Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Last September, Gazette photographer Carol Lollis was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment included six rounds of chemotherapy over 18 weeks, followed by a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, in which some of her abdominal muscle, skin and fat were used to create a new breast. As she went through the physical and emotional adjustments brought on by her diagnosis, Lollis found that deciding about reconstructive surgery was one of the most daunting parts of the process. Her experience prompted her to volunteer her story as one of several focusing on reconstruction here.
Friday, August 29, 2008
When you think of western Massachusetts produce, sweet corn, tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, apples and blueberries come to mind. Grapes are not on the list. But a crop that California has had a lock on for years is beginning to make headway in the Bay State, as fruit growers explore the possibilities of adding seedless table grapes to their inventories and a small winemaking industry slowly expands.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
It's 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kimball's Auction and Estate Services in Amherst. Sick with a cold, auctioneer Doug Kimball walks to the podium, checks his supply of bottled water and throat lozenges and puts on a headset microphone. He has spent the last three weeks preparing for tonight's five-hour antiques auction. When it's over, he'll have put in a 16-hour day, a small part of his 50- to 60-hour work week.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Even on this bitterly cold February morning they gather, slowly forming a line at the door of the Amherst Survival Center on North Pleasant Street. The group of about a dozen people consists mainly of Asians - men and women, and young children either being carried in slings or pushed in strollers. They speak no English. But food has no language, and that is what they've come for.
Visit this story to view a multimedia slideshow about the Amherst Survival Center by GazetteNET photgrapher Carol Lollis.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Standing balanced atop a sawhorse, timber framer Alicia Hammarlund commands the attention of 50 or so volunteers gathered outside the River Valley Market under construction on North King Street in Northampton. It's early December and with the temperature stalled at the freezing mark, she briefly thanks everyone for showing up.
The group is about to provide the muscle to raise three open timber
frame walls along the facade of the new building. The resulting canopy
will be a testament not only to community effort, but also to nearing
the completion date next spring of this food cooperative, which has
been in the works for more than a decade.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
You could hear the music from out in the hallway before you laid eyes on the scene unfolding in the large room.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Built in 1952, Florence Heights -- a federally subsidized housing project in Northampton -- has been propped up over the years by periodic infusions of government money that have paid for new roofs, furnaces, appliances and other improvements. The apartments open onto small front porches, many crowded with kids' bikes, scattered toys and white plastic chairs. And although living conditions can be cramped and difficult, the children at Florence Heights give the place a palpable jolt of energy every day.
--Watch a multimedia view of kids' life at Florence Heights
