When the lights come on...

The fog comes out to play.

Holyoke Fire Department Quickly Extinguish Blaze

I reached for the magazine sitting far back on the shelf of the magazine rack in Barns and Nobel as my phone chimed in. A burst of three text messages interrupted my train of thought as I went to turn the pages. It must have been important if I received three in a row, I thought to myself. I checked. "Fire on Laurel ST", is what I read. "Oh crap!" I uttered aloud. My business parter turned questioning what the exclamation was pertaining to. "Theres a fire, lets go." Moments later we were on our way to the scene. A second text came through. "It must be major, they called for additional equipment." My heart sunk. As we made our way closer to the scene, we couldnt see any smoke. Puzzled, we found an officer blocking a section of the road next to South ST. Parking, in the dry cleaner's parking lot, we headed down the road. A group of fire fighters were taking a small break from fighting the blaze just on the corner before the building. Still seeing no smoke, we assumed something much worse was taking place. At that point we still had no idea what had occurred. We saw not flames, but instead a scene of high emotions. The fire department had successfully contained the blaze and suppressed the flames. We do not know the severity of the damage to the building at this time. The individuals and fire fighter that were taken to the hospital are in our thoughts and prayers. A special thank you goes out to the Holyoke Fire Department and anyone who responded to todays scene.

Holyoke's Social Network and the Citie's Image

Yes that is correct. Holyoke in fact does have it's own social network. How many other cities have their own social network that has lead to amazing social changes and social practices? Like I said the day of the St. Patricks Day parade, small towns/cities know how to do it. C.R.U.S.H is an amazing group of people who have come together with one cause, one care, one concern, one common "crush on the city." You may not be from the city, currently living in the city, but that doesn't mean you do not have a crush on Holyoke. Check it, become a member, contribute.

I put a note up on Facebook the other day pertaining to the sever stigma that the city is faced with.

"A few weeks back I had an interaction with a woman who refused to go to Holyoke, causing me to lose a client. It is unfortunate for her, as the service I would have provided is nearly impossible to find else where. Her response to where we are located, "the people with the guns will steal my brand new car." A comment that will not be forgetten anytime soon. I gave a short response and allowed her to make her comments and bid her a good afternoon. Moving forward a few weeks, on Friday after returning from Vermont, I took a few hours to meander around the city, make some photographs, and enjoy one of the first nicestes days of the season. With most of the snow gone, people are outside, walking around, coming out and enjoying the city. While I was walking up Cabot, a man saw my camera and struck a pose jokingly, when I advanced my camera forward to capture it, he again struck the pose. Stopping to talk with him, the people he was with, we engaged in a dialog about what I was doing. Excited he had just been photographed, he politely said have a great afternoon, to which I responded with the same and made my way about the city. I challenge most people when they say Holyoke is rough, Holyoke is tough, Holyoke is scary, Holyoke sucks. Well where is the stigama that most people associate with Holyoke? Not easily found, as I have never been held up for my car. Every city has its issues, sections that are tough, hard, low-economy, but when you know your subject matter, allow yourself to be non-threatening, and can connect with people, they will connect with you. It doesn't matter where in the world you live any more, violence occurs, seen or unseen, documented or undocumented, reported, or not reported, it happens in the public sphere as well as behind closed doors. It is only when people witness first hand do they pass judgement. Go to Holyoke, watch the people, they are not much similar than you or I, excpet their ethnicity, culture, etc.
A few weeks back I had an interaction with a woman who refused to go to Holyoke, causing me to lose a client. It is unfortunate for her, as the service I would have provided is nearly impossible to find else where. Her response to where we are located, "the people with the guns will steal my brand new car." A comment that will not be forgetten anytime soon. I gave a short response and allowed her to make her comments and bid her a good afternoon. Moving forward a few weeks, on Friday after returning from Vermont, I took a few hours to meander around the city, make some photographs, and enjoy one of the first nicestes days of the season. With most of the snow gone, people are outside, walking around, coming out and enjoying the city. While I was walking up Cabot, a man saw my camera and struck a pose jokingly, when I advanced my camera forward to capture it, he again struck the pose. Stopping to talk with him, the people he was with, we engaged in a dialog about what I was doing. Excited he had just been photographed, he politely said have a great afternoon, to which I responded with the same and made my way about the city.

I challenge most people when they say Holyoke is rough, Holyoke is tough, Holyoke is scary, Holyoke sucks. Well where is the stigama that most people associate with Holyoke? Not easily found, as I have never been held up for my car. Every city has its issues, sections that are tough, hard, low-economy, but when you know your subject matter, allow yourself to be non-threatening, and can connect with people, they will connect with you. It doesn't matter where in the world you live any more, violence occurs, seen or unseen, documented or undocumented, reported, or not reported, it happens in the public sphere as well as behind closed doors. It is only when people witness first hand do they pass judgement. Go to Holyoke, watch the people, they are not much similar than you or I, excpet their ethnicity, culture, etc."

It was also said well by our intern the other day, "Holyoke is what you make it." Make it greater than you expected.