|
January 17, 2003
January
Gala Event to Celebrate South Hadley’s Big Birthday
|
Photo: Fred LeBlanc
Mount Holyoke staff helping
to organize the Anniversary Gala, which will be held in
Mary Woolley Hall’s Chapin Auditorium January 25, are
(left to right) Cindy Legare, assistant director of Library,
Information, and Technology Services; Lorraine Lacasse,
project specialist in financial services; Gail Scanlon,
the library’s director of access
services; and Laura Rosinski, parking coordinator. The kickoff
event of the town’s celebration of the 250th anniversary
of its founding, the gala will serve as a fundraiser to
support upcoming activities.
|
It’s not every
day that a town turns 250, so when one does reach this milestone,
revelry is in order. And that’s exactly what’s planned
for 2003, designated a celebratory year in honor of the 250th
anniversary of the establishment of South Hadley, which held its
first town meeting April 30, 1753. Since South Hadley has been
home to Mount Holyoke since the College’s founding 166 years
ago, MHC will naturally be a part of the festivities.
On Saturday, January 25, the College will play host to the Anniversary
Gala, an evening of music, dancing, desserts, and fun that will
be held in Mary Woolley Hall’s Chapin Auditorium. The kickoff
event of the town’s celebration, the gala will serve as a
fundraiser to support upcoming activities, which range from fireworks,
parades, and road races to a block dance, concerts, picnics, poetry
and art contests, and the creation of a time capsule. Mount Holyoke
is donating the use of Chapin, food and beverages, the time of
Willits-Hallowell Center staff, and coverage by Public Safety
staff.
On stage at the gala from 8 to 10 pm will be the Heritage Band,
a twenty-piece swing band featuring MHC’s own Sandy Berestka,
director of purchasing, copy cataloging, and processing. At 10
pm, Union Jack will bring the British invasion to South Hadley,
playing music from the ’60s and ’70s made popular in
this country by the Beatles and Rolling Stones. After building
up an appetite on the dance floor, gala goers will snack on assorted
desserts, cheese and crackers, fruit, coffee, and hot chocolate
prepared by Willits staff. In addition, there will be a cash bar
for beer and wine. Tickets to the big bash are $25 and are on
sale at the town hall, the town library, and from any member of
the 250th Anniversary Committee.
Although Gail Scanlon, Mount Holyoke’s representative to
that committee, seems like a natural choice for the position—her
family roots in the community extend back four generations and
she is a resident of the town—it was, as she describes it,
“the fickle finger of fate” that led to her selection
for the volunteer post. After responding to an email from the
Staff Council requesting help in coordinating the College’s
participation in the town’s celebration, Scanlon, along with
other interested College employees, picked a number out of a hat.
Hers was the lucky number, and she soon found herself a full member
of the town’s working committee and chair of the gala committee.
Since May, Scanlon has been meeting monthly with the town committee
and has been working with MHC colleagues Lorraine Lacasse, project
specialist in financial services; Cindy Legare, assistant director
of Library, Information, and Technology Services; Laura Rosinski,
parking coordinator; and Donna Russell, administrative assistant
in the telephone business office, to organize the gala. Linda
Young, senior administrative assistant in biological sciences
and a former member of the town’s board of selectmen, is
also serving on the town committee and is helping to coordinate
a parade to mark the big anniversary.
Scanlon, who lives on Mary Lyon Drive and was married in Abbey
Chapel, is well suited to be the College’s liaison to the
town for the birthday celebration. Besides having strong ties
to South Hadley, Scanlon’s family has an affiliation with
the College that goes way back. As a junior in high school, Scanlon’s
first job was washing pots and pans in North Mandelle Hall. Her
grandfather worked in the College’s power plant for many
years; her father worked at the Orchards; and her grandmother
worked in housekeeping. Scanlon lived in town until her graduation
from South Hadley High School, after which she moved to the eastern
part of the state to attend Framingham Union Hospital School of
Nursing. There, she earned a degree in nursing and became a registered
nurse. The day before graduating from nursing school, Scanlon
married her high school sweetheart, a naval officer, and began
a period of constant moving that took her far from South Hadley—to
Maine, Rhode Island, California, Georgia, and Florida.
The Scanlons returned to South Hadley in 1987 and have been here
ever since. After renewing her ties to the town, Scanlon reestablished
her connection to the College as well, this time as a student.
She enrolled as a Frances Perkins Scholar in 1990, majoring in
women’s studies. Of her decision to return to school she
says, “I felt that a big chunk of my education was missing
because I had attended a clinically based nursing school. We didn’t
focus on philosophy or theory.” It was very practical. Although
she came to a liberal arts college to enhance her general knowledge,
Scanlon ironically ended up graduating with a new career, as well.
In 1993, she became a student worker in the library. By February
1995 she had started a staff job there, a position she continued
after graduating in May that year. A year later, Scanlon was named
director of access services, and she has continued in this position
since then, even juggling the full-time job and family responsibilities
(she and her husband have three children) while commuting to Albany
between 1996 and 1999 to earn a master of library science degree
at the University of Albany.
Says Scanlon, “I find that being a librarian is very much
like being a nurse. Both are service oriented and have allowed
me to help people, which I really enjoy.” With the gala just
days away and other events in the early stages of planning, Scanlon
will be helping people in new and different ways this year. She
will play a vital role in the coming together of the College and
the town to celebrate an important moment in their shared history.
With her own history of confluence between town and gown—and
even fate—on her side, Scanlon is clearly the right person
for the job.
As part of the College’s continuing participation in the
250th celebration of the town, Mount Holyoke will sponsor a concert
by the Coast Guard Band in Gettell Amphitheater on August 20.
Learn more about upcoming celebratory events and South Hadley
history at www.southhadley.org. Contact Gail Scanlon at gscanlon@mtholyoke.edu
or x2434 for gala tickets and information.
The
counter is
1,719
|
