South Hadley, Massachusetts
Save the date! Plan to join Shadowbrook neighbors on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 4:00pm via Zoom for a casual conversation to catch up and meeting those who are new to our community. Please see our Winter 2022 newsletter email, which owners should be receiving soon. Hopefully, conditions will continue to improve so we can meet again in-person next time, either indoors or outside.!
Upcoming online and live author programs sponsored by the Odyssey include:
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 7:00pm via Zoom
Maureen B. Jones
Maud & Addie! (middle grades novel)
Info and Registration: https://www.odysseybks.com/event/maureen-b-jones
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7:00pm via Zoom
Marie Rutkoski
Real Easy
Info and Registration: https://www.odysseybks.com/event/marie-rutkoski
Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 7:00pm in-person at the Odyssey
Marie Rutkoski
Before the Flood: Destruction, Community, and Survival in the Drowned Towns of the Quabbin
Info and Registration: https://www.odysseybks.com/event/elisabeth-rosenberg
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7:00pm in-person at the Odyssey
Daniel Bullen
Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion: An American Story
Info and Registration: https://www.odysseybks.com/event/daniel-bullen
Friday, January 28, 2022 at 7:00pm via Zoom
Adrea Theodore (author) and Erin K. Robinson (illustrator)
A History of Me! (picture book)
Info and Registration: https://www.odysseybks.com/event/adrea-theodore-and-erin-k-robinson
The Odyssey, an independent book store at the Village Commons in South Hadley, is open for in-person browsing. Books can also be ordered online for contact-free pickup. The store also hosts several book groups, including ‘Crime Club,’ ‘Open Fiction,’ and the ‘Active Citizens Book Group.’ For more information, including store hours and additional events, visit: https://www.odysseybks.com/.
Management received notice this morning, January 14, of a fisher cat’s presence in the wooded area near the curved lower connector road in the Hill section. We ask that you take caution in this general area and throughout the community, and keep a close eye on your pets during any outdoor activities. It is especially important to secure garbage and remove bird feeders that may attract the small mammals that fishers prey upon. More information about fishers, which are members of the weasel family, can be found at: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-fishers.
Due to the significant increase of COVID infections in our community, the annual Bag the Community Food Drive scheduled for this weekend on January 15 is postponed. The South Hadley High School Student Council will host a replacement community activity when the current health risks are eliminated.
Unfortunately, the needs of our neighbors cannot be postponed. To help now, please consider a donation to to the food pantry. Checks made out to “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” can be mailed to:
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry
30 Carew Street, South Hadley MA 01075
For more information on how, when, and what to donate, visit: https://www.nhnfoodpantry.org. Thank you for your patience and generosity during these challenging times.
A temporary mask mandate was enacted starting Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021 in all non-residential indoor spaces in South Hadley in which the public is invited to enter. This applies to all persons ages 2 and older, regardless of vaccination status. The South Hadley Board of Health voted December 21, 2021 to implement these measures. Violations are subjected to penalties. Please see the full order, here, for details and specifications.
The COVID-19 testing offered by Curative on Saturdays outside South Hadley Town Hall last fall has relocated to a larger, drive-through site in Holyoke this winter. The new drive-through site is located at the old Sears parking lot (near Macy’s) at the Holyoke Mall at 50 Holyoke Street. No-cost PCR testing is offered by appointment seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To book an appointment, visit https://cur.tv/holyoke. For more information about the testing: https://www.holyokemall.com/covid-testing-at-holyoke-mall/.
Please help your neighbors in South Hadley by filling up a bag (or bags) with nonperishable food items to drop off at the high school. Students will unload your vehicle–no contact necessary!
Five major groupings are particularly needed. Please be sure to check expiration dates.
Monetary donations are especially helpful as they require less labor and can be used to obtain what is most needed. Checks made out to “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” can be brought to the high school, or mailed to:
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry
30 Carew Street, South Hadley MA 01075
Thank you for helping to ensure that every family in South Hadley has access to good foods, every day. Your generosity makes all the difference. Question or concerns? Call 413.538.5063.
Our Library offers activities for children, teens and adults. Upcoming adult programs at the main South Hadley Library and the Gaylord Library branch include:
Introduction to Using Libby: E-Materials at Your Fingertips
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 6:30pm
South Hadley Public Library, Community Room
Curious about eBooks or maybe you received a new device over the holidays? Join us in the Community Room to learn how to use the Libby app to access eBooks, eMagazines, and eVideos. You can also use Libby to connect with streaming programs Craftsy, the Great Courses, iNDIEFLIX, and Quello. Make sure to bring your smart device! Register by clicking here.
Documentary Society: The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
Discussion on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 6:30pm
South Hadley Public Library, Community Room OR via Zoom
With our Documentary Society, participants watch the online documentary on their own schedule from home and then either come in or via Zoom discuss their thoughts of the documentary. Think of it as a book club, but with documentaries…. The catalyst to Britain’s Industrial Revolution was the slave labor of orphans and destitute children. In this shocking and moving account of their exploitation and eventual emancipation, Professor Jane Humphries uses the actual words of these child workers (recorded in diaries, interviews and letters) to let them tell their own story. She also uses groundbreaking animation to bring to life a world where 12-year-olds went to war at Trafalgar and six-year-olds worked the fields as human scarecrows. These children’s stories were similar in our local mills. Watch it by clicking here and then email our Adult Services Librarian at dsmelcer@cwmars.org for the Zoom link or join us in person at 6:30pm to talk in the Community Room.
Color Me Calm: Adult & Teen Coloring Group
Monday, February 7, 2022 from 4:00–6:00pm
South Hadley Public Library, Community Room
Color Me Calm is a laid-back coloring group for ages 13 & up. Join us in the Community Meeting Room for an afternoon of coloring your cares away! Coloring pages and utensils will be provided, or BYOCB (Bring Your Own Coloring Book).
Monthly Spice Club: Gingerbread!
Saturday, January 8. 2022 at 11:00am
Gaylord Library Branch OR via Zoom
Join our new cooking club! We have partnered with Southern New England Spice Company, a local organization who will be providing us with a spice/seasoning sample to try each month. Registered participants will receive a sample to cook with at home and then we will gather together to share our thoughts, cooking tips, & recipes. This will be a hybrid style meeting, which means you can join us in person at Gaylord or virtually via Zoom. Our seasoning this month is Gingerbread Spice! Sign up now and pick up your seasoning packet.
Take+Make Kits for Teens/Adults: Choose from 8 different projects
Available at Gaylord Library Branch
Are you looking for a simple craft project? Our upcycled take and make craft kits are now available anytime! Choose from eight different DIY kits, like Winter Whimsical Birds or Book Page Heart Garland. Each kit is made from discarded book and/or magazine pages. The supplies needed to complete each project vary, but most are basic supplies like a glue stick, stapler, tape, and scissors. Kits are available for pickup during our regular hours Thursday-Saturday. Check out photos of the projects available and sign up here.
Know Your Town (KYT) is pleased to sponsor a free, online program with South Hadley’s new Town Administrator, Lisa Wong, at 7:00pm on Thursday, December 2, 2021 via Zoom. Lisa Wong will talk about the experience she brings to the town, her impressions of her time on the job here for the past few months, and goals for and challenges facing South Hadley. There will be time for questions and comments which can be made by raising your hand or typing in a question on Chat. Linda Young will moderate the program and Ira Brezinsky will serve as Zoom host.
Please email Martha Terry to RSVP and receive the meeting link. KYT is a non-partisan organization that seeks to acquaint residents with town resources, issues, and functions of town government. For more information, see: http://www.knowyourtown.org.
The Friends of Buttery Brook Park and the South Hadley Recreation Department are happy to announce online visits with Santa Claus will be available once again this year via the Zoom platform.
The sessions will be held December 9th-December 12th and December 16th- December 19th. There will be time blocks between 5:30-7:30pm on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday nights, and 10am-12noon on Saturday mornings. Additional times may be added based on demand. Participants must pre-register using the link below. There is no cost to visit with Santa and families will be able to invite grandparents or others if they wish, to join the online visit with Santa. Registrations will close 24 hours before the session, and it is first come/first served for attendance. This is limited to South Hadley residents and/or students at our public schools.
When they sign in, one of Santa’s helpers will make sure that everyone is up and running with the Zoom platform, and other family and guests will be able to virtually attend as well. The session in total should last about 10 minutes. Participants will have the ability to pickup some coloring books and crayons at the South Hadley Public Library at set times. Each participant will receive a “Nice List” Certificate after their meeting.
To schedule your visit with Santa please click here: https://calendly.com/santash/virtual-visit. If you have any questions please email Danielle at dbachand@southhadleyma.gov.
Free public Treks sponsored by the South Hadley Bike/Walk Committee (BWC) are back! On Sunday, November 14, 2021 at 1:00pm, the public is invited to the Mount Holyoke College campus for a guided Trek with Dr. Olivia Aguilar of the MHC Miller Worley Center for the Environment. Trek participants will walk the Upper Lake Loop and Boardwalk, which includes the Campus Living Laboratory area. The Upper Lake Loop trail is just over a mile long and consists of leaf-lined and dirt paths with only a few minor ascents and descents. The Project Stream Boardwalk, which connects to the Upper Lake trail, is ADA-accessible and meanders through forested wetlands alongside the stream. For information about current campus Covid protocols, visit: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/coronavirus. For a campus map, see:https://map.mtholyoke.edu.
Meet at 12:45pm in the parking area across from Talcott Greenhouse. This area is on Lower Lake Road, just off of Park Street, which intersects with Route 116/Woodbridge Street at the traffic light by the First Congregational Church. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and safe footwear, and bring water. Post-trek, please join BWC members for socializing. Participants of all ages and new Trekkers are always welcomed!All events are subject to change or cancellation due to weather. For more information, or to check for a weather notification, visit the Town website at: https://www.southhadley.org/bikewalk. To join the Bike/W mailing list, email: bikewalksouthhadley@gmail.com.