How many times have you wished you knew someone who could help you with your lawn and garden, or who was good with a hammer, could pick up a few groceries for you, give you a ride into town or help you with a school project?
To help coordinate service-oriented connections across generational lines, the Northern Hilltowns Councils on Aging Consortium is sponsoring a community fair Oct. 22 that will showcase a new barter program.
The fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the gymnasium of the New Hingham Elementary School at 30 Smith Road in Chesterfield.
“We are excited about the fair,” organizer Jan Gibeau of Chesterfield said. “Highland Valley Elder Services will be there, as well as people from the various COAs, students from Hampshire Regional High School and the middle school, Williamsburg Pharmacy and a variety of different people.”
Gibeau said that the barter program called the “Community Credits Program” is designed to help community members connect with seniors and develop a way to trade valuable resources.
“We are trying to find a way to help people do what they want to do, which is to age at home and avoid isolation and loneliness. That is what this is all about,” Gibeau said.
Gibeau said that as the number of elders in the Hilltowns increase, there are the less resources to go around. One way to get by, is to exchange services within the communities.
“We have to use the avenues of support that are available to us, and that is our community,” Gibeau said.
Services that can be bartered will be based on the needs, talents and skills of the participants. For example, baking a pie in exchange for getting one’s lawn mowed, giving a youngster a ride to the movies as a trade for them helping with recyclables, creating a piece of art in exchange for handy-person help around the house.
Besides providing a venue for tailor-made reciprocated services, the program is also designed to bolster and strengthen relationships within the community.
“It’s like the song says, ‘we get by with a little help from our friends’,” Gibeau said.
Organizers will be on hand at the fair to provide details on the program and how to participate.
There will be musical entertainment and Elbow Room Coffee and Bread Euphoria will provide food and beverages.
“Lunch will be free local and good,” Gibeau said. “If nothing else people should come for the food.”
Free rides are available by calling 296-4467.
This event is funded by a grant from Highland Valley Elder Services.
The Plainfield Fire Department recently purchased an 18-foot heated trailer that will be used to house and transport vital emergency response equipment.
Funding for the $16,000 trailer was raised entirely through the annual firefighters barbeque and the Fire Department’s yearly fundraising letter, and there was no cost to the town.
“Before we got the trailer, we had to have equipment spread all over different vehicles. This helps consolidate equipment that we might need and can be pulled behind one of our trucks,” Assistant Fire Chief Dave Alvord said.
The trailer has been custom built to house a 4×4 off-road vehicle, six cold-water rescue suits, an ice/water rescue sled, a generator and other essential items.
“It may not go out a lot, but it is important for it to be there and to be accessible when it is needed,” Alvord said.
Fran Ryan of Horizon Productions will offer a presentation on the history of the North American fur trade and its effect on wildlife and the environment at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The presentation will include a slide show as well as a variety of pelts, and historical replicas of trade goods including silver, beads, weapons, tools, blankets, and cooking and domestic items.
The presentation is free and open to the public and will be at the Chesterfield Community Center. Ryan is the founder and director of Horizon Productions, an environmental education service in Easthampton, and she is also a writer for the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
The program is funded in part by grants from the Chesterfield Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Goshen Historical Society will present “The Story of Caleb Cooley Dickinson” by W. Michael Ryan at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Ryan, a retired district court judge and fourth-generation Northampton native, will present his research on Dickinson who died a wealthy bachelor, leaving his $100,000 estate to Northampton to build a hospital for the “sick poor.”
The program will be held at the Goshen Congregational Church, 45 Main St., and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
The Williamsburg Rod and Gun Club is holding its annual turkey shoot every Sunday through Nov. 20. The competition begins at noon.
The event is open to the public and shotguns are available for adults who do not have their own. Each round is $2.50 a shot.
The winners can choose from prizes of a frozen turkey, roast of beef or a ham.
Further information is available by calling 260-0140.
Ideas for this column on life in the Hilltowns can be sent to Fran Ryan at Fryan.gazette@gmail.com.