Tapley Remembered

A Valentine Story

 



 

Beloved Valley cartoonist Renrut has a Valentine's Day cartoon that takes place at the former Springfield Tapley Elementary School (above). Like a number of Springfield schools, Tapley was closed in the 1980's, allegedly because it was unfit for students and staff to occupy less than eight hours per day. Then, at a pittance of what it cost to build the new school to replace it, Tapley was rehabbed and re-opened as a building fit to be occupied by tenants 24 hours per day! The closing of Tapley and other historic schools in Springfield was all a big scam to create an artificial shortage of classroom space in order to ensure that there would be a steady stream of new school construction contracts to feed to the politically connected contractors with ties to the local Democrat Party Machine.

To read Renrut's Tapley School Valentine comic in it's entirety go here 

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Valentine's for Journalists

 

Meanwhile, Valentine's Day is not even here yet, but the UMass store is already looking ahead to the next commercial holiday.

Kathy's Diner

Have you ever been to Kathy's in downtown Northampton? Here's the famous Kathy herself. 

Lot's of students go there.

Kathy's in downtown Hamp - where the 1950's never ended. 

Three Pics

Who stuck this on a Hamp paper box and why?

A carriage belonging to Stop & Shop (or Stop & Shit as we used to call them when I worked at The Big Y; they in turn called us "The Big Lie") has been thrown into this ravine along the woodland way into downtown Northampton.

 



In Amherst this house was once part of the Cowles family farm. Built in 1821, it is one of the oldest structures still standing in town.

Today's Music Video

 

FRANKLIN'S TOWER

Musical composition by Jerry Garcia
from a poem by Robert Hunter.

In another time's forgotten space
your eyes looked from your mother's face,
wildflower seed on sand and stone
may the four winds blow you safely home.

Roll away the dew.

I'll tell you where the four winds dwell,
In Franklin's tower there hangs a bell,
It can ring -- turn night to day
It can ring like fire when you lose your way.

Roll away the dew.

God save the child that rings that bell,
It may have one good ring, baby you can't tell,
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused listen to the music play.

Roll away the dew.

Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day;
Whichever way your pleasure tends
If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind.

Roll away the dew.

I'll tell you where the four winds sleep,
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep,
Wildflower seeds in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again

Won't you roll away the dew?

graphic by devin gallaher