It was a glorious day for Opening Day on the Stone House grounds. Due to the hard work of our members, our net income was $2977.68.  The Remembrance Garden was weeded, watered and mulched by Millie Harrington and Becki Smith.  The Print Shop was loaded with old bags, so many that they spilled out in displays on the lawn. The Crafters (Made in Belchertown) were set up on the lawn.  Every crafter who rented space also became a Member. Sally Shattuck, Cheryl Dutton , Carol Mierzewski, Marianne Gambaro and Elaine Williamson worked together to organize the event. Plants, children’s activities, book orders for Bits of Belchertown by Doris Dickinson and compiled by Cliff McCarthy,  tours through the Museum and Carriage Barn; something for everyone.  The Stone House was ready for its debut.  Thank you to everyone who donated bags, plants and your time to make this a very successful event.  Also, please support our business sponsors and thank them:  Making Waves, Citizen’s Bank, Anytime Fitness, and Jones Baypath Realty.  

I would like to acknowledge just a few of our volunteers who worked on the event.  Please forgive me if I inadvertently left someone out. 

Crafter Organization and Set Up:  Marianne and Jim Gambaro.
Marianne sent out letters to crafters and did a great job with publicity for us. She and Jim marked off crafter areas on the grounds. 

Crafters: Our Made in Belchertown crafters were:  Jim Gambaro Photography,  Dale Gardner-Fox of Mountain to Seas Knits (handknit and felted items), Gail Belanger of Country Keepsakes (decorative painting on slate, wood, and glass) , Lauralee Harrington (handpainted clothing and accessories), Ann Maziarz of The Other Side (jewelry),  and Katie Keyes of Kate’s Cranes (origami earrings). 

Old Bags:  Cheryl Dutton and her team : Gina Panzieri , Marnie Henneman, Linda Snow, Judy Bettencourt and Joy McCarron. 

Plant Set Up and Sales : Elaine Williamson , Denise Smith, Liz Gormally, Travis Chartier, Holly Rainaud, Phyllis Ferriter, Joy McCarron, Judy Roberts, Deb Geoffrey, Donna Havens.  Let us not forget all the people who helped dig, pot, move, label, transfer, and price pots weeks before. Thanks also to Eric Bodzinski of the Hampshire Conservation District who donated plants. Especially popular were the blueberry bushes.  

Carriage Barn Tours:  Jim Chevalier (whose expertise is carriages) spoke to visitors about the history and use of the barn. 

Plant Helpers:  Tim Beaver and Ernie Burns with his Boy Scout Troop #507 helped customers to their cars with plants.  These young men were invaluable to the day and also helped with break down and clean up. Thank you boys! 

Paint a Pot :  Sally Shattuck, Ty South, Helen Austin , Jackson Leduc. 

Membership Sales and Raffle:  Debbie Madden, Lisa Watts, Kristen Pepe, Joy McCarron, Diane Genie, Teresa Adam, Liz Taras, Cliff McCarthy. 

Stone House Museum:  Thank you to all who volunteered to give tours to our visitors to celebrate the opening. Our new Curator Starr Florio and Director Laura Quinn were on hand all day to greet visitors, as were Florine Neggers , Shirley Bock, Marnie Henneman, Sally Shattuck, and June Henneman.  Thanks to Jones Baypath Realty for providing two giant baskets of seed packets to visitors. 

Coffee and Baked goods:  Casey Dombkowski manned the table with donated fresh baked muffins and cookies and coffee. 

Financial tracking and Bank:  Cheryl McNamee did the pick ups and made sure all areas had ample cash on hand. Linda Barron (Treasurer) did the final pickup and deposit. 

Tent Set Up: Mike Madore and Owen Maloney. Thanks to Sheriff Garvey’s office for supplying and sending a crew to set up the third tent. Tent take down: Owen Maloney and Tom Stockton. 

Clean Up:  Marie Henneman, Sally Shattuck, Elaine Williamson, Laura Quinn, Starr Florio, Troop #507, Tim Beaver, Carol Mierzewski, Cheryl Dutton, Joy McCarron, Judy Roberts, Teresa Adam. 

Special thanks to Gerri Amprimo, who was a valuable source and  advised us in the planning and execution of the entire event.  Gerri also helped deal with the remaining plants.  We retained some for next year, some were sold the following week, and the remainder were donated to the Senior Center and to Kestrel Trust which will landscape the entrance to Piper Farm (town owned) on Maple Street.   

And we can’t forgot all of you who patronized all of these activities, making the day such a success. To all of you -- thank you.