Annibale Domenic Gavioli was born in Italy on July 4, 1884. He arrived to Ellis Island in New York aboard the Konig Albert in 1905 and settled in Southwick, Massachusetts, as Domenick Gavioli. He and his wife built Domenick's Spaghetti House on Point Grove Road sometime around 1928. On June 28, 1930, around 6:30 p.m., some young men stole a slot machine from Domenick's Spaghetti House. The next day, around 4:00 p.m., they stole a slot machine from the Blue Star Filling Station on College Highway in Southwick. Massachusetts State Police believed the thieves responsible for the Southwick slot machine heists were part of a quartet responsible for automobile thefts, break-ins in the surrounding area, and possibly a list of misdemeanors. Police in Springfield wanted them in connection to a gas station holdup that had gone wrong, with the attendant shot through his right wrist and right shoulder.  A lone patrolman in Westfield, acting off a vague description of the wanted men he lear...

The Southwick Fireman's Association sponsored a carnival in July 1948, starting a tradition that would become cherished and celebrated for decades. (Like most towns, neighboring Suffield, Connecticut, also had a long-standing tradition of a firemen's carnival, theirs dating back to the 1930s.) Central to the Southwick Fireman's Carnival was its parade. Added in 1950, it was more than a display of fire equipment; it was a vibrant showcase of community pride. Fire departments, marching bands, businesses, and organizations across New England participated, making it a regional celebration. Guest judges awarded trophies and prizes to winners in various categories, including Best Appearing Equipment, Most Distance Traveled, Best Appearing Unit in Jackets, and Best Musical Unit. Over the years, parade organizers added new categories and eliminated others. Some years, they had as many as twelve. Hundreds of Southwick residents and those from surrounding towns lined the parade route...

The directors of the Southwick Sandlot League held a meeting on July 3, 1961, at which they voted to purchase 13 acres of land off Powder Mill Road, known as the Gardner property, for $13,000 and officially incorporate the organization as Southwick Recreation Center, Inc. (At the time, the land had three baseball diamonds.) The new entity's officers and directors were J. Carl Maloney, William Stacy, Paul Hovey, William Sharpe, Charles Grimaldi, and Edward Connolly. They proposed a membership drive to raise enough money to cover the land purchase price and construct a small building to house sporting equipment and provide refreshments. Adult memberships would be one dollar each, and children's memberships fifty cents. A typical recreation program the directors were starting was estimated to cost $35,000 annually. The directors did not want the burden to fall on taxpayers, so they planned three annual fundraisers: Tag Day, held each May, a membership drive in August, and a card p...