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For as long as I remember, there has been an old yellow house right next to Leader Home Center in South Deerfield. This is one of the most important businesses in our small downtown and they have an interesting history. Back in the 1990s, the owner, Grant Gagnon, called the […]

Cars lined the road leading to the Ashfield Lake House last night as rain drizzled down. Inside, the place was packed, and big stacks of magazines were piled up for all to enjoy. It was the launch party for a new magazine published by a man well-known in Northampton, Michael […]

I trained it down to Baltimore for one reason. My friend Pam Scott, VP of Communications for Red Lion Hotels, told me her company had just opened a new hotel, and I wanted to check it out. Well, maybe there were a few other reasons too, namely, that Baltimore is […]

I’m heading southbound on the Amtrak train out of Greenfield, the second time I’ve taken this journey. Today my destination is Baltimore, where I am going to check out a new hotel that’s been opened by Red Lion hotels. Once again, I marvel at the amount of debris that the […]

We’re heading for four days of relaxation around the campfire at Tully Lake in nearby Athol.  This state park is unique, because the camp-sites are located away from where the cars are parked. So we don’t have to put up with that familiar car-camping sound of car doors opening, alarms […]

It’s been quite a long road for Cinda Jones, who has a vision of her North Amherst Mill District becoming the next bustling commercial neighborhood in Amherst, and yesterday was a big day. Cinda knows that food and drink are the keys to get people to visit a new shopping destination, […]

Are the empty storefronts in our little town indicators of what is to come in the future?  I was saddened recently when the one high-end restaurant in South Deerfield, called MRKT, closed its doors in July.  There is now a sign that says ‘for lease’ and like the general store […]

  We had a magical summer evening last week when we visited the Park Hill Orchards in the rolling hills around Easthampton for their bi-annual celebration of outdoor art known as Art in the Orchard. New for this year are spiffy handicap accessible men’s and women’s bathrooms, along with a […]

What if there was a safe and easy route to ride a bicycle between South Deerfield and Greenfield?  I think a lot of people would ride this route. I have a dream that we could create such a bike path, and provide not only a tourist attractor, but an alternative […]

On a rainy day in the office, there are all kinds of things coming at me.  I enjoy the fast pace of being in publishing–and the connectedness of people reaching out at you by email from all parts of the world.  I got some interesting messages today, here is a […]

On Saturday I’m going to a concert next to very very tall plants….20 feet high, beautiful green hops plants are what they grow at Four Star Farms. It’s their first ever Aeronaut Field Day, sponsored by the Somerville brewer of the same name. The brewers are celebrating their hops supplier […]