Retired journalist to read at New Salem Public Library

NEW SALEM — Retired reporter and editor Richie Davis will read from his edited collections of Greenfield Recorder feature stories from around Franklin County and beyond at the New Salem Public Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 12.

Davis will share his “True Tales from Extraordinary Lives” trilogy and will autograph copies of his books, “Inner Landscapes,” “Good Will & Ice Cream” and “Flights of Fancy, Souls of Grace,” all published by Haley’s of Athol. Getting a Zoom link to the event requires registration at tinyurl.com/2b2z6tk5.

Each book in the trilogy highlights the region’s unique character, yet the stories are universal, said Davis, who has done dozens of readings at libraries, book stores and other settings around the region, and is scheduled to read at Leverett Library in October.

“For more than a generation, I found so many compelling stories everywhere I looked that I felt just had to be shared,” he added. “And I’m so glad to be still sharing them, because people love to learn about these fascinating people from every corner of Franklin County.”

More information about the books is available at www.richiedavis.net.

Next ‘Honoring Elders’ event set for June 17

WENDELL — The next “Honoring Elders” event will be held Tuesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Wendell Meetinghouse, with Don and Janee Stone as the honorees.

The Stones first came to this region in 1970 due to Don’s new job as a professor at the University of Massachusetts. Janee was a nurse at Athol Hospital and later worked as a home health visiting nurse. She served on the School Committee and was the Mahar representative during the years Swift River School was built. She was also on the Board of Health during the 1980s, when Title V was introduced. She now chairs the Wendell Council on Aging.

Don was on the Wendell Finance Committee from 1978 to 1984, and was the first to develop a computer spreadsheet to plan Wendell budgets for Town Meetings. As an Energy Committee member, he helped develop plans for a solar energy cooperative. He has also served as treasurer of the Friends of the Wendell Meetinghouse and as treasurer for Village Neighbors, which assists senior citizens in Leverett, New Salem, Shutesbury and Wendell. Additionally, Don helped establish the Human Economy Center and TOES (The Other Economic Summit) to challenge traditional economic thought and promote sustainable development.

For more information on Honoring Elders events, or for support in organizing similar events in other communities, contact Gail Mason at rushingwaters01@gmail.com.

Library accepting submissions for poetry contest

ORANGE — There is a call for submissions for the 12th annual Robert P. Collén Poetry Competition. This year’s theme is “Emotions.” The submission deadline is Sept. 22.

Anyone who is interested can submit up to three poems about emotions, as they define it. Only unpublished poems will be accepted. Participants should submit poems on white 8.5-by-11-inch paper, typed in a plain typeface.

Place no personal information on the side where the poems appear. On the reverse side, write your name, address, telephone number and email address. Notification of receipt of entry will be sent via email or telephone. Poems will not be returned.

Ten finalists will be chosen to compete for the prize money. The winner receives $100, the second-place finisher gets $50 and the third-place finisher will receive $25. This poetry competition is sponsored by the Friends of the Orange Public Libraries.

Send submissions to: Robert P. Collén Poetry Competition, Wheeler Memorial Library, 49 East Main St., Orange, MA 01364.

The contest is named after lifelong Orange resident Robert P. Collén, who died in September 2014 at age 86. He reignited his passion for poetry while at Tufts University and won the prestigious Glascock Poetry Prize, sponsored by Mount Holyoke College, in 1951. He published three books of poems and celebrated his affection for his hometown with his poem, “The Town and the River.”