EASTHAMPTON — For many decades, Gertrude Casagrande has watched local elementary school students grow up from her front porch.
Casagrande, 94, lives on Clarke Avenue, a quiet road that runs between the Center Elementary School and the Neil A. Pepin School.
“It gives me great joy when the students and teachers wave to me when they walk by my house multiple times a day. They make me smile!” Casagrande wrote in a letter attached to a monetary gift sent to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.
Her contribution was made in honor of something special the students gave her this holiday season — the gift of music.
“Mrs. Casagrande has been there for over 70 years, so she’s seen a lot of changes. I’ve watched her, and met her, and said hello. I noticed lately that things were getting harder,” said Center-Pepin kindergarten teacher Susan Pouliot. “As the holidays got closer, we talked in our classrooms about the reasons why people celebrate. I thought to myself, ‘maybe we could sing to her.’ ”
To spread some holiday cheer, 40 kindergartners and their teachers, led by Pouliot, quietly gathered on Casagrande’s front yard just before Christmas Day. They sang “Ten Little Snowflakes,” “Snowflakes Falling Down” and “Jingle Bells” when Casagrande came outside to sit in her rocking chair.
“When I think about it, I just get all teary. It was very sweet,” Pouliot said. “It was what the holidays are about — giving without receiving — and I hope the kids will remember for a long, long time that feeling of giving.”
For Pouliot, who has taught public school for decades, the experience exemplified her classroom teaching philosophy.
“You have to give (students) opportunities to feel that they can make a difference in people’s lives,” she said. “It’s about treating someone with respect. For me, that’s just as important as the academic part, if not more — the social-emotional component of being a member of the community.”
After they sang their Christmas carols, one of Pouliot’s kindergartners gave Casagrande an ornament made in class.
“She hung it in her window. So now when the kids come out, they can see it hanging in her kitchen window,” Pouliot said.
The Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund distributes vouchers worth $40 to families for each child from age 1 to 14. Eligible families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett.
Berkshire Children & Families, at 220 Russell St., Suite 200 in Hadley, verifies families’ eligibility, and the Gazette covers costs.
The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Deals & Steals, 1 Pearl St., Northampton; Faces, 175 Main St. Northampton; JCPenney, 341 Russell St., Hadley (store only); The ToyBox, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Target, 367 Russell St. Hadley (store only); Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; Wilson’s Dept. Store, 258 Main St., Greenfield; World Eye Bookshop/Magical Child, 134 Main St., Greenfield.
Donations to the Toy Fund may be dropped off at or mailed to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, P.O. Box 299, Northampton, MA, 01061, or made through Gazettenet at www.gazettenet.com.
Checks should be made payable to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.
Andy Castillo can be reached at acastillo@gazettnet.com