Welcome, my friend, to Longmeadow!

By Sally Mikhlin

Now, you may ask: How did this town come up with such a creative name?

We have a, well, long meadow, smack dab in the middle of town. Funny enough, we call it The Green.

Ranging from about a quarter to half a mile, The Green serves as the staple of this town. The dozens of maple trees that line down the strip of land turn cherry red in Autumn, bare in the Winter, and a deep classic forest green during the Spring and Summer, perfect in time for our yearly town fair of Ole Long Meadowe Days.

This town fair, taking place on The Green, includes crafters with their jewelry and art, food trucks doling out their fried dough, students trying to make a buck with friendship bracelets, and historically accurate actors shooting off 17^th century canons every hour. It’s a hoot!

Just as any decently-sized town has, Longmeadow houses a high school! Recently remodeled into a newly designed place of education, LHS provides students with some of the highest schooling within the Western Massachusetts region. The new design focuses on allowing for natural light to limit dependency on draining fluorescents and a circular theme that reflects the modern way of learning the town wants to show: through connectivity and reflection.

As an alum, I have to say, the town and school may seem like any other small New England town, and at times it is very similar. But, the school’s emphasis on robust education, the power of athletics, and the beauty of music provides students graduating with the trifecta of talents: brains, sports, and music.

Turn left from LHS and walk 3 minutes and you’ll hit what the town calls The Shops (I know; this town just exudes creative naming!).

The Shops are where stay-at-home moms shop for their Ann Taylor-like get ups, where students after school get frozen yogurt or master their skateboarding (and cop avoiding) skills in the parking lot, where back-in-town college students reminisce over a nice cup of pumpkin spice from Starbucks, where town athletes buy their lacrosse gear, and where elderly couples share a nice sandwich from the famous Semolina sandwich shop. Interestingly enough, The Shops house stores from well-known brands such as GAP and Starbucks as well as locally owned ones like Semolina’s Sandwiches, Peachwave Frozen Yogurt and Lacrosse World Gear.

Now, what I find truly magical about this town is its ability to preserve the history while remaining modern. From its mix of brand-name to local shops to its town fair housing 17^th century cannons and 21^st century fried food, Longmeadow remains in a limbo of history and future.

If you walk from my house to my best friend’s, you’ll see a dramatic shift in houses. My side of town houses, well, houses of the classical New England colonial style like this one. If you peak closely, you’ll see the red star, a signal and symbol of the house’s historical significance. Usually the placks mention the original owner, usually a Pilgrim type name such as a John Clemens Smith man, and a year of establishment, usually of a 1670-1730 range. Once in the other side of town, you’ll see houses built between the 1960s to now. There’s no one shift from old to newer, but a gradual blend from chimneyed houses to ranch style.

On a chilly Autumn day, Longmeadow captures a piece of our hearts with its crisp air, burnt orange leaves and bright blue skies. Just as this town reflects the mingling of past and present with glimpse in the future, so does our world. In an era of fast-paced connectivity and ubiquitous technology, Longmeadow provides many of us a chance to breathe in its invigorating air and slow down.

And that is why, my friend, I’d like you to visit my town. To see history. To experience the present. To feel the future.

And, of course, to take a deep breath of the fresh and crisp air that is famously New England in Autumn.