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WEATHER TONIGHT Clear Skies. Low of 54.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016
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Westfield Bank donates to religious nonprofit By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–The Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield received much-needed funds from Westfield Bank yesterday. Westfield Bank donated $5,000 to the group from the Westfield Bank Future Fund. That amount is the first part of $25,000 that the bank promised the organization over the next five years. Sisters of St. Joseph’s said they will use the money to help the many nuns in elder or infirmary care so they can afford food, shelter and clothing. “We wanted to be the lead gift so hopefully others will follow,” Jim Hagan, President of Westfield Bank, said about the donation. The Sisters of St. Joseph have lengthy ties to Westfield, which was part of what prompted Westfield Bank to donate the money. “St. Joseph’s has served explicitly in Westfield’s St. Mary’s schools since the 1890s,” Sister Maxyne Schneider, President of Sisters of St. Joseph, said. The Sisters have been dealing with severe economic difficulty as the median age of their members has crept up while membership totals have declined. Additionally, their means of income, which mostly came from education, has become harder to come by, so less money is going into the group than ever before. “About six years from now, our total earning will fall under $200,000,” Schneider said. In order to offset the rising costs and lowering money available, Schneider said the group decided to sell their “motherhouse,” or central headquarters, Montmarie Nursing Center in Holyoke, in Dec. 2014. A majority of the women who were receiving care there were sent to a facility in Boston, and the sale helped to push the deficit the group faced from $40 million to $8 million. “We were forced really–compelled–to sell our property in Holyoke,” Sister Betsy Sullivan, Vice President of the group, said. Still, Schneider and Sullivan said that there are currently 209 Sisters who are currently under the care of St. Joseph’s, whose median age is 77. Of that amount, 170 live within a 15-mile radius of the greater Springfield area. The group has received other donations, including large ones from Springfield Archdiocese Bishop Mitchell Rozanski and the Springfield Archdiocese itself. The total donations have helped the group considerably, Schneider said, but the group is still searching for “around $1.5 million” in donations.
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Monday, July 4.
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 155
In observance of Independence Day, The Westfield News
Southwick cardboard boat races, Congamond Lake. (Photo by Kasie Provencal)
Cardboard boat races bringing fun for all ages By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – Fun-filled competition on Congamond Lake is almost a month away. The Southwick cardboard boat races will be happening on Saturday August 6th. The Southwick community is encouraged to compete in the race. There will be two members to each cardboard boat in which they are responsible for building their boat as well as decorating it. One member will be the pilot who is responsible for driving the boat. There is a limit to 50 boats registering for the event so it is important for interested competitors to register as soon as possible. Pre-registration started on July 1 and runs through August 5 at a fee of $45. As long as the limit of 50 boats has not been reached, there will be an opportunity to register on August 6., the day of the race, for $50. Kasie Provencal, who is responsible for the registration of the event, is looking for people to register right away. “We’re really asking people to go to the website and pre-register,” said Provencal. The event will be held at Louie’s Lakeside and hosted by the owner of the restaurant, Jennifer Nolasco with registrations being done through their website, www.louiebs.com. On the day of the event, all of the competitors who registered, will go to the registration tent outside the parking lot of Louie’s Lakeside. Registration begins at 12 p.m. After checking in, every competitor will receive their entry number as well as a gift card to eat at Louie’s Lakeside, only after the race.
Breton Provencal is paddling away in his cardboard boat. (Photo by Kasie Provencal)
The race itself will start at 1 p.m. with the starting line near the dock of Louie’s Lakeside. It will feature several heats as the pre-determined judges will decide how many heats there should be. Nolasco believes it is most likely that five or six boats will be in each heat. The fastest time from a boat in any heat will be determined the winner of the race. The course on Congamond Lake will consist of several buoys where the boats will have to circle around the buoys. “It’s really, really, really cool to just watch how like some boats go down and others go fast”, said Nolasco. “It’s pretty fun to watch.” Besides being crowned the win-
ner of the entire race, the boat with the fastest time will be awarded $500. There will also be another chance to win $500. As the judges will go around from Noon to 1 p.m. to look at the boats, they will also determine which boat is the best in show. The boat selected for best in show will receive $500. If you don’t end up in first place or get awarded with best in show, don’t worry there is still opportunities for prizes. The 2nd place finisher in the race will receive a $100 gift card to Louie’s Lakeside while 3rd place will get a $50 gift card. Shortly after the race, live music See Cardboard, Page 7
Fabric artist inspired by nature
Jim Hagan, left, presents a check to Sisters Maxyne Schneider and Betsy Sullivan.
By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD — Dawn Allen’s artistic expression begins with the natural settings that surround her family’s home in picturesque Wyben. “I find inspiration from my garden and neighborhood,” she said on a recent afternoon visit in her home studio on Montgomery Road. Six months in the making, Allen is putting the finishing touches on her latest exhibition titled “Irma and Doris Go Wine Tasting” which will be showcased in August and September at the Black Birch Vineyard in Southampton. Her fabric art exhibit will be a veritable garden of threedimensional fabric flowers and foliage. Fabric artist Dawn Allen of Westfield, seen in her studio, “You’ll want to get up-close and personal to enjoy the intrica- holds one of her pieces titled “Stonewall with Iris” that will cies of beads and thread and the vibrancy of color,” she said. be a part of the upcoming exhibition - “Irma and Doris Go Wine Tasting” - at the Black Birch Vineyard in See Fabric Artist, Page 7 Southampton.
Adams Is Passionate About ‘Pan’ Playing By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-As renovations continue in room 4 at 38 Elm St., musician and teacher Jonathan Adams is eager to introduce students of all ages in the Greater Westfield area to the Western Mass Pan Project. “The Western Mass Pan Project is about educating the community about the origins of steel drums or pans,” said Adams. “The first thing students learn is a basic history of where the pans came from and how they were created.” Adams noted the pans are an “amazing engineering creation” and the only new acoustical instrument created in the 20th century.
Adams originally had studio space in Easthampton at the former Thread Arts Collective but longed to bring the project to the city. “I’ve lived in Westfield my whole life and I want to give back to the community I’ve grown up in and love,” he said. Adams learned to play steel drums as part of his degree from the Hartt School of Music in 2000. “I’ve played on and off for years and decided in 2014 that I would really like to teach people how to play the pans and made the investment with one of the world’s top tuner/ builders, Kyle Dunleavy, who I went to Hartt with,” he said.
Adams notes that his studio classes will be a part-time endeavor since being a professional musician/teacher is “time demanding.” “I’d love to get to the point that I could do this full-time and still have time for my family,” he said, adding he walked away from being a full-time musician several years ago to spend more time with his wife and children. “I’ve been running a steel drum group since January of last year but teaching private drum lessons for 21 years,” he said. Adams acknowledges that learning any instrument can be daunting for some; however, he adds it is never too late to try something See Adams, Page 7
Jonathan Adams, on left with the steel drums, is opening the Center City Arts Space on Elm Street in Westfield this summer. He is seen with Ed "Stylz" Blizniak on guitar during a recent performance of Rum and Steel.