— A Southwick Time Machine Original Series | The Longyard     Upon hearing the noise of an approaching carriage, some men and boys working in a field catch sight of it as it traveled down South Longyard Road on September 11, 1908. Focused on their work, they paid little mind to the single-horse-drawn carriage nor the two men in it except to notice that at least one man appeared quite intoxicated. Several minutes later, the fieldworkers see the younger of the two men chasing the horse up the road. When the nearly out-of-breath man finally overtook the horse, he got in the carriage and sped away. It was late in the day, so the fieldworkers wrapped up and headed home. Along the way, they see a piece of torn vest hanging on a branch not far off the road and decide to take a closer look, and in doing so, they find a body in the brush between the Longyard and Southwick Ponds. The body belonged to 77-year-old David Moran, a well-respected Southwick farmer and Civil War pensione...

 — A Southwick Time Machine Original Landmark Deep Dive Talk of consolidating Southwick's rural schoolhouses dates back to 1897 when the superintendent briefly mentioned it in his report; the superintendent in 1911 did the same. There was a lot of opposition to consolidating; however, the vote to build a centralized school passed on March 31, 1924. After much debate, voters officially chose the five-acre Goddard property along the college highway as the site for the new consolidated school. (It was selected in a vote, 152 to 55, during a special town meeting on April 9, 1928.) Other sites, including the Healy lot and the Jackson farm on Depot Street, were previously voted down because they needed to be deemed centrally located, a key requirement. Additionally, the Healy property required extensive grading, which would have driven up costs considerably. And the Jackson farm, priced at $12,000.00, was $5,000.00 more than the Town of Southwick was willing to pay for a site. Architect ...

—  Part of the Southwick Time Machine Tribute Series  Mr. Atkinson joined the junior high school at Southwick to teach mathematics in 1963 (he replaced Mrs. Stadnicki, who requested a leave of absence). Wasting no time, he immediately got appointed track and cross-country coach. Atkinson and his team hosted Holyoke on September 27, 1963. By December, Mr. Atkinson took charge of the basketball team. The team played and won its season opener at East Granby on January 3, 1964. Richard Atkinson University of Massachusetts, 1960 Mr. Atkinson also coached 14 Southwick High School advanced math students, who participated in the first Western Massachusetts Mathematics League competition on October 25, 1966. Mr. Atkinson was vice president of the Western Massachusetts Track Association (1968). That same year he also took over the duties of putting out the Western Massachusetts track newsletter. Mr. Atkinson and other area coaches volunteered their time in the winter to host youth ...

Seven Southwick residents were on their way to picnic in Springfield on July 10, 1924. They were riding in a heavy sedan driven by Mrs. Victor Johnson. Around 9:00 a.m., Mrs. Johnson attempted to turn onto Springfield Road (today's Feeding Hills Road) from College Highway. She may have miscalculated her speed as she made the sharp turn, for she lost control of the car and struck a tree. (Some reports say it was a pole; however, a tree is believed to be correct.) All seven were hurt. Passing motorists loaded the injured into their vehicles and rushed them to Noble Hospital. Besides Mrs. Johnson and her two children, Victor Jr. and Emerson, the others were: Miss Muriel Root, Mrs. Emma L. (Dexter) Treworgy, Miss Nina Morgan, and Mrs. Frederick Morgan. Mrs. Morgan's condition was the most serious. - - -  Mrs. Victor Johnson went to the Center primary school in Southwick on April 23, 1925. While she was inside talking with her son Emerson's teacher, he went outside to wait for h...

James Pine checked into the Allen House in Westfield around 8:00 p.m. on December 4, 1888. Although from Southwick, he registered from Easthampton and was given keys to a room on one of the upper floors. When the servants knocked on his door the following morning, they received no response. After a second try in the afternoon produced the same result, the hotel's proprietor, D. L. Allen, attempted to enter Pine's room, only to find the door leading from the hallway locked. He then tried to access a door in an adjoining room, but it, too, was fastened by a key left in the lock. After Allen finally gained entry, at about 3:00 p.m., he saw Pine's lifeless body stretched out on the bed. Next to him was an empty bottle of laudanum. In one hand was a seven-chamber revolver with one cartridge fired. Allen summoned the authorities, who decided that an autopsy was not necessary as it was clear, based on the gun, the poison, and the position of the bullet hole in Pine's head, tha...