I want to paint a scene of Christmas in Sunderland that evokes warm sensory impressions: the sight of men and women in the kitchen of the town’s historic and still vital Congregational Church, the aroma of turkey and stuffing, gravy, squash and mashed potatoes, sounds of old friends teasing and new neighbors meeting and lining up, crinkling and touching plastic bags, filling them package by package in a procession until about 100 Christmas dinners were created.
Next came the maps and address lists as drivers gathered their bags, all so well organized that no one had to drive to more than one or two corners of the town. This is Sunderland, still a rural farming town, with a different feeling than its neighboring communities, not Montague with its distinct five villages, not the woods of Leverett, not even Whately, and certainly not the bustling town of Amherst.
In Sunderland the Men’s Club, the Church and the South County Senior Center once again combined efforts, along with pools of community volunteers, to knock on seniors’ doors in Whately, Deerfield and Sunderland and present delicious Christmas dinners. I want to celebrate this tradition, now a few years old, for the joy it spreads from a mix of good ingredients: a goal of feeding and caring, hard work and levity in the kitchen, good organizational skills, willing volunteers, and friendly, appreciative recipients. It catapulted our family into a great Christmas, and the feeling hasn’t worn off yet.
Carrie Kline
Sunderland.