Content Note: This account concerns events from the more recent past and includes subject matter that may be distressing to some readers.    — A Southwick Time Machine Original | Courtroom Controversy   On July 7, 1983, Ralph Ward Rice Jr. of Southwick, Massachusetts, appeared before Judge George Cregan Keady Jr. in Hampden County Superior Court in Springfield to answer charges of incest and rape of a child by force. The charges reportedly involved Rice's then-12-year-old daughter. Judge George Cregan Keady Jr. According to prosecutors, the crimes occurred between June 21 and September 7, 1981. An investigation by the Hampden County District Attorney's Office eventually led to grand jury indictments against Rice in March 1983. He was arrested and charged with two counts each of incest and rape of a child by force. By 1982, the Commonwealth had removed Rice's six children, five daughters and one son, from their “trailer park home” on Hillside Road in Southwick and ...

   — A Southwick Time Machine Oddity   On July 13, 1821, a fire of unknown origin broke out at a powder works in Southwick, Massachusetts. Inside the sifting mill was 21-year-old Julius Lee, the only person in the building at the time. Julius Lee was born in Southwick in 1800. He was the son of Campbell Lee, who owned the powder works with Messrs. Booth & Co. of Westfield and Colonel Enos Foote of Southwick. The sifting mill exploded first. Within seconds, the pounding mill, located about ten rods away, also exploded. The blast was reportedly heard and felt 10 to 12 miles away. Although severely injured, Julius did not die immediately. He survived for about an hour, but his injuries were so extensive that no account of the accident could be obtained from him. When his body was examined, some of his bones were found to be broken. He was blackened by the smoke of the powder but was otherwise not greatly disfigured or bruised. Julius Lee was buried in Southwick Cemetery....

    — A Southwick Time Machine Story of Faith In the summer of 1913, a large canvas tent appeared on baseball fields, village greens, and open fields as it made its way through parts of rural Hampden County, Massachusetts. Wherever it was raised, evening hymns drifted into the surrounding neighborhoods as curious residents gathered beneath the canvas for worship, music, and community. Meetings were held each evening. There were Bible studies, worship, speeches, special gatherings for women, music, and social events. Activities and games for children took place on the lawn out front. The tent was equipped with seats, a platform, a desk, an organ, and hymn books.  Traveling with the tent were three young men who spent three months moving from place to place.   The 1913 Gospel Tent pictured in Hampden during its final stop of the season. Standing in front of the tent are the three young men who traveled with it throughout the summer.    The Gospel Tent wa...