(Top photo) Gail Scanlon, LITS director of access services and MHC's representative to the town of South Hadley's 250th Anniversary Committee, joined with town crier Edward C. Blaney and more than 200 residents of the town, including President Joanne V. Creighton and her husband, Tom, at a gala ball held January 25.

Kicking off a yearlong series of celebrations and commemorations of the town's history, the ball was cosponsored and hosted by the College at Chapin Auditorium. s.