May 2 – May 3
by Penny Geis
What do you love about Leeds?
How would you show it in a photo?
Let’s make sure Leeds is well represented!
Photos taken by hundreds of Northampton residents will become a permanent part of the city’s historical record after a 48-hour photo blitz.
Participation is open to anyone, regardless of age or photography experience. Photos must be taken during the 48 hours between 12:00 am Friday morning, May 2, 2014, and midnight, Saturday night, May 3, 2014. During the following week, each participant may submit up to twelve (12) JPEG files of images of her/his own choosing and up to twelve (12) of specific subjects/areas Historic Northampton hopes to include in the digital record. Sessions for those volunteering to document specific topics will be held in advance at Historic Northampton. No files will be accepted after midnight, Saturday, May 10, 2014.
Historic Northampton, Inc. and Forbes Library will select photos for their permanent collections based on both historical interest and photographic quality. These photographs will be displayed in digital slide shows in multiple Northampton locations, including at Historic Northampton, during August and September, 2014. The blitz was conceived by Historic Northampton director Nan Wolverton, and the Northampton Camera Club is collaborating to organizing the event. If you’d like to help organize it, offer financial sponsorship, or just have questions, contact your Leeds neighbors Penny Geis: pgeis@comcast.net or MJ Marccardini: mjm106@gmail.com
For more information closer to the photo blitz dates, check these two websites: www.historic-northampton.org/,
www.forbeslibrary.org
• Times for information sessions at Historic Northampton and Forbes Library to review subjects, camera settings, etc.
• The web address and how-to info for uploading photos.
• Times when assistance with uploading photos will be available at Forbes.
Mill River Greenway Working Group
Ten Leeds residents have formed a working group to help shape the Leeds portion of an eventual greenway along the Mill River. Jason Johnson has agreed to serve as chair, so if you are interested in what happens along the river, please send your email address to Jason, so he can include you in meeting notices and other news of the group’s work. Like the rail trail, the Greenway would serve both pedestrians and bicyclists, but its goals and its pathway are largely different. The Greenway initiative aims to provide a richer experience for both walkers and bicyclists, to protect the Mill River watershed, preserve its cultural artifacts, enhance its biological health, and encourage appreciation for the rich history along the river. One of the few places the Greenway and the rail trail would coincide would be in Leeds, between the intersection of the rail trail and Mulberry Street and where the proposed new rail trail extension would end in Haydenville at South Main Street. (River Rd becomes South Main Street in Haydenville.) You can find a wealth of information about the project and the Mill River history at www.MillRiverGreenway.org. Contact Jason Johnson at cookjohnson@comcast.net.
Kittens for Adoption
Midnight to Midnight: Northampton’s self-portrait in 48 hours
May 2 – May 3
by Penny Geis
What do you love about Leeds?
How would you show it in a photo?
Let’s make sure Leeds is well represented!
Photos taken by hundreds of Northampton residents will become a permanent part of the city’s historical record after a 48-hour photo blitz.
Participation is open to anyone, regardless of age or photography experience. Photos must be taken during the 48 hours between 12:00 am Friday morning, May 2, 2014, and midnight, Saturday night, May 3, 2014. During the following week, each participant may submit up to twelve (12) JPEG files of images of her/his own choosing and up to twelve (12) of specific subjects/areas Historic Northampton hopes to include in the digital record. Sessions for those volunteering to document specific topics will be held in advance at Historic Northampton. No files will be accepted after midnight, Saturday, May 10, 2014.
Historic Northampton, Inc. and Forbes Library will select photos for their permanent collections based on both historical interest and photographic quality. These photographs will be displayed in digital slide shows in multiple Northampton locations, including at Historic Northampton, during August and September, 2014. The blitz was conceived by Historic Northampton director Nan Wolverton, and the Northampton Camera Club is collaborating to organizing the event. If you’d like to help organize it, offer financial sponsorship, or just have questions, contact your Leeds neighbors Penny Geis: pgeis@comcast.net or MJ Marccardini: mjm106@gmail.com
For more information closer to the photo blitz dates, check these two websites: www.historic-northampton.org/, www.forbeslibrary.org
• Times for information sessions at Historic Northampton and Forbes Library to review subjects, camera settings, etc.
• The web address and how-to info for uploading photos.
• Times when assistance with uploading photos will be available at Forbes.
Leeds Spring Trail Cleanup
Saturday, April 26, 9:00 to 11:00am
We we hope that you can join us to give the Leeds section of the rail trail a spring sprucing up.
Leeds volunteers will meet at the Rail Trail intersection on Florence Street, across from Mulberry Park. Choose either Grove Ave to Florence Street or Florence Street to end of trail spur for clean up.
Black bags (for garbage) and white bags (for recyclables) will be provided. Please bring gloves. Other equipment (clippers, trowels, rakes, carts, etc.) may be helpful. For more information please contact John at 586-6500.
Kudos to Bruce Hart, John Power, and Mary Jo Stanley for their efforts to organize this city-wide trail cleanup, sponsored by the Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways, along with the Northampton DPW and Pedal People for their support.
Please pass the word about the other sections of the rail trail in need of litter pick up listed below.
FLORENCE:
Bridge Rd to Bardwell St (John Gaustad) meet at Bardwell St at RT
Bardwell St to Chestnut St (Suzanne Love) meet at Bardwell St at RT
Chestnut St to Hatfield St (John Gaustad) meet at Chestnut St at RT
NORTHAMPTON:
Hatfield St to Jackson St (Carol Varsano) meet at Hatfield St at RT
Jackson St to King St (George Kohout) meet at King St at RT
King St to Bridge Rd (John Power) meet at Fitzwilly’s parking lot/ramp to RT (intersection of Merrick La/Bridge Rd)
Bridge Rd to Round House (John Power) meet at Fitzwilly’s parking lot/ramp to RT (intersection of Merrick La/Bridge Rd)
Round House/parking lot to Grove St (Sean Kinlin) meet at Earle/Grove St at RT
Grove St to Rt. 10 South, by overpass bridge (Sean Kinlin) meet at Earle/Grove St at RT
Woodmont Rd to Bates St (Paige Bridgens) meet at Bates St at RT
Bates St to Damon Rd (Paige Bridgens) meet at Bates St at RT
Happy Spring!
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Green tip for Leeds
by Amy Stamm
This is the season to compost your winter’s dryer lint and start hanging your laundry outside to save energy and reduce your bills. You can purchase rotating clothes lines at Florence Hardware or build your own. Let’s see all of those cloth napkins, tablecloths, sheets, and clothes blowing in the wind this spring! It’s a great way to benefit the environment and your wallet at the same time!
Rail Trail Extension Community Meeting
Leeds School Cafeteria from 7:00-9:00pm
Come gain more information and offer your input on the extension of the MassCentral Rail Trail (Norwottuck section), aka “the Bike Path.” The Rail Trail is slated to be extended from Grove Avenue in Leeds to South Main Street in Haydenville this coming spring and summer. Wayne Feiden, Northampton’s Director of Planning and Sustainability, will share plans for the extension and will listen to our input here in the Leeds community. Please come and share your concerns and your ideas. For more info call Alisa Klein at 586-9123 and aklein@northamptonma.gov or LeedsCivicAssoc@gmail.com.
Green tip for Leeds
by Amy Stamm
It’s starting to be that season when windows get drafty, and you just want to stop the cold air. One way to help seal drafty windows in the winter is to use rope caulking inside all of the window cases and along the cracks of the outside window frame. It is a seasonal measure because you can’t open and close your windows once you do it. Products like Seal and Peel peel off after winter with no residue.
Another way to keep the draft out is to purchase inexpensive kits at any hardware store made up of plastic sheets and double-sided tape. You put the tape around the window, press the plastic in, and use a hair dryer to shrink the plastic so it’s taut and practically invisible.
A more permanent solution that requires some handyman skill is to install Advanced Repair Technology (607-264-9040, advancedrepair.com) Easy-Stop kits to block air and make old windows as airtight as newer models. These kits are much less expensive than purchasing new windows and allow you to maintain the beauty of old wood windows. The quality of the wood in old windows is almost impossible to reach with new windows, and getting rid of their draft can save hundreds of gallons of heating fuel per year.
December Dusting
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Leeds Little Free Library
Tom Quinn was inspired and purchased a charter for $35.00 with hopes of building a mini library for his Leeds neighborhood. He had in mind just the right structure to use for it. Years ago, Tom’s dad, George Quinn asked his friend, Dean Williams, to build him a large two decker bird house that had a spacious open gazebo lower level and up top a snug peaked room for birds to nest. This beauty of a birdhouse stood in George’s yard on Front Street until after his death. Now it was to have a new purpose. Tom and his brother, Eddie, renovated the birdhouse by adding Plexiglass windows and a large front door and topped it off with a copper roof. Tom Quinn’s creativity and sense of community is a fine tribute to both his dad, George, and his dad’s friend, the original craftsman, Dean, both long time Leeds residents, now gone, yet not forgotten.
Leeds Little Free Library is located at 57 Upland Road at the road’s edge and is open to the public. Kids and adults can drop off a donated book and/or take a book to read. To learn more about the Little Free Library project visit: LittleFreeLibrary.org