In addition to the links on the Inshaw Rifle event coverage we included in our last email, today we add a link to the article online in the Chicopee Register, which is also available in print copies at the library and several locations in town:
- Watch remarks from the Unveiling of the Inshaw Rifle here on Chicopee TV
- Watch local coverage here from WWLP-22News
- Read about the unveiling on the WWLP-22News website
- Read about the event on pages 1 and 7 of the Chicopee Register
The funds for purchasing this case came in part from the sale of our book, Richard B. Inshaw: A Craftsman’s Life and Work in Chicopee, Massachusetts and the sponsor ads that appear in the book, but the chief source of funding came from a generous grant from the American Society of Arms Collectors. We thank them most sincerely for helping us achieve this goal.
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Our next program will be a talk on the legendary flyer Maude Tait, born in Chicopee, whose home base was the Springfield Airport during the Roaring Twenties and early 1930s. She competed and won in several air races, including against the famed Ameila Earhart. Sue Bousquet, docent at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, will present on this remarkable woman. The event is free and open to the public, 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17th in the Bazan Community Room of the Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front Street, Chicopee, Mass. This program was rescheduled after having been postponed earlier this spring. After the event, the Historical Society will conduct a brief annual business meeting.
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Congratulations as well to our neighbors in Holyoke, which benefitted in grants from the Community Preservation Act in the total amount of $691,960. Among the projects which will receive funding this year are the restoration of the 100-year-old carousel horses operated by the Friends of Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, the Wistariahurst Museum, and several architectural and landscaping projects throughout the city.
From the Community Preservation Act website: “CPA is a state law passed in 2000 that allows Massachusetts communities to conduct a referendum to add a small surcharge on local property taxes. When combined with matching funds from the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, this dedicated fund is used to build and rehabilitate parks, playgrounds, and recreational fields, protect open space, support local affordable housing development, and preserve historic buildings and resources.”
Currently, 195 towns and cities in Massachusetts have adopted CPA, from cities as large as Boston to towns as small as Granville. Our neighbors Holyoke and Springfield both are CPA cities and benefit from the funds raised to help their communities in various ways. The Chicopee Historical Society sincerely hopes that one day Chicopee will introduce a referendum to adopt the Community Preservation Act in our city.
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