The Lehrer Report: Dec. 26, 2024

Published: 12-24-2024 1:14 PM

New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, is Wednesday. Town offices and banks will be closed. Some stores may be open. Thursday begins half-price sales for holiday merchandise.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year.

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David and Betsy Mullins of Amherst won first place in the postcard contest with an entry from Turkey. Pam Simpson of Amherst won second place with a card from Rome. The cookies include: chocolate chip, peanut butter, peanut butter blossoms, molasses, molasses with raisins, snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, chocolate with Andes mints, and chocolate with chocolate glaze. The Mullinses got more than Pam.

The summer contest now begins with winners receiving vegetables from the garden. Postcards can be mailed, emailed or hand-delivered. Email photos also count.

The first entry in the contest has arrived. Anna and Lad Nagurney of Amherst sent a card featuring a dozen London landmarks. Anna gave the Blackett Lecture at the Royal Society in London. They wrote that they are enjoying all the Christmas decorations.

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Phoebe Hazzard sent an email noting tickets are now available for the Amherst Community Theater production of “Newsies,” which qill be performed Jan. 16-19 and 24-26 at Bowker Auditorium on the UMass campus. She wrote she is not in the production this year but is working on props.

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She wrote of the show: “Inspired by the 1899 newsboys’ strike, this rousing tale of resilience, justice, and community is more relevant than ever in today’s fight for workers’ rights and equality.”

Tickets: amherstacts.org/buy-tickets.

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Laurie Sanders, co-director of Historic Northampton, sent me an email noting that the organization will offer a series of Zoom lectures about slavery and Northampton in January. The series is part of a larger initiative that includes a new exhibit about enslavement and freedom in Northampton, which will open later in the year.

The organization has a matching grant challenge with supporters pledging $200,000 for the annual appeal. Donations until Feb. 14 will be matched 1 to 1 and donations between $500-$1,000 will be matched 2 to 1, she wrote. For details about the lectures and donations, visit historicnorthampton.org.

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The sunset was bright on Dec. 21. Unfortunately, it was behind a cloud. I went to the UMass Sun Wheel on Saturday to see this large cloud bank with golden rays at the top. Of course on Sunday, the sky was cloudless and the sun shone all day.

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