On May 19, 2024, the 51 Leeds flood victims and Leeds hero, Myron Day were honored in a way that was full of heart and brought out the best of Leeds. Kris and Bill Cobb generously offered the use of the church lawn for the ceremony and the church hall for the river art display and refreshment reception. Approximately 125 people attended. The program started with a recounting of how the flood swept through Leeds and Myron Day’s courageous ride back to Leeds to warn the village. Excerpts from Fred Howard’s letters to his brother describing his eye witness account of the flood and its immediate aftermath were read by Sam Daniel, who is close in age to Fred. (Fred, 22, worked at the button mill and lived on Chesterfield Road.) The original song “What Happened That Day” written by John Daniel and performed by David, Trine, Alma, Clara and Isabella Rondina, with John Daniel on keyboard and Greg White on bass was performed. Following the song, each victim’s name was read by a person close in age and a soft bell was rung after each. To honor Myron Day, a Red Bud tree, which blooms in May, was planted on the church lawn across from the Leeds Flood Memorial. It was the fourth of 144 trees to be planted in the next 5 years along the flood’s route by the Mill River Flood Memorial Tree Project hosted by the Mill River Greenway (139 trees for victims, 5 for heroes of the day).
After the Leeds ceremony, inside the church, guests had an opportunity to see the Tiffany Gold medal that was awarded to Myron Day for his bravery and humanity (courtesy of Historic Northampton). People enjoyed lemonade, light snacks and mingled while viewing the art show. The exhibit included 19 art pieces, some of which incorporated patterned ceramic shards and glass smoothed by years spent in the Mill River. Art inspired by and specific to the flood crashing through Leeds were part of the exhibit.
To help people visualize the height of the flood water a 20’ tall blue fabric banner was hung from the church. Imagine another 10 feet of water spray above the 20’ mark. Terrifying! (The banner remained up until early November along with the 72 flood markers in 5 villages.)
The Leeds commemoration event was a success because neighbors chipped in to make it so. Shawn Gunderson set up the sound equipment, Michael Kester videotaped the ceremony. Tricia Reidy, Julie Akeret, Bill and Kris Cobb, and myself prepared refreshments.Justin O’Connor and Jim Mias set up chairs in perfectly spaced rows! Dody Riggs helped the reader’s practice. The seven readers were Penny Geis, Jon Dietrich, Erin Mahon-Moore, Sam Daniel, Elsie Baker, Raine Maiore, and Isabella Rondina. Hearing the name and age of each victim was very moving.
Art pieces were created by Julie Akeret, Jim Mias, Heidi Stevens, Nancy Meagher, Lora Sandhusen, Greta Moore, Ben O’Connor, Kris Cobb, and the Leeds after school river enrichment club.
It’s possible that 50 years from now Leeds residents will draw inspiration from the 2024 commemoration event as we did from the 1999 LCA Flood Memorial unveiling ceremony. The 2024 programs, speeches and flood banner are archived at Meekins Library. Digital content is archived at Historic Northampton.
Pumpkin Party 2026 Photos
Pumpkin Fest Success 2026
The 2026 Leeds Pumpkin Fest rolled its way into success, taking place on a perfect Autumn afternoon/evening at the corner of Chestnut and Evergreen avenues. There was the ever-popular Pumpkin Roll, where many heats of gourds made their way down the hill, followed by screaming children. Even adults got into the action for the final run down the hill. The event was facilitated by Greg B. and ended up with 2026 Pumpkin Roll Champions.
Congratulations to Monty (first place) and Genevieve (second place).
Rolling pumpkins, of course, creates an appetite, so then it was eating time, with neighbors stepping up with donations of soups, chilies, pasta, breads, and of course, many treats, galore. Voting for the pumpkins took place in three categories (Scariest, Classic and Original), as DJ Shawn G. played his collection of spooky and fun music.
The winners for 2026 are:
Scariest Pumpkin (Linus):
Classic Pumpkin (Odie):
Most Original Pumpkin (Justin):
Community Kickball Game Is A Grand Slam
In the waning days of August 2026, on a weekend just before the school year was slated to begin, more than 50 kids and adults from across the Leeds neighborhoods headed out to the Jim Mias Ballfield at Leeds Elementary School for a game of kickball, in what the LCA hopes will become a regular event.
The two teams (Team Enzo and Team Leopard) were loaded with local talent, but time was taken to show some of the youngest players the rules of kickball — such as running the bases in counter-clockwise motion, touching each base with your foot and running for home plate, not the sidelines.
Even so, there were plenty of unforced errors and sympathetic re-dos during the game, and lots of laughter.
From the sidelines, a crowd of onlookers and family members cheered on the teams and ate their fill of hot dogs. The game ended when the hot dogs ran out and interest waned to the point that both teams were losing players left and right to the play structure and other community interactions.
In the final inning, everyone had one last chance to kick for glory as Team Leopard pulled out a win, and then it was time to clean up and head home.
Newly Designed LCA Website
Thanks to Justin O’Connor and Heidi Stevens for working to revamp the LCA website with a new design and many different features, including an archive of the LCA Newsletters, information about the history of Leeds, explorations of nature and conservation areas, and more.
Do You Know Your LCA Board?
Officers
President
Marc Freedman
Vice President
Colin Chambers
Treasurer,
Karyn Nelson
Secretary,
Melissa Woglom
Board Members
Earl Meunier
Kevin Hodgson
Rachel Maiore
David Rondina
Pumpkin Party 2022 Photos
Talent and Heart Grace the Leeds 150 Year Commemoration of the 1874 Mill River Flood
On May 19, 2024, the 51 Leeds flood victims and Leeds hero, Myron Day were honored in a way that was full of heart and brought out the best of Leeds. Kris and Bill Cobb generously offered the use of the church lawn for the ceremony and the church hall for the river art display and refreshment reception. Approximately 125 people attended. The program started with a recounting of how the flood swept through Leeds and Myron Day’s courageous ride back to Leeds to warn the village. Excerpts from Fred Howard’s letters to his brother describing his eye witness account of the flood and its immediate aftermath were read by Sam Daniel, who is close in age to Fred. (Fred, 22, worked at the button mill and lived on Chesterfield Road.) The original song “What Happened That Day” written by John Daniel and performed by David, Trine, Alma, Clara and Isabella Rondina, with John Daniel on keyboard and Greg White on bass was performed. Following the song, each victim’s name was read by a person close in age and a soft bell was rung after each. To honor Myron Day, a Red Bud tree, which blooms in May, was planted on the church lawn across from the Leeds Flood Memorial. It was the fourth of 144 trees to be planted in the next 5 years along the flood’s route by the Mill River Flood Memorial Tree Project hosted by the Mill River Greenway (139 trees for victims, 5 for heroes of the day).
After the Leeds ceremony, inside the church, guests had an opportunity to see the Tiffany Gold medal that was awarded to Myron Day for his bravery and humanity (courtesy of Historic Northampton). People enjoyed lemonade, light snacks and mingled while viewing the art show. The exhibit included 19 art pieces, some of which incorporated patterned ceramic shards and glass smoothed by years spent in the Mill River. Art inspired by and specific to the flood crashing through Leeds were part of the exhibit.
To help people visualize the height of the flood water a 20’ tall blue fabric banner was hung from the church. Imagine another 10 feet of water spray above the 20’ mark. Terrifying! (The banner remained up until early November along with the 72 flood markers in 5 villages.)
The Leeds commemoration event was a success because neighbors chipped in to make it so. Shawn Gunderson set up the sound equipment, Michael Kester videotaped the ceremony. Tricia Reidy, Julie Akeret, Bill and Kris Cobb, and myself prepared refreshments.Justin O’Connor and Jim Mias set up chairs in perfectly spaced rows! Dody Riggs helped the reader’s practice. The seven readers were Penny Geis, Jon Dietrich, Erin Mahon-Moore, Sam Daniel, Elsie Baker, Raine Maiore, and Isabella Rondina. Hearing the name and age of each victim was very moving.
Art pieces were created by Julie Akeret, Jim Mias, Heidi Stevens, Nancy Meagher, Lora Sandhusen, Greta Moore, Ben O’Connor, Kris Cobb, and the Leeds after school river enrichment club.
It’s possible that 50 years from now Leeds residents will draw inspiration from the 2024 commemoration event as we did from the 1999 LCA Flood Memorial unveiling ceremony. The 2024 programs, speeches and flood banner are archived at Meekins Library. Digital content is archived at Historic Northampton.
Important Notices
New LCA monthly meeting format
LCA board meetings will be cancelled during this stay-at-home time. We usually meet at the school, and have decided against “virtual” meetings. We’ll be in touch by email and phone, so let any board member know of any questions or concerns.
Spring Litter Clean Up Postponed
Stay tuned for news about our Memorial Service at the Veteran’s Park across from Leeds School. Like other years, we hope this can still be held on the Sunday before Memorial Day, to honor of Leeds Veterans. If the Memorial Day Parade in Florence is still on, we’ll expect to go ahead.
Please be sure to fill out your 2020 Census
It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail–all without having to meet a census taker. Leeds households should have received an invitation in the mail to complete the 2020 census. Your household’s invitation will have a 12 digit Census ID number. If you did not receive a 2020 Census invitation because you use a P.O. box, or misplaced your invitation, please go to: https://www.2020census.gov . Click “Start Questionnaire”. Then click the link “If you do not have a Census ID, click here”. (This link is directly under the larger login button.)
Completing the census ensures that our community receives the resources it needs including how much federal dollars we’ll receive over the next ten years. Census data is used by many local, state and federal programs, so it is important that everyone is counted. Additionally, the census impacts political representation as congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn based on the census count and determines the number of seats our commonwealth gets in Congress. Your response to the census is confidential and protected by federal law. Your answers can only be used for statistics and are not accessible to any other government agency.
New Conservation Land in Leeds
On March 23rd the City of Northampton closed on the property between the bike path and Saint Mary’s Cemetery creating another conservation area in Leeds! It is a beautiful parcel of over 40 acres of wooded land and trails. The final step will be for the City to grant a conservation restriction to the Leeds Civic Association. This is a condition of the Community Preservation Funding that helped, along with the donors, to protect the property. Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped with fundraising for this new conservation land purchase!
The City will soon close on a trail easement from the rear of Saint Mary’s Cemetery out to Route 9. This trail easement is an extremely generous donation from Peter and Stephanie Flinker. It allows for an easy connection to the Beaver Brook Greenway’s entrance which is located just across Route 9.