“We have the History.” — The late Frances Crowe’s memoir

These words of the late Frances Crowe ring true for the Pioneer Valley and the Quabbin region, where many influential and strong voices on social and environmental justice issues have been heard over the years. Many who have been internationally recognized never get the local recognition they deserve.

Two such extraordinary activists who worked in the international relief effort during World War II are the late Rev. Waitstill and Martha Sharp, whose courageous efforts in 1939 helped to rescue Gypsies, Jews, artists, philosophers, and other targeted groups caught in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The Sharps’ heroism and the dangers they faced are well portrayed in the PBS award-winning documentary film and book, “Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War,” written and co-directed by internationally recognized documentarian Ken Burns and the Rev. Sharp’s grandson, Artemis Joukowsky.

The Rev. Sharp’s final ministry was at the First Parish Congregational Unitarian Church in Petersham from 1967 to- 1972. From there he moved to High Street in Greenfield, where he served as supply minister at the All Souls Unitarian Church during the last 11 years of his life.

The Rev. Sharp and his ministry at Petersham and his international relief efforts will be recognized and discussed at a multifaceted program at the Unitarian Church of Petersham on Sunday, May 7. The program will include a 10:30 a.m service in the church’s sanctuary with a presentation by Joukowsky. Immediately following the morning service will be the dedication of a special plaque in memory of the Rev. Sharp, followed by the showing of Ken Burns’ documentary at noon in the church’s dining room, where co-author Joukowsky will introduce the film and answer questions at the end.

Joukowsky carries on the tradition of his grandparents as a recognized author, filmmaker, and socially conscious venture capitalist. He is a graduate of Hampshire College and the visionary and founder of the new higher education curriculum, “Learning to Learn University,” within UMass’ University Without Walls. Part of Joukowsky’s background in social and environmental justice has its roots in Petersham, where according to Artemis, “I spent a wonderful summer in 1972 living on the land in Petersham … that period continues to be an inspiration and helped to inform my own environmental and social justice work.”

It was in Petersham where he started his work in the area of student-centered education, cultural leadership, and social justice initiatives. Joukowsky’s tireless work to tell his grandparents’ story is a call to action for future generations, where, as he says in the Sharps’ book, “ordinary people can do extraordinary things, serving as an inspiration to all of us today.”

We now live in an extraordinary age when our own actions can influence the future. We do have models who have lived among us and give us strength, courage, and resolve to do our own work — they have made a difference.

Larry Buell is the founder of the Outdoor Leadership Program at Greenfield Community College in 1980 and retired professor emeritus of human ecology. His University of the Wild Project in Petersham is a partnership with Artemis Joukowsky’s innovative Learning to Learn University program at UMass.

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