Board member Anton Zamachaj (and former Strathmore employee) will present a lecture on papermaking and papermills in Chicopee and western Massachusetts. Join us Wednesday, October 21st at 6:30 p.m. in the Bazan Community Room of the Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front Street, Chicopee.
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Vermont author Daniel Bullen will close our 250th year with a look at Shays’ Rebellion and talk about his book, Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion. Join us Wednesday, November 18th at 6:30 p.m.
“In a meticulously researched narrative, Daniel Bullen tells the story from the people’s point of view, and finds a story of regular people who banded together and kept the peace for five months of protests, as they protected their land and liberties from the powerful financiers and speculators who were abusing their power and seeking to profit at their expense.”
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If you missed our presentation on Chicopee’s experience during the Revolutionary War, or if you know someone not living in the area who might like to see it — ChicopeeTV filmed the event. The September program is now on YouTube.
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Find us at the Farmers Market!
Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 2-6 P.M.
The Hub at Market Square
Join our docents in Market Square for self-guided tours, scavenger hunts, crafts, and info on how to learn the history of your home.
Center Fresh Farmers Market was launched in 2021. The market is open 2-6 P.M. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from August 19 to November 18. Come visit our table and meet our crew on Wednesday, November 4th!
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We have recently been contacted by the Wings of Freedom organization which is requesting personal stories and memories about the Berlin Air Lift, especially as it regards Chicopee’s special place in that remarkable event: Operation Little Vittles.
“In 1948 and 1949, local schoolchildren, college students, volunteers, businesses, and community members helped make the small parachutes and prepare candy that would eventually be dropped to children in Berlin.
“What I would especially love to find now are people who personally participated as children or teenagers, or their sons, daughters, grandchildren, siblings, or friends who remember hearing their stories.
“I am not looking for a comprehensive history of the project at this point. I am really hoping to find the human stories: what the children remember making, where they worked, who they worked alongside, what they understood about Berlin at the time, and what the experience meant to them later in life.”
Contact Wings of Freedom here at their website: Wings of Freedom. Or share with us your memories in an email to us, or a comment on our website, or on our Facebook page, and we’ll pass your comments along.
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