Editor’s note: Here’s a collection of quotes harvested from the front pages of the Greenfield Recorder in 2023. This is the final installment.

September

“There have been a lot of happy tears over the last few days. This was really a community-led, completely grassroots effort.” — Warwick School District Superintendent Carole Learned-Miller on the reopening of Warwick’s elementary school.

“Every day, someone’s light goes out. Lost to the disease of addiction, lost to the pain of their suffering in silence, lost to the impact of stigma and discrimination, lost to the lack of access to vital medical services.” — Greenfield resident Sarah Ahern during an Overdose Awareness Day ceremony.

“There were other small mills around, but this put Colrain on the map and made it a vibrant town.” — Belden Merims, chair of the Colrain Historical Society’s board of directors, on the history of the Griswold Manufacturing Co.

“All that land remains in the family and it’s still being farmed. That’s incredible in and of itself.” — Tom Smiarowski on the family farm reaching 100 years old.

“As a country, as a state, as a county and as a local … city, we have not forgotten. Police and fire and EMS, to this day, stand side by side, as brothers and sisters, to do a common job to protect the public. That’s a lesson we should have taken away as a country on Sept 11.”— Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan at the 9/11 ceremony.

“I basically have to simulate Mother Nature, in a clean way. I take a blowtorch to replicate the heat of the sun, and aqueous chemicals to change coloration of the bronze surface.” — Royalston Arts Foundry owner Jeffrey Bronnes on the restoration of the Massachusetts Peace Statue in Orange.

“Most people want an ambulance to show up in five minutes; that is not a reality in our area. Colrain responding within a half-hour at most is the best you can hope for in a rural area.” — Colrain Ambulance Director/CEO Gary Ponce on ambulance service.

“He’s a local hero. What’s he’s doing is incredible. And it’s a real community-building event. I mean, you can see the results of your work. You can see that you’ve actually made a difference in cleaning up a river. And that is incredibly rewarding for the community.” — State Rep. Natalie Blais on Green River Cleanup organizer David Boles.

“It’s a peculiar monument because it is a ‘wounded’ monument. It’s really peculiar because it shows where a solider was wounded. It looks like a headstone, it’s so small. You don’t hardly see Civil War monuments that small.” — Allan Tischler on his mission to preserve in perpetuity a modest monument dedicated in his town to Lt. Col. Russell Hastings, a Greenfield native who was wounded in 1864 during the Third Battle of Winchester in the American Civil War.

October

“What this does is it creates a liveliness and atmosphere that speaks to what Northfield is. Reconnecting Northfield is all about remembering the past, appreciating the present and looking forward to the future.” — Selectboard Chair Alex Meisner on the Northfield 350th anniversary.

“I’ve never seen a more dysfunctional group of people in my life. I said before that this is a clown show, but that’s disrespectful to working clowns.” — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, after a historic week on Capitol Hill involving a near government shutdown and the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

‘“The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more.’ Unfortunately, this practice was not limited to Greenfield, but was rampant across the commonwealth.” — Attorney Michael Aleo on a lawsuit against Greenfield involving the tax title taking process.

“There are so many things you wouldn’t even know happened because there are no pieces to archive it. The opioid epidemic is one of them.” — Greenfield’s Precinct 5 City Councilor Marianne Bullock on creating an oral account of the opioid epidemic.

“I think it’s incredibly important that everyone, especially students, understand the history of native people in this area and that it is a very much alive culture. I don’t think there’s enough of that kind of education.” — Conway Grammar School parent Rachel Smith-Cote, who led a two-day event on Native American history and culture.

“Putting barriers on every bridge is not the answer. Removing the stigma of mental illness, recognizing signs when somebody’s struggling and making sure we have the resources to treat mental illness is the only way to truly address suicide, as well as self-harm.” — State Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol at an event recognizing the installation of safety barriers at the French King Bridge.

“That little act of knitting socks is my little piece of what I can do.” — Katherine Erwin leader of the Dragonfly Sock Knitters of Orange, on knitting blue and yellow socks to send to Ukraine during its war with Russia.

“Coming home to a pile of ash ... was truly shocking. My heart broke as they embraced each other in tears and began a truly inspiring wave of support for each other’s loss. … Both keep repeating, ‘It’s going to be OK, it’s just stuff,’ a reminder of their shared resilience.” — Anya Jacobson, who set up an online fundraiser for a Conway couple who lost everything in a house fire.

“He was everything to this place. He was here every day. He always went above and beyond. Everybody knew him, everybody loved him. He was the Post. If you knew Orange American Legion Post 172, you probably knew Donnie Hurtle.” — Longtime friend Arthur “Tim” Herk on the death of Donald J. Hurtle, a member of Post 172 for at least five decades.

“He just walked over to me and I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is my guy. I fell in love with Logan the very first day.” — Guy Gilbert of Northfield on meeting Logan, a horse in the Courageous Strides Therapeutic Riding Program.

November

“When I was really struggling in school, I wouldn’t have expected to be this close to graduating. I just had to stop what I was doing and really think about it. If I drop out, what am I going to do with my life?” — Greenfield High School senior Eric Duong about what led him to participate in the BEACON Learning Program.

“I love canoeing. But I’ve never been in a round boat before, let alone a pumpkin.” — Dave Rothstein on hollowing out a 1,024-pound gourd to paddle down the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers.

“Apple trees are magic.” — J.B. Allred, of Skaneateles, New York, at the 29th annual CiderDays.

“This actually was about you, the whole campaign was for you; that’s why I ran. I ran for this community because you wanted change. I stepped up to the plate because you asked for somebody to do that. I did it for you.” — Virginia “Ginny” DeSorgher after learning she would serve as Greenfield’s fourth mayor.

“When I took this job, I said I wanted to form great partnerships with great people to accomplish great things. I feel like that has largely been fulfilled and I’m excited for what’s in front of us as a community.” — Montague Town Administrator Steve Ellis after announcing he would step down after seven years.

“We all raised our right hand, swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And each of us that took that oath — whether the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard — basically writes a … blank check payable to the citizens of the United States up to their lives, because when our nation calls, the veterans have to work.” — Retired Massachusetts National Guard Brig. Gen. John Driscoll at a Veterans Day assembly at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange.

“My aim is to become one of the richest men in the world. I am on my way with the dispensaries in Massachusetts.” — Tommy Chong at an event in Whately. Happy Feelings stores in Whately, Greenfield and Northampton were rebranded to Cheech & Chong’s Dispensorias.

“What we lack, sadly, is the political will. To me, food is a fundamental human right. Everybody should have access to good, nutritious food, period. End of story.” — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern on the fight against food security in the days before the March for the Food Bank with Monte Belmonte.

“I hope he or she, or it — it could be an alien — finds something useful to do with all those books.” — Volunteer Frank Dufresne on 1,000 books being taken from the Ashfield Transfer Station.

“Fisher Hill is a place where friendships are formed, learning is lasting and school is an extension of family.” — Fisher Hill Elementary School Vice Principal Paul Fraleigh during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building.

“He ran up to me and grabbed me by the lapel saying, ‘They murdered him! They murdered him! I thought the guy was completely deranged.” — Greenfield resident David Lewis, recalling the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

“Thanksgiving is this really fascinating holiday … because for Indigenous people, it’s a day of mourning and remembrance of a genocide, and for the colonists, or descendants of the colonists, it’s become something very different.” — Stone Soup Café Executive Director and Chef Kirsten Levitt during “A Day of Mourning and Thanks Giving.”

“We didn’t realize how little rain it would take to dramatically flood. Before we knew what was happening, machinery was getting washed down the river. Chickens were floating by, and we were catching them and wading to higher ground, arms full of chickens. We just rescued anything we could.” — David Fisher, owner of Natural Roots in Conway, on recent weather events.

December

“I tell you, my fellow farmers, we may not be related by blood, but we’re related by the Earth, and the care and respect we take toward our trees, fields and animals, we can take toward our fellow family members on other farms.” — Elijah Lagreze, a farmer at Boulder Top Farm in Montague, during a Farmer Appreciation Party held at Smith College.

“It is sleepy here and we like that, but there are a lot of things happening under the radar. This gives visibility to that.” — Turners Falls resident Jennifer Waryas said of the first Millers Falls Magic.

“There was no outcome that was going to bring any realistic comfort or satisfaction. I think the notion of being satisfied has been off the table from the beginning.” — Bernardston resident George Miller III after the court sentencing of Daymen Benoit for the vehicular death of Miller’s wife, Gayle Ball.

“We are in a cash-flow problem and potentially a budget hole, so plan accordingly.” — Deerfield Selectboard member Tim Hilchey on a second special election seeking to borrow to pay for road repairs after the summer’s storms.

“There’s so much love and support coming, it makes the catastrophe not feel like you have to focus on it because you’re getting so much help and love, and people are constantly checking in.” — Grant Haffner on receiving donations after his family’s home in Buckland was destroyed in a fire.

“We find so much pleasure in giving back to the community that nurtures us. Particularly in the season of giving, it is fun to not only raise dollars but find ways to repurpose and reuse things to give as well.” — PV Squared’s Director of Marketing and Outreach Brittany Hathaway on donating to the Warm the Children charity.