figure prominently into a book that I am writing about New York City in the 1980s. If Warhol had died in 1968, my life would have been so very different. He lived almost 20 more years, and I received my 15 minutes of fame!
And what would the world have been like of Robert Kennedy lived into old age? Cause and effect - these deaths changed our world and our little everyday lives. I wonder who will live and who will die in the upcoming year. What will grow and what will change in the days ahead? What will be built and what will be destroyed? Is there Astroturf in the football team's future? Do we really get to plan a new High School structure? I dream of miracles!
On a local level, it is time for Longmeadow to prioritize. Water bills have dramatically increased, a pergola has caused a controversy in a historic neighborhood and people go one with their lives in a frigid northeastern winter. Snow blanketed this corner of the world for the winter holidays and two special snow people grace our front yard. I am being politically correct, but also uncertain of the figures outside my front windows are snow men or women. Across the street I see a snow woman in a hula skirt and a cocoanut bra with a lawn chair by her side. Another white figure with a lobster next to a plastic pail and shovel! My neighbors obviously think like I do….we'd rather be at the beach!
I hope our town continues to improve on the communication, education and appreciation of historic issues in our residential town. We are a suburb that started out as a rural farming area along side a big river, next to a big city. Now we are just another bedroom community, linked by highways and not the railroad, as in ages past. What do we want our hometown to look like in forty years? Do we want to preserve the past? Should we encourage development and change the way the town looks? Older homes are coming down and new structures change the scene. Should private money be spent improving and beautifying public land? Can we set aside more open space to be saved forever…into eternity?
What will our children and grandchildren experience in 2048? Will the world be linked by cell phones and email at that point in time or will there be the next new thing? I obviously have many too many questions. I wish I had the answers, but unfortunately Andy Warhol's crystal ball belongs to someone else. I wanted to buy it at the Sotheby's auction twenty years ago…but someone else bid higher and won the chance to see the future. I'll be almost 89 in forty years and I may not achieve that level of senior citizen-hood…who knows. What I do know is this! Change is good but preservation is important to all history lovers who appreciate the past. I say - speak out and tell our community leaders what you want Longmeadow to be in 2018, 2028, 2038 and 2048!!! Vote on your priorities at the Spring Town Meeting when we have a chance to review proposals for our future as part of the Community Preservation Act! Get involved! Take action to make positive changes for us all!
January 10, 2008
THE COST OF THIS TERRIBLE WAR I am tired of it! Like a huge weight hanging over our heads…the cost of the war is affecting us at home…and it makes me sick and tired! It is depressing, frustrating, aggravating and confusing - the war has taken a psychological toll on our country. Have we gone too far into a misguided war - how can we retreat now? It feels like danger looms whatever way we turn.
I don't have the answers. I am not sure anyone has a way of solving this dilemma. A peaceful solution is the goal. What I do know is that we need to solve the local problems that are within our control.
The international crisis caused by oil, greed, radical ethnic politics and the age-old struggle for territory is taking funds away from our local communities. A global disaster with a local impact; that is what we are now experiencing! We still have responsibilities to our families and our community! We need to be creative about meeting our costs.
Communities like Longmeadow do not have the state funds they need to run our towns. Real estate taxes have climbed precipitously over the last decade. The school teachers have not been paid their agreed upon cost of living raises. We do not have the cash available in our budgets to meet the rising costs of managing this town. The town of Longmeadow is asking for a little over $2 million for an over-ride. Please come out and vote in the November 6th election. We need funds to pay for the vital expenses of running such a fine community. This is not just about the schools; funds are needed to take care of business in the Town Hall.
Look around you! Do you like what you see? The town is being fixed up! Trees have been trimmed, sewers repaired, streets repaved and long overdue maintenance has finally begun. The Community Preservation Act will give us some funds to meet our needs to take care of the older town buildings and historic infrastructure; it will not pay for yearly expenses.
Envision how you want Longmeadow to be! Education is vital to our survival; and residents need to be educated on what it really costs to run a town like this in this day. It is expensive! Rising costs of insurance and health care, not the mention special education and inflation that annually eat into in our savings!
We have had two over-rides in the past 16 years…in 1991 and 2002. We cannot deficit spend! Unfortunately, our country is spending a huge portion of our funds on a war far away from home. The cash is being diverted away from our cities, towns and away from local government. Towns all over Massachusetts are in the same boat! No one wants taxes to go up - but it will cost the average Longmeadow homeowner only $1 per day when the over-ride passes. That isn't too much to pay! The alternative is a huge budget crisis, and we cannot afford that! Think of the future!
October 10, 2007
THE ROAD TO NOWHERE My friend and I took a walk on the road to nowhere. We were not wandering aimlessly….we wanted to explore the new road that seemed to be a dead-end in the middle of Longmeadow. This wide and newly paved road is near the town cemetery, adjacent to Strople Field off Williams Street. This road is also called Sherry Lane.
The road to nowhere leads to somewhere in reality - it leads to a small sub-division of five lots. Each lot will have a modern house built on it, but no specific plans have been submitted yet. I do not believe that any of these lots have been sold yet.
One older house, dating from circa 1910, was demolished to make way for this new corner of our town. Countless mature trees were sacrificed…and as Joni Mitchell would agree, they paved paradise and put in an asphalt road! Another home was demolished over the summer on Shaker Road. The historic Barnabas Knox house will be razed in the near future. The skyline of Longmeadow is changing, growing, modernizing, and we are becoming more densely populated and less rural-feeling. Additions and renovations abound in our small community!
Many homes are now on the market. Several have sold during the summer months - as new families come to our town to escape the pressures and expenses of big city life. There is a peaceful way of life here…far away from the hustle bustle of a Boston or New York-style place…we are even mellower than Hartford! Demographics are changing, and people live longer lives. This creates a pull and push between the generations; each with their own priorities and needs. A new retirement community that had been built on a farm site called Blueberry Acres was mysteriously burned to the ground. It appeared to be a positive development to the East Longmeadow community.
And where will the road to nowhere end up? No one knows….but we need to have a direction for our communities…no more endless and aimless paths in the dark are acceptable. What about the long range plan? What about the teachers' salaries? Let's make a plan for the future and follow it! Go to the upcoming town meeting and election!
September 30, 2007
REMEMBER WHEN? Long ago, postcards were the best means of long distance quick communication - sort of like email today! A display from a local collection of hand colored and early printed postcards recapture days long gone in this area. Back in the days of horses, carriages and streetcars these photographic reproductions were mass produced for sale across the country. Many of the early cards were printed in Germany prior to World War I. Images of the good 'ole days in The Springfield environs including Longmeadow and Forest Park will be on display at Storrs Library in Longmeadow during the months of May and June 2007. Hours at the library are Monday-Wednesday 10-8, Thurs-Fri 10-5 and Saturdays in May from 10-4. The library is closed on Saturdays in June and every Sunday.
The collection usually sits in archival shoebox sized containers in the closet of local resident and history enthusiast Betsy Huber Port. When she moved to this area in 1996 she discovered a vast amount of postcards that had been left to her from late grandfather. He was a Connecticut ephemera collector that specialized in historic valentines and other paper collectibles. The estate of Carroll Alton Means contained many unlabeled boxes, that took ages to open and over the years many visual treasures were found. She soon realized that the well lit glass display cases at the Storrs Library were perfect for her collection to be shared with the public. In 1997, 2001 and again in 2004, parts of the collection were on display. She has also displayed her postcard collection of Boston, Hartford, Christmas, Easter and Halloween postcards in the past. She has continues to collect special cards finding them at Brimfield, local antique fairs or on the internet.
Most of the images date from the first quarter of the 20th century, when a postcard could be mailed for one penny. In those days, postmen service usually delivered the mail twice a day. Many of the cards are in excellent condition since they were never mailed, and were stored in postcards albums as souvenirs. Since many tourists did not own quality cameras during this era, a postcard was the best way to capture a memory in a printed form. Things have changed dramatically in the last century, and now most of the mail we receive is junk mail, catalogs and bills…not postcards unless a friend is traveling.
For further information, please see the books: As We Were: American Photographic Postcards 1905-1930 by Rosamond B. Vaule, Real Photo Postcard Guide: The People's Photography by Robert Bogen and Had a Good Time by Robert Olen Butler. Questions and messages can be left at the library regarding the collection.
April 20, 2007
SIMPLIFY - SIMPLIFY -SIMPLIFY! These days that's my mantra……Simplify! How can I keep focused and get everything done? The only way is to simplify. As they say: "Keep it Simple Stupid"…that's the KISS rule, and it works!
In the winter months, there are days when I wish there was an OFF switch, so I could just stop time and hibernate until the warmth comes back. There are very few simple ON and OFF switches left in my life….things are so complicated electronically speaking. I cannot turn on my television anymore since there are three remote controls…they are just too much for me! Someone else is in charge of starting all the DVD's in the house, and the kids do a better job than the grown-ups. It seemed that as soon as I understood how to tape a program on the VCR, it became passé.
Event he phone isn't simple anymore! We have call waiting and an answering machine…which most 21st Century families feel are necessities…in addition to a cell phone for each person in the family. We are all reachable all the time! There are days that our lives are so busy that cell phones are used more than the regular phones. Is this progress or is it mass confusion? Then I remember my mantra…..KISS, simplify, simplify……
The learned to simplify long ago! It is the way I have survived the pressures of life. My life is simpler because I live in Longmeadow instead of the big city. But, how simple can anyone's life really be in this day and age? If I forget to read my email for a few days, I really feel like I may have missed something important! If the kids forget to write down a message, what will happen?
The last six years, since the Twin Towers turned into a huge graveyard, life certainly has seemed less stable. You never know when bad news will strike! I worry about the war in Iraq. I worry about the lives lost and the cost to our once thriving economy. We are no longer spending on the public schools in this country. I fret about tsunamis and hurricanes, not to mention terrorist attacks. People are loosing sleep over our nation's financial situation and what our "leaders" in Washington are doing…or not doing. Somehow, I am able to sleep like a rock, but that is sheer exhaustion I believe!
So how can each of us relax and escape? It may not be possible…but springtime is a season of new possibilities and hope. I try to help others by donating my time or funds to good causes that life my heart…the public schools, The Longmeadow School Foundation LEEF, The Longmeadow Beautification Committee, The Storrs Library and Friends of Storrs, The Rays of Hope Walkathon for a Breast Cancer Cure, and more… Kids are often overwhelmed with homework, and there is so much for them to learn, but we need to set a good example by being involved in causes that will benefit future generations, and our actions will guide the children towards personal responsibility.
So, sit back and breathe. Do yoga. Walk, run, skip and jump! Read a book, contact an old friend, write an old-fashioned letter, call your parents, and spend time hugging your children. Go to the beach, hike in the woods, and soak up the salty wind of the ocean.
Tonight I'd like to practice what I preach, and just stay home instead of going to meetings. I would like to sit in front of an old black and white TV with my family and watch Bewitched or Gilligan's Island and reminisce. The actresses and actors may be long gone, but they are still alive on that screen.
Today a pair of mourning doves greeted me in the snow covered driveway. The melted white winter debris was piled along side the evergreen bushes. One bird just sat there and stared at me, while the other flew up to the roof of the garage to get a better view.
Now that spring has arrived, I hear birds all the time. Their sweet tunes were missed during the winter cold. At night I often hear the whip-or-will. This nocturnal bird has a haunting voice, heard only in the dark hours. In New England there is a superstition that this bird can sense a soul departing, and the whip-or-will can capture it! So, where are those souls that we've lost since last spring? Not lost, living again in memory, like those stars above and on the TV re-runs.
3-26-07
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL/ WAKE UP LONGMEADOW! "The more things change,
The more they stay the same……"Who said that? Well, in this corner of New England it is true today as it was in the past. If we bury our heads in the sand, we won't notice anything is wrong!
Who is driving around here anyway?
Are they asleep behind the wheel of speeding car?If we are talking about Boston, then the Big Dig Mess tells the story of management asleep in the driver's seat. Wasn't this highway construction supposed to ease traffic problems and make the city run smoother? Well, I think we spent too much money for nothing!
If we are talking about the management of Longmeadow, who is asleep and who is awake? Did you happen to see a group of four signs near the south end of our town this week? The signs have been removed, but one of them said "Wake Up Longmeadow!" The issue was concerning the destruction of a 19th century structure. The zoning board will decide the fate of the historic home next week.
If you were asleep, you probably did not notice the fabulous Longmeadow Resource Book, recently published by LEEF, The Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation! I congratulate all the LEEF volunteers who tirelessly work together to keep our school standards high. Thanks to them, we will try to get the best for our kids through generous donations for school programs. Since the state wasted so much money on the Big Mess in Boston, we need to be creative now!
Are the voter's awake?
The turn out for November's election was pretty good, yet the turn out for the meeting last night was sort of disappointing. A total of only 200 residents showed up, yet that's pretty good for a "minor" or was it called "special" meeting. Many people stayed home so they could go to sleep early.Apathy!
Ignorance!
Is the average Longmeadow resident sleep deprived?We have had a hard working town manager for one and one half years now, so internal communication has improved. Things are heading in the right direction! From 9-5 there is someone in charge of Longmeadow's administration and overall organization! If I have a question, concern or problem, I stop by Robin Crosbie's office to chat.
She listens and thinks about my comments and suggestions. She cannot help the average town resident if you do not tell her that something is wrong! The town meeting is not the place to start a conversation, it is the place to vote and resolve issues.
Over 100 trees were cut down on the north side of town; a historic house will soon be removed from the Historical Society's list and replaced with modern construction of mysterious design. The local neighborhoods will be forever changed by developers out for profit. Local residents are starting to speak up, but we need a stronger voice. The Planning and Zoning Boards need your ideas and feedback at the evening meetings which are open to the public. Have you been attending board meetings and helping with the local government as a citizen should?
Were you asleep or just too busy?
Think about how you want Longmeadow to look and operate in the future.
Make your dreams a reality and participate!
Am I making you tired?
Someone has got to stay awake!12-01-06
BE SAFE AND WATCH OUT!!!!! Traffic patterns, increased volume and high speeds threaten pedestrians and all town residents. I have seen it time and time again. New people move into our beautiful tree lined neighborhoods and enjoy the sidewalks with their small children. Soon they are asking me about the cars cutting through local streets to miss traffic lights. I shake my head and show them the new SLOW sign that I bought for my front yard! We were able to get the speed limit lowered and signs were posted…yet we still have a big problem. Unfortunately, the problem is growing.
Have we abandoned our duty to protect our town for future generations? Can we join together to do something about the traffic, which has recently increased in volume to a staggering degree? It's not just the cars. Motorcycles scare me - always have - especially when I see drivers riding without helmets. Locally, even children biking are beginning to scare me! They go a lot slower than cars and motorized vehicles but are we watching out for bike safety?
A 6th grader on a bike was hit by a car while going to school. He was close to an elementary school and an unsupervised crosswalk. There was hardly any newspaper coverage, and if there was I missed it! A letter to the editor appeared and now there is a petition for a crossing guard. That child was wearing a helmet and it probably saved his life. Are most kids wearing their helmets? No - see for yourself! Can we encourage them to do so?
It is my hope that all those drivers cutting through our beautiful side streets, both in town residents and those from other areas, should SLOW down. Be aware of the kids on bikes, scooters, in strollers and walking. Don't be in such a rush!
And, if you see a dangerous area or spot that is just waiting for an accident to happen - don't just sit there! Say something! Speak up! Just this morning, it was a mess around the polling place at the Community House. I saw too many cars, and not a single police officer directing traffic. The school crossing guard had a bigger job than usual.
Call the Police! We have a safety officer named Mr. Kirby and it is his job to supervise the traffic patterns in Longmeadow. Do we need more sidewalks? Do we need slower speed limits? Do we need signs in additional places? Be careful! That's the best advice to give our families. So sign that petition, write a letter to the editor or just go to The Town Meetings and be a part of the solution!
11-06-06
LIKE A DEATH IN THE FAMILY "The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration of the whole system."
-- Fredrick Law OlmstedWe love our neighborhoods in Longmeadow. I just saw a friend who, unlike me, grew up here and has lived here almost her entire life. She said, "Yes, it's like a death in the family. I almost cried." We were talking about what is happening at the corner Forest Glen Road and Laurel Street. The discussion centered on the Colony Hills neighborhood's hole in its heart.
I walked over to the north end of town, on this beautiful sunny autumn day. There was a two year old watching the activity from his stroller. He was fascinated by the red truck knocking over trees and a huge flat bed vehicle backing up at the dangerous corner. The noise was deafening.
The scenery is changing. The trees are coming down! You can go see them falling over today, Wednesday, October 25th, 2006. I hear the cutting of the tall old trees right now, as I write these words. The lots are available for sale and the land is being clear cut. There will be wide open space for five homes that will border the Town of Longmeadow and The City of Springfield. The area is now known as Colony Gate, and there are still some lots available.
There is a new tree committee in town. At this point, I do not believe there are any rules or regulations regarding trees on private property. Today, I did notice a sign posted on the Springfield side of the land. It was a public notice regarding the trees, and a date for a public hearing for city residents. I did not see a similar sign on the Longmeadow side of the lot.
When Colony Hills was planned in the early 1920s, Olmsted and Sons were the designers and planners. Little did Frederick Law Olmsted's son know how much the world would change in only 86 years. The shade, filtered sunlight and ambiance are gone for a long time. How long will it take to grow more mature trees? I shudder to think what my grand-children will encounter in the town of Longmeadow when they visit in 86 years. I won't be here to see it, but I care.
10-25-06
AUTUMN DRIVE It's a familiar route now - driving up and down I-91 through Western Mass. My car knows the way. Another autumn in New England; we're used to them now. This has been my routine for a full decade now, during the fastest moving ten years of my entire life. A few acorns fall, then more, the leaves start to yellow, a few dance downward, then more, and they accumulate and then overwhelm my landscape.
I have done this drive so many times, up and down, north and then back to the south - back and forth. The Pioneer Valley is beautiful during the changing seasons. I appreciate where I live at moments like these. Driving alone is a time to think, ponder and reflect on the swiftly moving years and the changing needs of my family. There are no interruptions here. The rhythm is so comfortable; humming along changing the music on the radio when a rap song comes on. Oldies are the best - tunes from the 70s and 80s - with a few exceptions.
The road weaves back and forth, east and west over the long Connecticut River. The car crosses the lovely body of water and I savor the view - a view I can only see from my car in motion. Light bounces off the shining water and colorful leaves frame the edges of the scene. The signs along the interstate provide exits or escapes from the wave of traffic going 65 mph or more. Often, I am tempted to take a longer way back home - a detour of sorts - just to get lost for awhile. An explorer at heart, discovering unique places is a passion of mine. There are days when I have the urge to slow down and relax. The sign says "Ingleside" ahead!
Images of an Ingleside in England come to mind, but have never seen a real one getting off at this exit. I conjure up an image of hearth and home, of a cozy spot near a welcoming fire. I wish such a warm secluded spot existed off the highway - it would be nice to rest and enjoy a quiet corner in New England. What is an Ingleside anyway? The dictionary has a definition for inglenook - maybe that is what I yearn for every autumn when the leaves drop and the temperature dips. A fireplace, a seating area, a chimney corner, a comforting rest area…would be the perfect answer to the loss of summer.
Going south into the next state, I leave Massachusetts and enter Connecticut; crossing an invisible line of demarcation. "Hazardville" is up ahead. What adventures of doom or peril lie ahead for the weary wanderer if they get off on this exit? Will they encounter a treacherous area of quick sand or an invisible obstacle course with a dead end? Was there a disaster of sorts long ago? Will there be evidence of the dangerous spot? A flood zone, an ancient fault-line, or was it simply a manmade hazard? A worn bridge, a broken fence, a secret mystery…a hidden answer, lost to history.
In an hour's time, I reach Woodbridge. This is an exit that I know well, as I turn off the two lane parkway and head North on a single lane road. My mother grew up here, my cousins run a farm here, I went to church here as a child, my ancestors inhabit the old graveyard here. What about the name of the town? It conjures up a rustic spot by a river, but there is no river here that I can remember….and certainly no bridge. I have never seen a wooden bridge here in Woodbridge, only a big cliff called East Rock and a stone-faced tunnel that cuts through it. We always hold our breath when we go through the double-holed tunnel. Who were the heroes who have a tunnel named for them…yet another puzzle to ponder until someone gives us the answer.
A little further south is New Haven. Sounds nice, doesn't it? I always wondered if there was an Old Haven when I was younger. There isn't. When I paid a visit to England, the real England, the authentic England, the Old England….years ago, I saw a sign for New Haven. It was pronounced New-'aven. Maybe havens are always new…because anything old or antique cannot be a haven, a safe place, a refuge, a sheltered spot in a port…a place I'd want to visit and rest for while…in a storm or in a season of falling leaves. Maybe this whole world is my respite. My home in New England is where I escape and get lost. That is my answer. For all other answers I must wait.
10-19-06
HAVING IT ALL There has been much talk these days about women stepping down and leaving the workplace. High profile leaders making changes may make the headlines…but to the average woman it is often a silent battle. We find it is possible to have it all, at the same time! Choices must be made, and can be forced upon a woman by her bosses. Corporate culture usually entails competition and endless hours; which doesn't necessarily fit into a successful family life. We pave our own destiny, yet we're influenced by our husbands, children, co-workers and parents.
I tried it, and you know what….it did not work out too well. In hindsight, leaving my old job was wonderful, yet my decision to leave came out of left field at first. What was I expected to do? Working mothers are still treated like 2nd class citizens in many places. We are expected to stay home and be attentive to our growing children, yet we are also expected to contribute to bringing home the bacon. Part-time opportunities would solve many of these issues, but well-paying jobs that are not full time are impossible to find in some regions of the USA. If you do not live near a thriving metropolis, you need to carve out an unconventional and creative alternative. Thus, most women volunteer in their communities or work as doctors, lawyers, artists, writers, decorators, educators and office assistants where there are part-time options. Corporations and large companies do not always offer alternatives, or even daycare. Women all need to reinvent ourselves and experiment, which is what the younger generations have found they must do to survive in this crazy world.
What can women who graduate from college now expect as they seek higher degrees and promotions in a job hierarchy? The world is not fair, but society expects most women to have families eventually; if they are married or not. We expect most men to become fathers someday as well, but do we automatically expect them to stay home? Do we expect them to choose? How can women fulfill their intellectual potential and have time to nurture their children? Husbands need some flexibility in the workplace also, if not, many women feel they need to give up and quit! The diapers years are time consuming, but young mothers you just wait! The teen years and the chauffeur years are almost overwhelming. Until someone invents a way to cook and do laundry while in the car, it will take ingenuity to get it all done. Family life is a stressful juggling act!
If women propose marriage to men, and men get pregnant…how would we react? It is impossible to predict what will happen in the 21st Century. Some things will change, slowly and surely. I know I will tell my daughter not to give up, and that she can have it all! She needs to seek equality and love in a supportive marriage and some sort of a successful career. There needs to be a balance and not too much sacrifice for either wife or husband. Many women like me, born in the 1950s and 1960s postponed parenthood and then took time off. We did not want "retirement", but there was no middle ground. It is hard to leave a good job and become a full-time mother, but it is what I did. It is part of a complicated picture that is my life, but every Mother's Day I think about how glad I am to be at home with my two children. Remember to thank your mother this weekend. Whether she works at home, or works in an office, she is working for the good of her family! Give her a hug and let her know how much you appreciate her!
5-10-06
