We raised our family in the Leeds section of Northampton. It was just a short walk to Look Park, where there was a large swimming pool, a small train, swings and slides. Our children could pack a lunch and spend the day in the park. They knew that if they had any kind of problem, they could just go to the head of the park police, Vic Christiansen, and he would help them and they would be safe.

We lived close enough to the Leeds School for our children to walk there and take part in the summer recreation program. This consisted of arts and crafts, baseball and whatever other sports the children enjoyed. This program was supervised by two older teenagers and sometimes an adult, too. They were hired by the Recreation Department, I suppose.

Sometimes our children came home for lunch and sometimes they packed a lunch to eat at the school with their friends. They had a dog show and the winner earned a free ticket to the Look Park pool. I believe each child got one free ticket to the pool every week.

At the end of the summer, the children would bring home a permission slip for them to go by bus to Riverside Park (now Six Flags) in Agawam for the day. This was paid for by each child’s family.

During the school year, the children could go to the school for activities in the evening. The girls went on Tuesday evening and the boys on Wednesday evening. This was after supper, from 6 to 7:30 pm. The activities were in the school gym and they played dodgeball and basketball and had relay races. The girls were supervised by two women and the boys by two men. This was referred to as “Rec.” There were several skating rinks in the city for everyone’s enjoyment.

On an entirely different note, we had garbage pickup twice a week and trash pickup, but I don’t remember how often that was. These services were paid for from our taxes. I do wish we had these good activities and services now in Northampton. Just a little trip down memory lane.

Darleen LaFond

Florence