Scarecrows

Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA)

Author: DON CONKEY

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, MA – None of them spoke a word.

None of them moved an inch.

None of them did anything. Anything at all.

And, yet, they spoke volumes and demonstrated everything that is special about the unique place that is known as the hilltowns.

“They” are scarecrows. And, this fall, they are again dotting country roads that wind through Plainfield, Cummington, Huntington, Williamsburg, Haydenville, and Worthington . . . man-made, woman-made and kid-made creatures that suddenly pop up as you’re driving along and cause you to slow down for a second glance.

It’s the second annual Hampshire Hills Scarecrow Competition, open to anyone in the Hampshire County hilltowns. Last year, there were 11 entries. This year, there are 29 – 21 of them eligible for prizes, eight others constructed by members of the Hampshire Hills Bed & Breakfast Association, which sponsors the contest.

The official reason that they’re there? A chance to win something: the $100 grand prize, or various other prizes.

But, as a person winds through the roads and talks to the people who have taken the time to put together their scarecrows, it becomes apparent that official reasons – reasons like winning and losing – aren’t uppermost in anyone’s mind.

Rather, these scarecrows were simply fun to make. And, they are making statements: statements about how the people making them happen to be feeling at this particular time of this particular year.

Plainfield’s Susan Lococo, for instance, lives on a main street. “I’ve had a couple of animals that have been hit by cars,” she said. Thus, her scarecrow is holding a sign that reads “Slow Down – Kids and Pets.”

The Diller brothers of Plainfield – Jon (9), Jake (8), Greg (5), and David (4) – have a scarecrow that anyone in New England can relate to. Clad in cap and scarf, its sign reads “The summer that never was.”

“They didn’t get to swimming in the pond quite as much this year,” their mother Laura said. “And, the younger boys complained that they couldn’t go barefoot.”

Cummington’s Brooke Lynes, a sculptor, made 11 cranes out of aluminum flashing.

“I’m very concerned about environmental things. The whooping cranes were almost gone . . . and I guess I’d like to get people to think a little more about the treasures of this world.”

Mike Melle of Plainfield is an artist who won last year’s grand prize. This year, he’s constructed the figure of an Indian, arrow poised and pointed at a large deer.

“It’s the old Indian chasing the great spirit buck,” Melle said. “I’ve always had a interest in Indians. When I was a kid, I ran around the woods and pretended I was like them.

“They are a glorious people, with a proud heritage. It’s too bad that people today can’t see what they were like in their heyday, before the reservations.”

For anyone craving a glimpse of any or all of the scarecrows, maps are available at Hampshire Hills Bed & Breakfast Association member inns. Or, association president Jody Kerssenbrock will send one if you phone her (413-6345653) or write her (P.O. Box 553, Worthington, MA 01098).

When you get the map, you’ll get more than directions to see some scarecrows, you’ll be getting a recipe that allows you to gently savor the uniquely wonderful taste of the hilltowns.

The taste of a friendly place.

A place where people you meet seem to know most of the other people you meet.

A place where contests are indeed fun and winning is indeed nice, but the fun in doing is most important.

“Sure, there there is a sense of separateness among the towns,” Kerssenbrock of Plainfield, said.

“People who live in Plainfield rally toward the Plainfield things, Cummington toward Cummington.

“But, there IS a feeling of connection between all of the people of the hilltowns. We ARE farming. We ARE rural up here. This is a different life.”

And, it is a place where people still know that silent scarecrows can say quite a lot.