NORTHAMPTON — Marking a century of caring for veterans and their families, the VA medical center in Leeds is holding an anniversary event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, including entertainment, food, speakers and a historical sign tour.

The entertainment will include stilt walking, hand balancing, juggling and a cyr wheel.

“The circus acts and games are a part of the history here,” Jonathan Kerr, acting executive director of the Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center, said Thursday.

A lot of people live on the medical center’s campus, he noted, and there’s a tradition of celebrating every 25 years with that kind of entertainment for the veterans.

Brass band music will be provided by the 215th Army Military Band. Scheduled to speak are Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, state Sen. John Velis of Westfield, Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton, and Jesse Lederman, regional director for U.S. Sen. Ed Markey.

For veterans and their families, there will be local veteran groups to share their services as well as some displays of services that can be found on the Leeds campus, or virtually.

The hospital’s extensive photo collection, dating back to the start of construction, has been kept up over the years by volunteer efforts.

“We’ll have a historical room with physical artifacts, and a slide show with photos on a continuous reel,” Kerr said.

The Leeds medical center is home base for the Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, which covers the entire western two-thirds of the state, from Pittsfield to Worcester.

Coolidge connection

How the hospital came to be sited in Northampton probably has something to do with Calvin Coolidge. According to a brief history provided by the VA, the newly formed Veterans Bureau — now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs — decided in 1921 to build a hospital to serve the hubs of Boston and New York.

Fred A. Farrar, president of Northampton’s Chamber of Commerce and longtime acquaintance of Coolidge, the former Northampton mayor who by then was vice president, made a pitch for the hospital to be built on Old Bear Hill in Leeds. He sent a letter with photos to the bureau’s Committee of Re-Hospitalization to promote the idea.

The Harding-Coolidge administration approved the site, and in 1922 construction began, with horse-drawn carriages and steam shovels used to lay the foundations for the 105-acre campus.

In May 1924, the hospital was officially opened and began treating patients.

Therapy for combat vets

As the first neuropsychiatric hospital in the area, the Leeds VA focused on alternative types of therapy to treat veterans.

“We opened with that focus, and that spirit continues,” Kerr said.

Post-traumatic stress, then known as shell shock, gained medical recognition following World War I, and mental health challenges continue to plague those returning from war.

Among the therapeutic programs pioneered at the Leeds VA was occupational therapy, putting patients to work on the farm. Now, compensated work programs help to open up opportunities for future employment, Kerr said.

Along with providing a full array of health care services in Leeds, the VA hospital opened Community Based Outreach Clinics to cover Berkshire, Worcester and Franklin counties.

The Veterans Affairs department has made a significant investment in construction at the Leeds campus in recent years.

“It’s helping us refine our mission,” Kerr said. “We’re excited about what the future’s bringing for this campus.”

Chief of facilities management Thomas Dougan noted that there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday for a new $13 million primary care and mental health treatment center, adding 5,000 square feet of new construction to an existing 10,000-square-foot building.

Closure averted

The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, but it almost didn’t reach its centennial. In March 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced a plan to close the Leeds VA and either offer its services elsewhere or discontinue them.

A report by the VA’s Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission found “significant facilities maintenance issues” at the campus, as well as inefficiencies affecting services.

The announcement galvanized significant resistance from the public, as well as from U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Richard Neal. Within months, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators voted to dismantle the AIR Commission and end its work.

Kerr said it made a difference that taxpayers and veterans spoke up for the local VA.

“This campus was the medical home of 23,000 vets last year,” he said. “It’s important to recognize that this campus serves not only central and western Massachusetts but all of New England and beyond.”

James Pentland can be reached at jpentland@gazettenet.com.