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By ADITI THUBE

Mike Kennealy didn’t grow up dreaming of politics. He grew up in a middle-class family in Reading. His father was a steelworker, and his mother was a homemaker. From them, he inherited hard work and a deep belief in fairness.

By JIM BRIDGMAN

A liberal and enterprising spirit on the subject of the Hampshire and Hampden canal prevails in this and other towns through which the canal is expected to pass. Measures have been taken to procure a skillful engineer, and an accurate survey will soon be made.

By MOLLY PARR

Have you ever sauteed a radish? Ever roasted one? The application of heat to this particular spring vegetable is transformational. Its peppery bite disappears and an entirely new flavor appears in its place. Its snap softens into something almost buttery.

By JIM BRIDGMAN

Martha R. Fowlkes, a city resident and a graduate student in sociology at the University of Massachusetts, has been awarded one of 25 Woodrow Wilson Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies for 1975-76. She will use the fellowship to work on her Ph.D. dissertation at UMass.

By KEVIN HODGSON and LESLIE SKANTZ-HODGSON

All politics is local, so goes the adage, often attributed to Massachusetts’ own, “Tip” O’Neill.

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a morning in early April and Nature was playing tricks on us. The weather had been cold and raw for days, but then suddenly there was a break from the trend and the temperature soared into the high 60s. There was no threat of rain, but there was a blanket of high clouds shielding us from direct sunlight. It was bright without any shadows – perfect conditions for photography.

By JOHN STIFLER

BOSTON – Beautiful spring weather on Patriots Day is just fine for Boston Marathon spectators. Many runners, however, prefer lightly overcast days with moist air and temperatures in the low 50s. Somehow, Monday’s mostly sunny weather at the 129th running of this, the oldest annual marathon in the United States, seemed to satisfy both parties.

By JACOB NELSON

In many ways, farming can seem like a romantic way of life. “Being outside, providing for yourself, providing for your community – and the health changes I saw in myself, eating fresh food from the land – it all resonated so deeply,” says Cara Zueger, who runs Free Living Farm in Petersham with her husband Michael.

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Louis Armstrong knew how to turn a slow and solemn hymn into a toe-tapping, heart-thumping anthem.

By BILL DANIELSON

It was the end of an exciting day of nature photography and as I pulled into my driveway I figured that I was done for the day. I had been out in forests and fields and had managed to take just about 1,000 photographs of flowers, birds and even some turtles. I went into the house, set my camera on the writing desk by my kitchen window and started the process of shifting into “evening mode,” which is what everyone aspires to after a long day. On my way through the house, heading toward a change of clothes and something for dinner, I glanced out the back window and stopped in my tracks. What in Darwin’s name was that?

By STEVE PFARRER

Several years ago, Mattea Kramer, an Amherst writer and researcher who’s studied and written about the federal budget as well as drug policies at state and federal levels, spent time interviewing a number of women in the Greenfield jail who were part of a recovery program for substance use.

By AMY NEWSHORE

Our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves greatly impact how we feel and act in our close relationships. Humans are the only species that engage in “self-talk.” Many of us find ourselves having both positive thoughts about ourselves (for example, “I feel proud for what I just accomplished”) and other times negative and self-defeating thoughts (such as, “I am not attractive enough”). In my work with couples, it is often the derogatory self-talk that each individual engages in that contributes to the difficult and painful dynamics between partners.

By BILL DANIELSON

We have reached that time of year when going to work in the morning becomes more difficult with every passing day. The world is waking up from its winter slumber and more and more items of interest present themselves to be observed and adored. I have a rather lengthy commute to work and as the amount of daylight increases each day, so to do the number of distractions. Like Odysseus tempted by the Sirens, I navigate this passage of temptation every day. There are mornings when I feel like my heart will break as I am forced to pilot myself past birds and flowers that sing out to me and beg me to stop and pay attention to them.

By MAYA MITCHELL

Five years after the first case of what was then a novel coronavirus infection, health care professionals and state legislators worry Massachusetts isn’t ready if another pandemic were to happen.

By JIM BRIDGMAN

Three teenagers completed an 18-hour stint each of dancing this weekend in efforts to raise money for a scholarship for a Tri-Hi Y member. Winners were Buff Zeitler, Steve Laiczyk and Ann Rayes-Guera, all of whom will receive a dinner at the Captain’s Table.

By MICKEY RATHBUN

I wonder how closely Joni Mitchell follows the news. Did the headline “Trump Turns the White House Lawn into a Tesla Showroom” catch her eye? Trump’s craven gesture is about as close as you can get to “paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.”

By LISA GOODRICH

Named for sunny citrus fruit grown far from the valley, Lemon Bakery in Amherst mixes the sweet with the tart. Four years ago, in the uncertainty of the pandemic, owner Rori Hanson built a bakery business with a model of curbside pickup and delivery rather than a storefront. Hanson’s menu follows the seasons by sourcing from local farms. Today, Lemon Bakery continues to sell through online pre-ordering and curbside pickup or delivery; there is no storefront cafe.

By RICHARD MCCARTHY

I have a good friend who goes to family gatherings at which folks fall on either side of the Great American Political Divide. He says his relatives and in-laws have come to an understanding to not talk about politics, but rather to treat it “like a drunken uncle sleeping it off on the couch.” You know he’s there, you know he will be a source of vexation again when he comes to, but for the moment you can enjoy his being zonked out.

By ADITI THUBE

Massachusetts gun rights advocates are pushing to overturn a 2024 update of the state’s already tough firearms law, collecting more than 90,000 signatures to place a repeal referendum on the 2026 ballot. Their efforts face opposition from mental health professionals and legal experts who argue the law’s regulations are necessary for public safety.

By JIM BRIDGMAN

“Our goal is to waterproof every family in Hampshire County,” is the way Frank LaLiberte, executive director of the Hampshire Regional YMCA, describes the Y’s free learn-too-swim program set for the week of April 21. Using the most modern teaching techniques, the Y course enables most swimmers to swim safely 50 feet after five days.

By BEN BAUMER

The Hampshire Regional YMCA Dolphins Swim Team concluded their winter season schedule recently. This season marks the second under head coach Jay Fritz, who was assisted this year by Ania Axas and Hannah Creamer.