Graveside ceremony to honor Polish exile 

NORTHAMPTON — Sunday April 27, 2025 marks the 188th anniversary of the death of August Malczewski vel Jakubowski, an exile from a revolution in Poland. To mark the occasion, the Polish Heritage Committee of Northampton will gather on Sunday at noon at the gravesite for a brief memorial service at Bridge Street Cemetery to commemorate his death in Northampton. The public is invited to attend.

Father Adam Czarnecki of St. Valentine Polish National Catholic Church will hold prayer service. A new Polish flag was planted at the grave.

August was a young Polish nobleman who was exiled from Poland with a group of revolutionaries who participated in the failed uprising of November 1830 that hoped to free Poland from under the rule of Russia. While in this country he wrote a history of Poland called “The Remembrances of a Polish Exile.” Then in Northampton he taught French at Miss Dwight’s Seminary for Young Ladies. After one year, he became grievously ill and died. At the time he was about 21 years old. His students provided for his burial and the gravestone shown above.

John Skibiski will read a short history of August’s family in Poland and Fred Zimnoch read his obituary from the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The Polish Heritage Committee of Northampton sponsors this event and also produces the Pulaski Parade in October. Further information can be obtained by contacting the PHC at: polishheritagenorthampton@gmail.com.

Candidate forum on Friday in Deerfield

DEERFIELD — The two candidates for Select Board in Deerfield, Tim Hilchey and David Wolfram, will answer questions generated by an independent group of citizens at a community forum on Friday. The forum will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at the South Deerfield Polish American Citizens’ Club, 46 South Main St. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.

“The purpose for this is for people to come, get educated and meet both candidates in a civil, respectful discourse,” said Rita Detweiler, one of the residents organizing the event. “We’re trying to foster a spirit of cohesiveness. There’s more that unites us than divides.”

Prescription Drug Take Back Day at area communities this weekend

NORTHAMPTON — The Northwestern district attorney’s office, local police departments, the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office and the county-based TRIAD initiative are again teaming up to provide a chance for people to safely dispose of unwanted and unneeded drugs Saturday.

Ten Hampshire County communities and five in Franklin County are gearing up for this weekend’s 27th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

These twice-yearly events encourage residents to drop off prescription or over the counter drugs for humans or pets in a collective effort to save lives by preventing misuse or accidental ingestion. Proper disposal of unneeded prescription and non-prescription drugs also keeps them out of water sources and landfills, preventing harm to wild animals and the environment.

Take Back collections are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday at police departments or public safety complexes in Deerfield, Easthampton, Erving, Hadley, Leverett, Montague, Pelham, Southampton, South Hadley, Sunderland and Williamsburg. Other drop-off sites are at Wildwood Elementary School, 71 Strong Ave., Amherst; the Town Common in Belchertown; Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School on Locust Street in Northampton; the Fire Station at 51 Huntington Road in Worthington.

More than 76,400 pounds of drugs have been safely disposed of since 2011 during Take Back Days offered twice annually and through permanent drug collection boxes stationed at area police departments.

Ruggles Center to mark Founder’s Day Sunday with talk

FLORENCE — A professor emerita at San Jose State University will lead a discussion sponsored by the David Ruggles Center for History and Education on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m., at the Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity.

In her talk, Jennifer Rycenga will discuss her recent book, “Schooling the Nation: The Success of the Canterbury Academy for Black Women.”

Canterbury Academy was a small private school in northeast Connecticut that opened its doors to young Black women in 1833. The students there endured months of intense harassment from townspeople and the state before a vigilante attack forced the school to close, which became a national story. The “Prudence Crandall Affair,” named for the white teacher who founded the Academy, propelled a core group of dedicated abolitionists from the area to move to Florence and start a utopian community here, the Northampton Association of Education and Industry.

The Affair also drew a promising young law student named Charles Burleigh into anti-slavery work. Burleigh faced down hostile audiences across the North on the subjects of immediate emancipation and full rights of citizenship for African Americans. He spent his last years doing important work in Florence and is buried on Park Street.

Make reservations with the Bombyx Center. Tickets cost $5-$25. All proceeds support their work. Copies of Rycenga’s book will be on hand for signing.