I returned from NYC and the World Science Festival to Amherst in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, just in time to help our neighboring town of Hadley, which is still a farming community, to celebrate its 350th anniversary. Hadley was incorporated in 1659! Part of Route 9 was closed for hours (like Broadway now in NYC from 42nd to 47th Street) last Sunday afternoon to allow for the 3 hour parade to take place. The history of Hadley and the anniversary festivities this year are also online. The Pioneer Valley (besides having terrific native produce, which yields such delicious ice creams as "Hadley grass" ice cream, an ice cream made of asparagus and almonds and a seasonal favorite at Cook Farms on Bay Road), also, according to the NYTimes, has one of the highest concentrations of writers in the US.
The above photos were taken at the Hadley 350th anniversary parade on Sunday, June 14, 2009, and include the Hopkins School marching band, a classic car, and the Whole Foods (WF) Market shopping cart drill team with some members dressed as fruits.
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