NORTHAMPTON — Edgar “Ned” Judd Jr. and his wife, Carol, have been donating to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund for 40 years. As Ned recalls, he and his wife began the practice in 1981, the year his mother died, and they made a contribution in her honor.
The Judds, who live in Leeds, have also donated to the Toy Fund in honor of other family members who have since died. That’s not the only reason, Ned Judd says: He has an adult daughter, Laura, and he remembers how special Christmas was to her as a child.
“It’s a special time of year, and (the Toy Fund) really helps out people who are struggling so that their kids can have something on Christmas,” he said. “It’s always been a good cause.”
This year and last, though, the Judds have made a Toy Fund contribution to honor other family members — people who in turn have honored the Judds by placing decorative wreaths at Christmastime by the gravestones of Judd family members.
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the 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, or in Holyoke in Hampden County.
Ned Judd explains that his cousin Mary Lou Joyner and her husband, Ed Joyner, a retired couple who live in Goshen, have for many years been making decorative Christmas wreaths with natural material found in the woods — pine cones, sticks, greenery — and adding ribbons and other ornaments. Ed Joyner makes the wreaths but gets help from his wife and other family members in collecting materials and then distributing the wreaths.
They’re all given away for free to family and friends, Judd says. He notes that the Joyners have been placing their creations for years by the gravestones of Judd’s mother and father, in the Goshen cemetery, and also by the headstones of his uncle and grandparents, which are in the Goshen cemetery as well.
“It’s just a really nice gesture,” said Judd.
This year, he noted, Ed and Mary Lou Joyce have put together over 40 wreaths, giving them all away: “They’re thoughtful people, and just very generous with their time.”
In fact, Judd’s late sister, Marion, who died in Oct. 2020, had been making donations to a different Toy Fund for years in honor of the Joyners’ work.
Now, says Ned Judd, he and his wife are honoring the Joyners in turn by giving to the Gazette’s Toy Fund.
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the 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, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.
CSO-The Bridge Family Resource Center at 101 University Drive in Amherst verifies families’ eligibility and the Gazette covers costs associated with the drive, freeing all donations to fund the vouchers.
The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Plato’s Closet, 1472 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; World Eye Bookshop, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.